[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 2

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 2

WORD OF WISDOM

You're not getting old as long as your fling is not flung, your song is not
sung, your bell is not rung, your spring is not sprung, and your fun is not
done. 

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DAILY DEVOTION

An Internal Issue


Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall
receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love
him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot
be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death.
James 1:12-15

It is so easy and comforting for us to blame outside forces when we sin. We
try so hard to make sure we are not held at fault. Eve blamed the serpent
for her choice to eat the forbidden fruit, and Adam blamed Eve for giving it
to him. Then Adam blamed God for making Eve in the first place. Such
deflection, however, misses the point. When we sin, the origin of sin is not
some outward temptation that is so overwhelming that we had no choice but to
go along with it. Rather the origin of sin begins with the desires of our
own hearts. Those desires are what draw us away from God and take us down
the path of sin.
The key to avoiding sin is not to somehow isolate ourselves from any
temptation. No matter where we go or what we do, it is our "own lust" that
entices us. The devil is skilled at finding specific temptations that are
attractive to us. He does not tempt us with things that do not appeal, but
with things that are very enticing. When Jesus had been fasting, Satan's
first temptation was to acquire food through a misuse of His power. It is
not hard to see why bread would be attractive to someone who hadn't eaten
for days. Victory over temptation only comes from within-from yielding to
the Holy Spirit. Paul wrote, "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall
live" (Romans 8:13).
Rather than blaming others for temptation, turn to God's Word for help to
overcome it.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Leviticus 10-12 New King James Version
The Profane Fire of Nadab and Abihu
10 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put
fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord,
which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the Lord and
devoured them, and they died before the Lord. 3 And Moses said to Aaron,
"This is what the Lord spoke, saying:

'By those who come near Me
I must be regarded as holy;
And before all the people
I must be glorified.' "

So Aaron held his peace.

4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of
Aaron, and said to them, "Come near, carry your brethren from [a]before the
sanctuary out of the camp." 5 So they went near and carried them by their
tunics out of the camp, as Moses had said.

6 And Moses said to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons, "Do not
[b]uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come
upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel,
[c]bewail the burning which the Lord has kindled. 7 You shall not go out
from the door of the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die, for the anointing
oil of the Lord is upon you." And they did according to the word of Moses.

Conduct Prescribed for Priests
8 Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: 9 "Do not drink wine or intoxicating
drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of
meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your
generations, 10 that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and
between unclean and clean, 11 and that you may teach the children of Israel
all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses."

12 And Moses spoke to Aaron, and to Eleazar and Ithamar, his sons who were
left: "Take the grain offering that remains of the offerings made by fire to
the Lord, and eat it without leaven beside the altar; for it is most holy.
13 You shall eat it in a holy place, because it is your [d]due and your
sons' due, of the sacrifices made by fire to the Lord; for so I have been
commanded. 14 The breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the heave
offering you shall eat in a clean place, you, your sons, and your daughters
with you; for they are your due and your sons' due, which are given from the
sacrifices of peace offerings of the children of Israel. 15 The thigh of the
heave offering and the breast of the wave offering they shall bring with the
offerings of fat made by fire, to offer as a wave offering before the Lord.
And it shall be yours and your sons' with you, by a statute forever, as the
Lord has commanded."

16 Then Moses made careful inquiry about the goat of the sin offering, and
there it was-burned up. And he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons
of Aaron who were left, saying, 17 "Why have you not eaten the sin offering
in a holy place, since it is most holy, and God has given it to you to bear
the guilt of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the Lord?
18 See! Its blood was not brought inside [e]the holy place; indeed you
should have eaten it in a holy place, as I commanded."

19 And Aaron said to Moses, "Look, this day they have offered their sin
offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have
befallen me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been
accepted in the sight of the Lord?" 20 So when Moses heard that, he was
content.

Foods Permitted and Forbidden
11 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 "Speak to the
children of Israel, saying, 'These are the animals which you may eat among
all the animals that are on the earth: 3 Among the animals, whatever divides
the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud-that you may eat. 4
Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those
that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not
have cloven hooves, is [f]unclean to you; 5 the [g]rock hyrax, because it
chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is [h]unclean to you; 6 the
hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean
to you; 7 and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves,
yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 Their flesh you shall not
eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you.

9 'These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has
fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers-that you may eat. 10
But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all
that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are
[i]an abomination to you. 11 They shall be an abomination to you; you shall
not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination.
12 Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales-that shall be an
abomination to you.

13 'And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall
not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard,
14 the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 15 every raven after its kind,
16 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its
kind; 17 the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; 18 the white
owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; 19 the stork, the heron after its
kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.

20 'All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to
you. 21 Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all
fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on
the earth. 22 These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying
locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after
its kind. 23 But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an
abomination to you.

Unclean Animals
24 'By these you shall become [j]unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any
of them shall be unclean until evening; 25 whoever carries part of the
carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening:
26 The carcass of any animal which divides the foot, but is not
cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Everyone who
touches it shall be unclean. 27 And whatever goes on its paws, among all
kinds of animals that go on all fours, those are unclean to you. Whoever
touches any such carcass shall be unclean until evening. 28 Whoever carries
any such carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. It is
unclean to you.

29 'These also shall be unclean to you among the creeping things that creep
on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and the large lizard after its kind; 30
the gecko, the monitor lizard, the sand reptile, the sand lizard, and the
chameleon. 31 These are unclean to you among all that creep. Whoever touches
them when they are dead shall be unclean until evening. 32 Anything on which
any of them falls, when they are dead shall be [k]unclean, whether it is any
item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any
work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until
evening; then it shall be clean. 33 Any earthen vessel into which any of
them falls you shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean: 34 in
such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and
any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean. 35 And everything on
which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an
oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and
shall be unclean to you. 36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern, in which
there is plenty of water, shall be clean, but whatever touches any such
carcass becomes unclean. 37 And if a part of any such carcass falls on any
planting seed which is to be sown, it remains clean. 38 But if water is put
on the seed, and if a part of any such carcass falls on it, it becomes
[l]unclean to you.

39 'And if any animal which you may eat dies, he who touches its carcass
shall be unclean until evening. 40 He who eats of its carcass shall wash his
clothes and be unclean until evening. He also who carries its carcass shall
wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.

41 'And every creeping thing that creeps on the earth shall be [m]an
abomination. It shall not be eaten. 42 Whatever crawls on its belly,
whatever goes on all fours, or whatever has many feet among all creeping
things that creep on the earth-these you shall not eat, for they are an
abomination. 43 You shall not make [n]yourselves [o]abominable with any
creeping thing that creeps; nor shall you make yourselves unclean with them,
lest you be defiled by them. 44 For I am the Lord your God. You shall
therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.
Neither shall you defile yourselves with any creeping thing that creeps on
the earth. 45 For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt,
to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

46 'This is the law [p]of the animals and the birds and every living
creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the
earth, 47 to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the
animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.' "

The Ritual After Childbirth
12 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel,
saying: 'If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be
[q]unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be
unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be
circumcised. 4 She shall then continue in the blood of her purification
thirty-three days. She shall not touch any [r]hallowed thing, nor come into
the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.

5 'But if she bears a female child, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as
in her customary impurity, and she shall continue in the blood of her
purification sixty-six days.

6 'When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a
daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb [s]of the first year as a
burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the
door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Then he shall offer it before the Lord,
and make [t]atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her
blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female.

8 'And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two
turtledoves or two young pigeons-one as a burnt offering and the other as a
sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be
[u]clean.' "

Footnotes
Leviticus 10:4 in front of
Leviticus 10:6 An act of mourning
Leviticus 10:6 weep bitterly
Leviticus 10:13 portion
Leviticus 10:18 The Most Holy Place when capitalized
Leviticus 11:4 impure
Leviticus 11:5 rock badger
Leviticus 11:5 impure
Leviticus 11:10 detestable
Leviticus 11:24 impure
Leviticus 11:32 impure
Leviticus 11:38 impure
Leviticus 11:41 detestable
Leviticus 11:43 Lit. your souls
Leviticus 11:43 impure
Leviticus 11:46 concerning
Leviticus 12:2 impure
Leviticus 12:4 consecrated
Leviticus 12:6 Lit. a son of his year
Leviticus 12:7 Lit. covering
Leviticus 12:8 pure