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The problem with liver and onions…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 19:23 “ ‘When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. b For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. 

This morning I’m still struggling with the verses that folks pick and choose to follow, loudly protesting when those they have chosen as sacred are broken, silently doing as they wish when it comes to verses they no longer see as relevant. For instance, Leviticus 26 says “Do not eat any meat with blood still in it,” which includes organ meat from animals. 

Leviticus 19:24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. 

The reason behind this verse at the time was because there were pagans who participated in cult ceremonies involving blood. However, as I was growing up, my mom often served us liver and onions, one of my least favorite meals EVER. For clarification, my mother just enjoyed liver and onions. She was not a pagan and no one thought she was, even though she did not follow verse 26.

Leviticus 19:25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the reminder that common sense must come into play as we read Your word. Our humanity also gets tangled up in all that we do. Help me to know how to navigate this minefield of what You decreed for the Israelites and what You want for me, personally, so that I can honor You in my reading, studying, and living. Amen.

Leviticus 19:26-27 “ ‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. “ ‘Do not practice divination or seek omens. “ ‘Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard. 

Have a blessed day. 

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On picking and choosing….. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 19:19 “ ‘Keep my decrees. “ ‘Do not mate different kinds of animals. “ ‘Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. “ ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

I am frustrated with how easily and freely commentaries (and people) dismiss some parts of the Bible as no longer relevant or important while steadfastly holding tight to other parts and claiming “This is the way God decreed it.” 

Leviticus 19:20 “ ‘If a man sleeps with a female slave who is promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed. 

That feels to me a bit like picking and choosing to suit your own needs. It makes the Bible a very convenient way to support your own positions (which has nothing to do with God), and it is something that pretty much everyone does in one way or another. 

Leviticus 19:21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the tent of meeting for a guilt offering to the Lord. 

Precious Savior, I don’t want to dismiss the things in the Bible that don’t fit with my worldview while holding fast to what I feel supports my stance. I don’t think You want that of me either. Help me to draw closer to You through reading Your word so that I can shine Your light. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 19:22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the Lord for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.

Have a blessed day. 

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On loving God and loving others…. (devo reflections)

Leviticus 19:15 “ ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

This morning I would like to talk about verse 18, specifically the part that says that we are to “…love your neighbor as yourself.” For some, self-love is difficult. I for one have an inner critic who can be utterly caustic. I would never say to another person some of the things I say to myself when I mess up. 

Leviticus 19:16 “ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people. “ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

In fact, I often try to temper my inner critic by reminding myself that if I wouldn’t say it to someone else, I shouldn’t say it to myself, either. Unsurprisingly, I have found that I am not alone in this inner “mean girl.” 

Leviticus 19:17 “ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.

Precious Savior, I believe that You are love (1 John 4:8 and 1 John 4:16). I believe that You want us to love You and love others. I also believe that You want us to love ourselves, be kind to ourselves, give grace to ourselves because it is only when we do that that we can extend those things to each other. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 19:18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Have a blessed day. 

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“Hurt people hurt people”… (devo reflection)

Leviticus 19:11 “ ‘Do not steal. “ ‘Do not lie. “ ‘Do not deceive one another.

Commentary posits that these rules in Leviticus 19 were laid out because the Israelites endured 400 years of captivity in a land of casual cruelty and they needed the reminder that cruelty isn’t–or shouldn’t be–the norm. 

Leviticus 19:12 “ ‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Unfortunately, in this world of rampant social media, casual cruelty is still alarmingly prevalent. Common sense reminders like, “Don’t make someone else’s life harder just because you can” are necessary, bringing to mind Paul’s exhortation in 1 Thess 5:11 to instead “…encourage one another and build each other up…”.

Leviticus 19:13 “ ‘Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. “ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.

Precious Savior, Today I am reminded of the Ram Dass quote, “We are all just walking each other home.” In this life, help us to remember that we were put on this earth not to make the journey more difficult, but to share Your light and Your love along the way. Help us, Jesus, to smooth the way for our fellow travelers…or at least not to make the way intentionally more difficult. Amen.

Leviticus 19:14 “ ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

Have a blessed day. 

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God’s infinite grace…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 19:6-7 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.  If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. 

Last night at Bible study we looked at Matt 18:21-35, The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. A comment was made about Matt 6:12 “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” I have always read that as “Forgive us our sins as [in the same way that] we forgive others,” meaning if we forgive much, we will be forgiven much.

Leviticus 19:8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people.

But the question was raised that if we don’t/can’t forgive, will God rescind His forgiveness of us as the king in the parable does. The consensus was no. A friend posited: What if Matt 6:12 is really saying “Forgive us as [even while we struggle to] forgive others.” That interpretation, to me, speaks of God’s infinite grace.

Leviticus 19:9 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. 

Precious Savior, In Matt 5:48, You tell us to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” yet You know perfection is out of our grasp. Thank You for this reminder that we are to continue to be like You, even as we fail in trying to be like You, that our efforts help to bring us closer to You all the same. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 19:10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

Have a blessed day. 

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On understanding and love…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 19:1-2 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

This morning Matt 7:1 (Judge not, lest ye be judged) and John 8:1 (Let he who is without sin cast the first stone) are still rattling around in my head. And as much as I say that I understand and agree with these two verses, living them is another matter.

Leviticus 19:3 “ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

Especially with people we care about, especially with people we love, when they are not living the way we think they should, the way that we think is right and good, judgment happens, stones get thrown, even if only in the recesses of our own minds. 

Leviticus 19:4 “ ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God.

Precious Savior, I am struggling this morning to love and not to judge. Help me to understand how to love and not condone, how to love and not condemn, how to love others as You love me. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 19:5 “ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.

Have a blessed day. 

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Love like Jesus…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 18:25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 

Commentary makes this entire chapter seem so cut and dry, positing that all of these things are sins and should cause “strong social disapproval–amounting to exile”. But, again, we have Jesus saying in John 8:7 that only the sinless should cast the first stone, all while very pointedly not throwing stones Himself. 

Leviticus 18:26-27 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 

John 3:16 is a powerful, beautiful, and oft quoted verse of scripture, but John 3:17 is not nearly as oft quoted and feels especially appropriate today: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” If Jesus is loving and not condemning, then why aren’t we?

Leviticus 18:28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

Precious Savior, I firmly believe that You call us to be Your hands and feet and heart in this world, that You call us to love Your people and not to judge them. Help me to do just that. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 18:29-30 “ ‘Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people. Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

Have a blessed day. 

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God calls us to love…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 18:22 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

What comes to mind as I read today’s verses is that white slave owners in the south also used scripture to support the practice of slavery. The Bible can be (and often has been) used to justify so many things, especially exclusion and hate, and God calls me to not participate in that travesty of His word.

Leviticus 18:23 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.

God calls us to love Him and love others (Matt22:37-39). Jesus calls us not to judge unless we are without sin (John 8:7), and cautions us that if we judge, we will also be judged (Matt 7:1). He reminds us that there is only one thing worth worrying about (Him) and we should choose what is better (Him) (Luke 10:42). 

Leviticus 18:24 “ ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. 

Precious Savior, I can use Your word for good, to shine Your light, to lift others up, to show Your love, or I can use Your word as a weapon, to separate and ostracize, to make others feel unwelcome and unworthy. Help me, always, to choose good, to choose love, to choose You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 18:25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.

Have a blessed day. 

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On sin and stones…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 18:18 “ ‘Do not take your wife’s sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living.

I used to think that if a couple got divorced, they just quit trying…..until I had a friend who’s husband cheated on her and left the marriage (including the children), refusing any sort of therapy or reconciliation attempt. 

Leviticus 18:19 “ ‘Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period.

That incident reminded me that I know nothing but what I can see about most people, marriages, relationships, etc. And it brought to mind John 8:7, where Jesus says of a woman caught in the act of adultery and brought before Him for judgment (and as a trap), “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Leviticus 18:20 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your neighbor’s wife and defile yourself with her.

Precious Savior, Judging others is so incredibly easy, especially if we have no skin in the game and can judge solely based on appearances. But when we take a look at our own lives, every single one of us has sin cluttering up the corners. Help us to focus on becoming better individuals ourselves instead of casting stones at others. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Leviticus 18:21 “ ‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Have a blessed day. 

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Acceptable social constructs…. (devo reflection)

Leviticus 18:14 “ ‘Do not dishonor your father’s brother by approaching his wife to have sexual relations; she is your aunt.

Commentary says that this laundry list of people that “one should not have sex with” is generally consistent with the people who would live under the same roof during this time. I think we would all agree that not having sex with anyone under your roof except your spouse is good advice.

Leviticus 18:15 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your daughter-in-law. She is your son’s wife; do not have relations with her.

But remember that Leviticus was not written for us. It was written for the ancient Israelites, who had commingled with the Egyptians for 400 years, who were being led to Canaan, and both of those cultures “had drastically different sexual and familial standards” from what God called the Israelites.

Leviticus 18:16 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with your brother’s wife; that would dishonor your brother.

Precious Savior, Again we are dealing with acceptable social constructs. The Egyptians and Canaanites had very different acceptable standards than what You were calling the Israelites to, but Your modern people often use Your words to ostracize and penalize others. Help us all to use Your word as You intended. Help us to love You and love others. Always. Amen.

Leviticus 18:17 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with both a woman and her daughter. Do not have sexual relations with either her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter; they are her close relatives. That is wickedness.

Have a blessed day.