Appointed Time and Place

Leviticus 16
Acts 17

Food for Life:

Leviticus 16
The Day of Atonement as described in this chapter took place once a year. It was the day that two goats were sacrificed by the High Priest for the forgiveness of the sins of the Israelites. The first goat was for the forgiveness of their sin, the second goat was to remove the guilt of their sin. As we read, we see many specific instructions as to how these sacrifices were to be made and how the people were to prepare themselves for this day.

This ritual was a fore-shadowing of Christ. Christ was/is the Most High Priest - the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world - being offered as a sacrifice, once and for all, to pay the price in forgiving our sin and setting us free from the guilt that is ours! Hallelujah, what a Savior!

"Thank You Lord Jesus for sacrificing Yourself on my, on our, behalf. It is difficult to imagine the reality of what You have done, no matter how many times I read about it, think about it, see Your action portrayed. God, help me, help us never to grow weary of remembering the reality of Your Love on the cross for us; never to take for granted what You have done; to always be ready to share the Good News with others - in our actions toward them, our attitude toward them, and the Word brought forth to them, so they may know You too. Empower us by Your Spirit, Your Precious Holy Spirit, today Lord, today. We love You Lord. Thank You for Loving us."

Acts 17
This is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible! There is much I could comment on related to this chapter, but I'm going to record a few of the paragraphs for your reading again because they are so powerful and very clear. I pray the Holy Spirit moves us as we mediate of these words, that are alive and active!

22-31: Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'

As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.' "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead." (TNIV)

"Lord, help each us to recognize that You have us exactly where You have placed us. That it is not an accident or by chance that we are in the location, time period, and station of life we are in today. It is Your design, because You intend to reveal Yourself to us right where we are today, in ways that we can not even imagine. Thank You Lord! Thank You that 'we move, and breath, and have our very existence in You!'"