"God with Us"
We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.[1 John 1:3]
I've seen a number of celebrities in person over the years, and they always seem a little smaller or different than what I expected. It's funny how certain people actually look better in pictures than they do in real life—or look better in real life than they do in pictures. It's strange the way the camera reads people.
Imagine the disciples walking and talking with Jesus Himself. I wonder if Jesus sometimes woke up in the morning to find all the disciples standing there staring at Him. The apostle John, who spent a lot of time with Christ, said, "We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life" (1 John 1:1). The phrase John used for "saw . . . with our own eyes" means "to view with attention, to contemplate, to gaze upon as a spectacle."
John was saying, "We still see Him in our mind's eye. We still hear the sound of His voice in our ears." What a privilege! It's an amazing thing to realize that God incarnate walked among us.
You might think, Oh man, I wish I could have been one of them! But John went on to say, "We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy"(verses 3–4).
John was saying, "This isn't a privilege only for us. Yes, we walked and talked with Him, but you can know God in an intimate way as well."
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Today's Bible Reading
Leviticus 1:1 Then the Lord called to Moses and said to him from the meeting tent, 2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When any of you present a livestock offering to the Lord, you can present it from either the herd or the flock.
The entirely burned offering
3 If the offering is an entirely burned offering from the herd, you must present a flawless male, bringing it to the meeting tent’s entrance for its acceptance before the Lord. 4 You must press your hand on the head of the entirely burned offering so that it will be accepted for you, to make reconciliation for you. 5 Then you will slaughter the bull before the Lord. Aaron’s sons the priests will present the blood and toss it against every side of the altar at the meeting tent’s entrance. 6 Then the entirely burned offering will be skinned and cut up into pieces. 7 The sons of Aaron the priest[a] will light the altar and lay wood on the fire. 8 Then Aaron’s sons the priests will arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat on the wood that is on the altar fire, 9 but the animal’s insides and lower legs must be washed with water. The priest will then completely burn all of it on the altar as an entirely burned offering, a food gift[b] of soothing smell to the Lord.
10 If the offering is an entirely burned offering from the flock—whether sheep or goat—you must present a flawless male. 11 You must slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the Lord. Aaron’s sons the priests will toss its blood against every side of the altar. 12 Once it has been cut into pieces, including the head and the fat, the priest will arrange these out on the wood that is on the altar fire, 13 but its insides and lower legs must be washed with water. Then the priest will present all of it and completely burn it on the altar. It is an entirely burned offering, a food gift of soothing smell to the Lord.
14 If the offering for the Lord is an entirely burned offering from the birds, you can present your offering from the doves or pigeons. 15 The priest will bring it to the altar. He will tear off its head and completely burn it on the altar. Its blood will be drained against the side of the altar. 16 Then the priest will remove its throat along with its contents[c] and throw it by the east side of the altar, into the place for the ashes. 17 He will then tear the bird open by its wings, without splitting it. The priest will completely burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the altar fire. It is an entirely burned offering, a food gift of soothing smell to the Lord.
The grain offering
2:1 When anyone presents a grain offering to the Lord, the offering must be of choice flour. They must pour oil on it and put frankincense on it, 2 then bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. A priest will take a handful of its choice flour and oil, along with all of its frankincense, and will completely burn this token portion on the altar as a food gift of soothing smell to the Lord. 3 The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons as a most holy portion from the Lord’s food gifts.
4 When you present a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be of choice flour: unleavened flatbread mixed with oil or unleavened wafers spread with oil. 5 If your offering is grain prepared on a griddle, it must be of choice flour mixed with oil and it must be unleavened. 6 Crumble it into pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. 7 If your offering is grain prepared in a pan, it must be made of choice flour with oil. 8 You will bring the grain offering made in one of these ways to the Lord, presenting it to the priest, who will then bring it to the altar. 9 The priest will remove from the grain offering the token portion and completely burn it on the altar as a food gift of soothing smell to the Lord. 10 The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons as a most holy portion from the Lord’s food gifts.
11 No grain offering that you give to the Lord can be made with yeast. You must not completely burn any yeast or honey as a food gift for the Lord. 12 You can present those as first-choice offerings to the Lord, but they must not be entirely burned up on the altar as a soothing smell.
13 You must season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not omit the salt of your God’s covenant from your grain offering. You must offer salt with all your offerings.
14 If you present a grain offering to the Lord from the first produce, you must make such an offering from the crushed heads of newly ripe grain, roasted with fire. 15 You must put oil and frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. 16 The priest will completely burn the token portion—some of the crushed new grain and oil along with all of the frankincense—as a food gift for the Lord.
The well-being sacrifice
3:1 If the offering is a communal sacrifice of well-being,[d] the one who offers the herd animal—whether it is male or female—must present a flawless specimen before the Lord. 2 You must press your hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it at the meeting tent’s entrance. Aaron’s sons the priests will toss the blood against every side of the altar. 3 Then you can offer a food gift to the Lord from the communal sacrifice of well-being: the fat that covers and surrounds the insides; 4 the two kidneys and the fat around them at the loins; and the lobe on the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. 5 Aaron’s sons will completely burn all of this on the altar—along with the entirely burned offering on the wood that is on the altar fire—as a food gift of soothing smell to the Lord.
6 If the offering for a communal sacrifice of well-being for the Lord is from the flock—whether it is male or female—you must present a flawless specimen. 7 If you present a sheep as the offering, you must present it before the Lord. 8 You must press your hand on the head of the offering and slaughter it before the meeting tent. Aaron’s sons will toss the blood against every side of the altar. 9 Then you may offer the fat from the communal sacrifice of well-being as a food gift for the Lord: the whole fat tail, which should be removed close to the tailbone; the fat that covers and surrounds the insides; 10 the two kidneys and the fat around them at the loins; and the lobe on the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. 11 The priest will then completely burn all of this on the altar as food—as a food gift for the Lord.
12 If the offering is a goat, you must present it before the Lord. 13 You must press your hand on its head and slaughter it before the meeting tent. Aaron’s sons will toss its blood against every side of the altar. 14 Then you may present as your offering—a food gift for the Lord—the fat that covers and surrounds the insides; 15 the two kidneys and the fat around them at the loins; and the lobe on the liver, which should be removed with the kidneys. 16 The priest will then completely burn all of this on the altar as food—as a food gift for a soothing smell.
All fat belongs to the Lord. 17 This is a permanent rule for your future generations, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or blood.[Footnotes:
Leviticus 1:7 Some Heb sources, Sam, LXX, Syr, and some Tg sources have Aaron’s sons, the priests, as in 1:5, 8.
Leviticus 1:9 Or (here and throughout Leviticus) offering by fire (cf 3:11)
Leviticus 1:16 Heb uncertain
Leviticus 3:1 Or peace offering]
Acts 13: Barnabas and Saul sent to minister
1 The church at Antioch included prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon (nicknamed Niger), Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen (a childhood friend of Herod the ruler), and Saul. 2 As they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to the work I have called them to undertake.” 3 After they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on these two and sent them off.
Serving in Cyprus
4 After the Holy Spirit sent them on their way, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 In Salamis they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their assistant. 6 They traveled throughout the island until they arrived at Paphos. There they found a certain man named Bar-Jesus, a Jew who was a false prophet and practiced sorcery. 7 He kept company with the governor of that province, an intelligent man named Sergius Paulus. The governor sent for Barnabas and Saul since he wanted to hear God’s word. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer[a] (for that’s what people understood his name meant) opposed them, trying to steer the governor away from the faith. 9 Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Saul, also known as Paul, glared at Bar-Jesus and 10 said, “You are a deceiver and trickster! You devil! You attack anything that is right! Will you never stop twisting the straight ways of the Lord into crooked paths? 11 Listen! The Lord’s power is set against you. You will be blind for a while, unable even to see the daylight.” At once, Bar-Jesus’ eyes were darkened, and he began to grope about for someone to lead him around by the hand. 12 When the governor saw what had taken place, he came to believe, for he was astonished by the teaching about the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch
13 Paul and his companions sailed from Paphos to Perga in Pamphylia. John deserted them there and returned to Jerusalem. 14 They went on from Perga and arrived at Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath, they entered and found seats in the synagogue there. 15 After the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders invited them, “Brothers, if one of you has a sermon for the people, please speak.”
16 Standing up, Paul gestured with his hand and said, “Fellow Israelites and Gentile God-worshippers, please listen to me. 17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors. God made them a great people while they lived as strangers in the land of Egypt. With his great power, he led them out of that country. 18 For about forty years, God put up with them in the wilderness. 19 God conquered seven nations in the land of Canaan and gave the Israelites their land as an inheritance. 20 This happened over a period of about four hundred fifty years.
“After this, he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 The Israelites requested a king, so God gave them Saul, Kish’s son, from the tribe of Benjamin, and he served as their king for forty years. 22 After God removed him, he raised up David to be their king. God testified concerning him, ‘I have found David, Jesse’s son, a man who shares my desires.[b] Whatever my will is, he will do.’ 23 From this man’s descendants, God brought to Israel a savior, Jesus, just as he promised. 24 Before Jesus’ appearance, John proclaimed to all the Israelites a baptism to show they were changing their hearts and lives. 25 As John was completing his mission, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I’m not the one you think I am, but he is coming after me. I’m not worthy to loosen his sandals.’
26 “Brothers, children of Abraham’s family, and you Gentile God-worshippers, the message about this salvation has been sent to us. 27 The people in Jerusalem and their leaders didn’t recognize Jesus. By condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Even though they didn’t find a single legal basis for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they finished doing everything that had been written about him, they took him down from the cross[c] and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead! 31 He appeared over many days to those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people.
32 “We proclaim to you the good news. What God promised to our ancestors, 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it was written in the second psalm, You are my son; today I have become your father.[d]
34 “God raised Jesus from the dead, never again to be subjected to death’s decay. Therefore, God said, I will give to you the holy and firm promises I made to David.[e] 35 In another place it is said, You will not let your holy one experience death’s decay.[f] 36 David served God’s purpose in his own generation, then he died and was buried with his ancestors. He experienced death’s decay, 37 but the one whom God has raised up didn’t experience death’s decay.
38 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, know this: Through Jesus we proclaim forgiveness of sins to you. From all those sins from which you couldn’t be put in right relationship with God through Moses’ Law, 39 through Jesus everyone who believes is put in right relationship with God. 40 Take care that the prophets’ words don’t apply to you:
41 Look, you scoffers,
marvel and die.
I’m going to do work in your day —
a work you won’t believe
even if someone told you.”[g]
42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to speak about these things again on the next Sabbath. 43 When the people in the synagogue were dismissed, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism accompanied Paul and Barnabas, who urged them to remain faithful to the message of God’s grace.
44 On the next Sabbath, almost everyone in the city gathered to hear the Lord’s word. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were overcome with jealousy. They argued against what Paul was saying by slandering him. 46 Speaking courageously, Paul and Barnabas said, “We had to speak God’s word to you first. Since you reject it and show that you are unworthy to receive eternal life, we will turn to the Gentiles. 47 This is what the Lord commanded us:
I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
so that you could bring salvation to the end of the earth.”[h]
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and honored the Lord’s word. Everyone who was appointed for eternal life believed, 49 and the Lord’s word was broadcast throughout the entire region. 50 However, the Jews provoked the prominent women among the Gentile God-worshippers, as well as the city’s leaders. They instigated others to harass Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their district. 51 Paul and Barnabas shook the dust from their feet and went to Iconium. 52 Because of the abundant presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives, the disciples were overflowing with happiness.[Footnotes:
Acts 13:8 Or magician (Gk magos)
Acts 13:22 Tg 1 Sam 13:14
Acts 13:29 Or tree
Acts 13:33 Ps 2:7
Acts 13:34 Isa 55:3
Acts 13:35 Ps 16:10
Acts 13:41 Hab 1:5
Acts 13:47 Isa 49:6]
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