Greg Laurie "Build on Your Own Foundation" -- Harvest Daily Devotion for Monday, 9 February 2015 of Riverside, California, United States"Build on Your Own Foundation"
For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.[Philippians 2:13]
Some people are really into exercise. They love to work up a sweat, go on a run, or lift weights. I hate all of it. And I know I'm not alone in that. But the fact of the matter is that we really need to exercise. We can't hire someone to work out for us. It's something we have to do for ourselves.
The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:12–13). Paul was in prison when he wrote this epistle. He was writing it from Rome and was experiencing anxiety over the fact that he was separated from these believers.
Effectively Paul was saying, "Look, guys, I can't be with you right now. I wish I were there to offer you guidance and to be a good example for you, but I can't do it. But check it out. It is God who works in you, not Paul."
They may have thought, We can't live the Christian life without Paul around. Well, actually they could. And if pastors and spiritual leaders are doing their jobs properly, they will get you up on your own feet spiritually so that you are not dependent on them.
Paul was saying, "Guys, keep things in perspective. It is God who is doing the work. Maybe He worked throughme, but it's still God who did the work."
We can put people on pedestals and think they can do no wrong. And sometimes people will base their relationship with God on someone else's relationship with God. That isn't good. We need to get our own faith. We need to build on our own foundation.
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Today's Bible Reading
Leviticus 10: Nadab and Abihu
1 Now Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons, each took an incense pan. They put fire and incense on them and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. 2 Then fire flew out from before the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.
3 Moses said to Aaron, “When the Lord said, ‘I will show that I am holy among those near me, and before all the people I will manifest my glorious presence,’ this is what he meant!” But Aaron was silent.
4 Then Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan the sons of Uzziel, Aaron’s uncle, and told them, “Go carry your relatives out from the front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” 5 So they went forward and carried Nadab and Abihu out by their tunics to a place outside the camp, just as Moses had ordered. 6 Moses then said to Aaron and his sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Don’t dishevel your hair and don’t rip your clothes into pieces, or you will die and bring anger upon the whole community. Your family—all of Israel’s house—will mourn the burning the Lord has done. 7 But you must not leave the meeting tent, or you will die because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did what Moses ordered.
Priestly drinking and eating
8 The Lord said to Aaron: 9 Both you and your sons must not drink wine or beer when you enter the meeting tent so that you don’t die—this is a permanent rule throughout your future generations— 10 so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and so that you can teach the Israelites all the rules that the Lord spoke to them through Moses.
12 Moses then told Aaron and his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the Lord’s food gifts and eat it unleavened next to the altar, because it is most holy. 13 You must eat it in a holy place because it is your portion and your sons’ portion from the Lord’s food gifts, as I have been commanded. 14 You must eat the breast for the uplifted offering and the thigh for the gift offering in a clean place—both you and your sons and daughters. These things are designated as your portion and your children’s portion from the Israelites’ communal sacrifices of well-being. 15 The Israelites must bring the thigh for the gift and the breast for the uplifted offering along with the food gifts of the fat pieces, to be lifted up as an uplifted offering before the Lord. These will belong to both you and your children as a permanent portion, just as the Lord has commanded.”
16 Then Moses asked about the male goat for the purification offering, and discovered that it had already been burned. He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons, and asked, 17 “Why didn’t you eat the purification offering in the holy area? It’s most holy, and it was assigned to you for bearing the community’s punishment by making reconciliation for them before the Lord. 18 Since its blood wasn’t brought into the sanctuary’s interior, you were to have eaten it in the sanctuary, just as I was commanded.”[a]
19 “Look,” Aaron said to Moses, “today they offered their purification offerings and their entirely burned offerings before the Lord, but these things still happened to me! Would the Lord have approved if I had eaten a purification offering today?” 20 When Moses heard that, he approved.[b]
Dietary rules
11:1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 Say to the Israelites: These are the creatures that you are allowed to eat from the land animals: 3 You can eat any animal that has divided hoofs, completely split, and that rechews food. 4 But of animals that rechew food and have divided hoofs you must not eat the following: the camel—though it rechews food, it does not have divided hoofs, so it is unclean for you; 5 the rock badger—though it rechews food, it does not have divided hoofs, so it is unclean for you; 6 the hare—though it rechews food, it does not have divided hoofs, so it is unclean for you; 7 the pig—though it has completely divided hoofs, it does not rechew food, so it is unclean for you. 8 You must not eat the flesh of these animals or touch their dead bodies; they are unclean for you.
9 You are allowed to eat the following from all water animals: You may eat anything in the water that has fins and scales, whether in sea or stream. 10 But anything in the seas or streams that does not have fins and scales—whether it be any of the swarming creatures in the water or any of the other living creatures in the water—is detestable to you 11 and must remain so. You must not eat their flesh, and you must detest their dead bodies. 12 Anything in the water that does not have fins or scales is detestable to you.
13 Of the birds, the following are the ones you must detest—they must not be eaten; they are detestable: the eagle, the black vulture, the bearded vulture, 14 the kite, any kind of falcon, 15 any kind of raven, 16 the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, any kind of hawk, 17 the tawny owl, the fisher owl, the screech owl, 18 the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, 19 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat.[c]
20 Any flying insect that walks on four feet is detestable to you, 21 but you can eat four-footed flying insects that have jointed legs above their feet with which they hop on the ground. 22 Of these you can eat the following: any kind of migrating locust, any kind of bald locust, any kind of cricket, and any kind of grasshopper. 23 But every other flying insect that has four feet is detestable to you.
Unclean animals
24 You make yourself unclean by the following animals—whoever touches their dead bodies will be unclean until evening, 25 and anyone who carries any part of their dead bodies must wash their clothes and will be unclean until evening: 26 All animals that have divided hoofs, but they are not completely split, and that do not rechew food are unclean for you—whoever touches them will be unclean. 27 Of all the animals that walk on four feet, the ones that walk on their paws are unclean for you—anyone who touches their dead bodies will be unclean until evening. 28 Anyone who carries one of their dead bodies must wash their clothes and will be unclean until evening; these animals are unclean for you.
29 The following are unclean for you among the small creatures that move about on the ground: the rat, the mouse, any kind of large lizard, 30 the gecko, the spotted lizard, the lizard, the skink, and the chameleon.[d] 31 Of all small moving creatures, these are unclean for you—anyone who touches them when they are dead will be unclean until evening. 32 Moreover, anything on which one of these creatures falls when it is dead will be unclean, whether it is wood, cloth, skin, or funeral clothing—any such item that can be used to do work. It must be put into water and will be unclean until evening. Then it will be clean again. 33 If any of these creatures fall into a pottery jar, everything inside it will be unclean; you must smash the pot. 34 If water from such a jar gets on any edible food, it will be unclean; any drinkable beverage in such a jar will be unclean. 35 Anything on which a part of these animals’ dead bodies might fall will be unclean. If it is an oven or stove, it must be destroyed; they are unclean for you and must remain that way. 36 Now, a spring or cistern that collects water is clean, but anyone who touches one of these animals’ dead bodies in it will be unclean.[e] 37 If any part of these animals’ dead bodies falls on seed that is to be planted, the seed is still clean. 38 But if water is poured on some seed and part of their dead bodies falls on it, it is unclean for you.
39 If one of the animals that you are allowed to eat dies naturally, anyone who touches its dead body will be unclean until evening. 40 Anyone who eats from the dead body must wash their clothes and will be unclean until evening. Anyone who carries such a dead body must wash their clothes and will be unclean until evening.
41 Every creature that swarms on the earth is detestable; it must not be eaten. 42 Among all such creatures that swarm on the earth, you must not eat anything that moves on its belly or anything that walks on four or more feet because they are detestable. 43 Do not make yourselves detestable by means of any swarming creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean with them or be made unclean by them. 44 I am the Lord your God. You must keep yourselves holy and be holy, because I am holy. You must not make yourselves unclean by any swarming creature that crawls on the ground. 45 I am the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God. You must be holy, because I am holy.
Conclusion concerning animals and diet
46 This concludes the Instruction concerning animals, birds, all creatures that live in water, and all the creatures that swarm on the earth, 47 in order to distinguish between the unclean and the clean and between creatures that can be eaten and those that cannot.
Purification after childbirth
12: The Lord said to Moses: 2 Say to the Israelites: If a woman conceives a child and gives birth to a son, she will be unclean for seven days—just as she is during her menstrual period. 3 On the eighth day, the flesh of the boy’s foreskin must be circumcised. 4 For thirty-three days the mother will be in a state of blood purification. She must not touch anything holy or enter the sacred area until her time of purification is completed. 5 But if the woman gives birth to a daughter, she will be unclean for two weeks—just as she is during her menstrual period—and will be in a state of blood purification[f] for sixty-six days.
6 When the time of purification is complete, whether for a son or a daughter, the mother must bring a one-year-old lamb as an entirely burned offering and a pigeon or turtledove as a purification offering to the priest at the meeting tent’s entrance. 7 The priest will present it before the Lord and make reconciliation for her. She will then be cleansed from her blood flow. This is the Instruction for any woman who has a child, male or female. 8 But if the mother cannot afford a sheep, she can bring two turtledoves or two pigeons—one for the entirely burned offering and the other for the purification offering. The priest will then make reconciliation for her, and she will be clean.[Footnotes:
Leviticus 10:18 Syr, Tg, Vulg; MT as I commanded; cf 8:31
Leviticus 10:20 Or he was satisfied.
Leviticus 11:19 Many of the species in 11:13-19 cannot be identified with certainty.
Leviticus 11:30 Many of the species in 11:29-30 cannot be identified with certainty.
Leviticus 11:36 Heb lacks in it.
Leviticus 12:5 Heb uncertain]
Acts 16: Paul adds Timothy
1 Paul reached Derbe, and then Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy. He was the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father. 2 The brothers and sisters in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take Timothy with him, so he circumcised him. This was because of the Jews who lived in those areas, for they all knew Timothy’s father was Greek. 4 As Paul and his companions traveled through the cities, they instructed Gentile believers to keep the regulations put in place by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and every day their numbers flourished.
Vision of the Macedonian
6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the regions of Phrygia and Galatia because the Holy Spirit kept them from speaking the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they approached the province of Mysia, they tried to enter the province of Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them. 8 Passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas instead. 9 A vision of a man from Macedonia came to Paul during the night. He stood urging Paul, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 Immediately after he saw the vision, we prepared to leave for the province of Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
Lydia’s conversion
11 We sailed from Troas straight for Samothrace and came to Neapolis the following day. 12 From there we went to Philippi, a city of Macedonia’s first district and a Roman colony. We stayed in that city several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the riverbank, where we thought there might be a place for prayer. We sat down and began to talk with the women who had gathered. 14 One of those women was Lydia, a Gentile God-worshipper from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple cloth. As she listened, the Lord enabled her to embrace Paul’s message. 15 Once she and her household were baptized, she urged, “Now that you have decided that I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded us.
Paul and Silas in prison
16 One day, when we were on the way to the place for prayer, we met a slave woman. She had a spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She made a lot of money for her owners through fortune-telling. 17 She began following Paul and us, shouting, “These people are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming a way of salvation to you!” 18 She did this for many days.
This annoyed Paul so much that he finally turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave her!” It left her at that very moment.
19 Her owners realized that their hope for making money was gone. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the officials in the city center. 20 When her owners approached the legal authorities, they said, “These people are causing an uproar in our city. They are Jews 21 who promote customs that we Romans can’t accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in the attacks against Paul and Silas, so the authorities ordered that they be stripped of their clothes and beaten with a rod. 23 When Paul and Silas had been severely beaten, the authorities threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to secure them with great care. 24 When he received these instructions, he threw them into the innermost cell and secured their feet in stocks.
25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 All at once there was such a violent earthquake that it shook the prison’s foundations. The doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 When the jailer awoke and saw the open doors of the prison, he thought the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted loudly, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”
29 The jailer called for some lights, rushed in, and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He led them outside and asked, “Honorable masters, what must I do to be rescued?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your entire household.” 32 They spoke the Lord’s word to him and everyone else in his house. 33 Right then, in the middle of the night, the jailer welcomed them and washed their wounds. He and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his home and gave them a meal. He was overjoyed because he and everyone in his household had come to believe in God.
35 The next morning the legal authorities sent the police to the jailer with the order “Release those people.”
36 So the jailer reported this to Paul, informing him, “The authorities sent word that you both are to be released. You can leave now. Go in peace.”
37 Paul told the police, “Even though we are Roman citizens, they beat us publicly without first finding us guilty of a crime, and they threw us into prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? No way! They themselves will have to come and escort us out.” 38 The police reported this to the legal authorities, who were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 They came and consoled Paul and Silas, escorting them out of prison and begging them to leave the city.
40 Paul and Silas left the prison and made their way to Lydia’s house where they encouraged the brothers and sisters. Then they left Philippi.
Follow Pastor Greg
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, California 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1-800-821-3300A
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