DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY FEBRUARY 6:
WORD OF WISDOM
. I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid, but he says he can stop
any time.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Trust in Completion
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of
mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel
from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he
which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ:"
Philippians 1:3-6
Noted portrait artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff had already painted some of the
most famous figures in the business, political, and social realms when she
was asked to do a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. She visited
the president at his "Little White House" in Warm Springs, Georgia.
Roosevelt went there often to soak in the warm natural springs for relief
from the pain of his crippling polio. Shoumatoff began her work on April 12,
1945, but during their first session, Roosevelt complained of a headache. He
died later that day from a massive cerebral hemorrhage. The famous
"Unfinished Portrait" still hangs in the building where it was started, but
never completed.
God has promised to do a work in our lives that begins at salvation, and
continues for as long as we live. We need have no fear of that work not
being done, for it is not our work, but His. "Looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus not only began the work of our
salvation, but He has promised to complete it as well. The victorious
declaration on the cross, "It is finished," is a cry of faith. The results
have not yet been fully revealed, but our future is already sure and
certain. There is no question about the end result of God's plan for us.
We can trust God to do all that He has promised to conform our lives to be
more like His Son Jesus.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Leviticus 22-24New King James Version (NKJV)
22 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to Aaron and his sons,
that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of
Israel, and that they do not profane My holy name by what they dedicate to
Me: I am the Lord. 3 Say to them: 'Whoever of all your descendants
throughout your generations, who goes near the holy things which the
children of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has uncleanness upon him,
that person shall be cut off from My presence: I am the Lord.
4 'Whatever man of the descendants of Aaron, who is a leper or has a
discharge, shall not eat the holy offerings until he is clean. And whoever
touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or a man who has had an emission
of semen, 5 or whoever touches any creeping thing by which he would be made
unclean, or any person by whom he would become unclean, whatever his
uncleanness may be- 6 the person who has touched any such thing shall be
unclean until evening, and shall not eat the holy offerings unless he washes
his body with water. 7 And when the sun goes down he shall be clean; and
afterward he may eat the holy offerings, because it is his food. 8 Whatever
dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with
it: I am the Lord.
9 'They shall therefore keep My ordinance, lest they bear sin for it and die
thereby, if they profane it: I the Lord sanctify them.
10 'No outsider shall eat the holy offering; one who dwells with the priest,
or a hired servant, shall not eat the holy thing. 11 But if the priest buys
a person with his money, he may eat it; and one who is born in his house may
eat his food. 12 If the priest's daughter is married to an outsider, she
may not eat of the holy offerings. 13 But if the priest's daughter is a
widow or divorced, and has no child, and has returned to her father's house
as in her youth, she may eat her father's food; but no outsider shall eat
it.
14 'And if a man eats the holy offering unintentionally, then he shall
restore a holy offering to the priest, and add one-fifth to it. 15 They
shall not profane the holy offerings of the children of Israel, which they
offer to the Lord, 16 or allow them to bear the guilt of trespass when they
eat their holy offerings; for I the Lord sanctify them.'"
Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted
17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 "Speak to Aaron and his sons,
and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: 'Whatever man of the
house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, who offers his sacrifice for
any of his vows or for any of his freewill offerings, which they offer to
the Lord as a burnt offering- 19 you shall offer of your own free will a
male without blemish from the cattle, from the sheep, or from the goats. 20
Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable
on your behalf. 21 And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to
the Lord, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering from the cattle or the
sheep, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.
22 Those that are blind or broken or maimed, or have an ulcer or eczema or
scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them
on the altar to the Lord. 23 Either a bull or a lamb that has any limb too
long or too short you may offer as a freewill offering, but for a vow it
shall not be accepted.
24 'You shall not offer to the Lord what is bruised or crushed, or torn or
cut; nor shall you make any offering of them in your land. 25 Nor from a
foreigner's hand shall you offer any of these as the bread of your God,
because their corruption is in them, and defects are in them. They shall not
be accepted on your behalf.'"
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 "When a bull or a sheep or a
goat is born, it shall be seven days with its mother; and from the eighth
day and thereafter it shall be accepted as an offering made by fire to the
Lord. 28 Whether it is a cow or ewe, do not kill both her and her young on
the same day. 29 And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the
Lord, offer it of your own free will. 30 On the same day it shall be eaten;
you shall leave none of it until morning: I am the Lord.
31 "Therefore you shall keep My commandments, and perform them: I am the
Lord. 32 You shall not profane My holy name, but I will be hallowed among
the children of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought
you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord."
Feasts of the Lord
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel,
and say to them: 'The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be
holy convocations, these are My feasts.
The Sabbath
3 'Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn
rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of
the Lord in all your dwellings.
The Passover and Unleavened Bread
4 'These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall
proclaim at their appointed times. 5 On the fourteenth day of the first
month at twilight is the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the
same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must
eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation;
you shall do no customary work on it. 8 But you shall offer an offering
made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy
convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.'"
The Feast of Firstfruits
9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 "Speak to the children of Israel,
and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap
its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest
to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted
on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12
And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the
first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 Its grain
offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an
offering made by fire to the Lord, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering
shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 You shall eat neither bread nor
parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an
offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your
generations in all your dwellings.
The Feast of Weeks
15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from
the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths
shall be completed. 16 Count fifty days to the day after the seventh
Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 You
shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah.
They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the
firstfruits to the Lord. 18 And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs
of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall
be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their
drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 19
Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two
male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 20 The
priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering
before the Lord, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the Lord for the
priest. 21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy
convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a
statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22 'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the
corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from
your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am
the Lord your God.'"
The Feast of Trumpets
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 "Speak to the children of
Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you
shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy
convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer
an offering made by fire to the Lord.'"
The Day of Atonement
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 "Also the tenth day of this
seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation
for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to
the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day
of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For
any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off
from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that
person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of
work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your
dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall
afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening
to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath."
The Feast of Tabernacles
33 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 "Speak to the children of
Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast
of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day there shall
be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven
days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day
you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by
fire to the Lord. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary
work on it.
37 'These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy
convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt
offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything
on its day- 38 besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts,
besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you
give to the Lord.
39 'Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered
in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven
days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day
a sabbath-rest. 40 And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the
fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees,
and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for
seven days. 41 You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in
the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall
celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven
days. All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your
generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when
I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.'"
44 So Moses declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.
Care of the Tabernacle Lamps
24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Command the children of Israel
that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the
lamps burn continually. 3 Outside the veil of the Testimony, in the
tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until
morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever in your
generations. 4 He shall be in charge of the lamps on the pure gold
lampstand before the Lord continually.
The Bread of the Tabernacle
5 "And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it. Two-tenths
of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 You shall set them in two rows, six in
a row, on the pure gold table before the Lord. 7 And you shall put pure
frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, an
offering made by fire to the Lord. 8 Every Sabbath he shall set it in order
before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an
everlasting covenant. 9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they
shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings
of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute."
The Penalty for Blasphemy
10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out
among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman's son and a man of
Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman's son
blasphemed the name of the Lord and cursed; and so they brought him to
Moses. (His mother's name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe
of Dan.) 12 Then they put him in custody, that the mind of the Lord might
be shown to them.
13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 "Take outside the camp him who
has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let
all the congregation stone him.
15 "Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'Whoever curses
his God shall bear his sin. 16 And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord
shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone
him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes
the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.
17 'Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 Whoever kills an
animal shall make it good, animal for animal.
19 'If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall
it be done to him- 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth;
as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 And
whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be
put to death. 22 You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one
from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.'"
23 Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the
camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of
Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James VersionR. Copyright C 1982 by Thomas
Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
