Brian Miller Group Blog

Judges 21:25  “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”

In the Book of Judges, the good works of our holy God during the time of Joshua were forgotten. The Israelites disobeyed and committed idolatry.  Their sins led to many failures. In God's eternal love and faithfulness, the Israelites were never forsaken as long as they repented for their evil. God always kept his promise to Abraham to protect and bless his children.

God did allow the Israelites to suffer the consequences of their idolatrous  behavior. The people of God would cry out to Him for help. The Judges (Such as Samson), as selected by God, lead those who repented in righteous living although many often turned back to idolatry over and over. God remained faithful to them for almost 500 years. 

God’s compassion despite their sin was a foreshadow of  Jesus on the cross. Christ died to save His people-the believers. 

1 Corinthians 1:8-9  “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”

In Deuteronomy 3:21 Moses shares his final word as directed by our Holy Father on the future leadership of the Israelites as they approach their Promised Land . Moses encouraged his leading general, Joshua.  The young leader was reminded (similar to how the Book of Deuteronomy reminds us today) how God fights for his children. The Lord was also going ahead of them to fight and secure their destiny. “‘Do not fear them (the enemy), for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you.’” (Deuteronomy 3:22). Joshua and each of us are to always live by faith rather than fear.

The Book of Deuteronomy demonstrates how God has shared in our past struggles and ultimate victories reminding us of his great strength. Just as the aged Moses was ordered to yield his increasingly feeble authority to the younger Joshua, we must humble ourselves before our Holy Father and give our battles to Him who endures through the ages.

1 Peter 5:6-7   "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
 -Amen

Holy is the Lord Our God. Holiness is a diffficult characteristic to grasp and appreciate. It is not just one perfect characteristic, but the whole of both purity and perfection. Frankly, it cannot be wholly achieved by any mortal without faith in the supernatural grace of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

I have read Leviticus twice. The first time in futile detail. The second time in graceful depth. Some time ago, there were pictures that were quite popular to observe. When you looked at them closely at face value, they looked liked meaningless patterns...But if you stepped back and looked at the picture wholly, you could see an image appear. Sometimes, it took great effort to see the image and sometimes, it never came through- no matter how hard you tried... The Book of Leviticus is similar. There are a myriad of complex patterns of behavior and rituals outlined for rules, repentance, and sacrifice that even the most knowledgeable priest would have a difficult time following to remain holy before God in in the tabernacle. In fact, some priests did fail to follow the correct procedure despite their best intentions and lost their lives for it.

As Christians, we are obligated to be holy, for God says in LEVITICUS 19,  “You shall be Holy, for I the Lord your God am Holy.” We must obey God, sacrifice for God, live by the ten commandments of God daily, and most importantly- as Christ taught- Love others as you love yourself. To truly love another as yourself, you really need to understand God's holiness. You need to be compassionate- not simply pity or "feel the pains" of others. You must act in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control among others.

In the hard times as we live in now, Timothy warned us that many will appear as religious on the outside, but be unholy and without the power of God within.  We must cleave more tightly than ever to God- lest we be deceived by the unholy ones...

Jesus said in MARK 12:33,   "Love the Holy Father with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  The Holiness of Jesus guides us through the Labrynthe of Leviticus on His Amazing Grace. Thank God that He is so compassionate to send His One and Only Son as the Sacrifice that pays the debts of sin Wholly for all who seek Him. -Amen.           

In the beginning (EXODUS 16-17) of Israel's history, the Holy Father shared his love and care for His People by providing food for them as they sojourned toward their Promised Land. God wanted them to remember his supernatural provisions of manna (bread), water, and quail (meat) to place His Holy Mark of Love, Trustworthines, and Nearness of Him alone. Israel followed His Will by establishing Holy Rituals for daily meals and special festive meals to renew the Covenants (agreements) God had set between Him and Israel. Preparing meals were part of the anticipation that God would be in their midst as manifested in Goodness, Promises, and Protection. Ultimately, table fellowship was the first pattern set for Jesus' last supper, his crucifixion, resurrection, return, and feast in Heaven among the saints forever.  

Jesus also carried out some of His best Ministerial Work at the dinner table. Water was turned to wine. A tax collector changed his ways. A Master became a Servant.

According to Paul in ACTS 2, the early Church assembled regularly at each others' homes to "break bread" both in wholesome food and words of the Spirit to build up Joy within the Hearts of the Believers. 

By sharing a meal with those in the body of Christ, together we experience Christ supernaturally in the past, present, and future. We proclaim our mutual hope and trust that we will share our eternal meal in the Kingdom of Heaven with Jesus- Amen.       

The Pharisee and Tax Collector

 ⁹ Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: ¹⁰ “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer^k]">[k]: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! ¹² I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’

 ¹³ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

I remember someone explaining to me how someone as "good" as a preacher could stand nearer to God based upon his Holy Goodness compared to a common criminal...

Although the preacher would be standing minutely closer to God, both the preacher and the common criminal would still be standing light years of distance away from God in his Holiness. Despite our works and lot in this life, the only true closeness we have with God is through the pure righteousness of Jesus Christ who suffered on the cross above Calvary. 

When we kneel in prayer to God and we repent of our sins in Jesus' name, we accept our flaws in this world of flesh and cover ourselves only in the righteousness of Jesus. Not only is it humble, but it allows us by Christ's authority, to be spiritually exalted in this world and under God, the Holy Father.

This is so much greater than any vain attempt to see ourselves as "number one," to receive a presidential medal, or a Nobel Peace Prize. The miraculous power granted through the authority of Jesus in this world stands eternal- not a term nor a lifetime. Amen.