November!

I'm so delighted that it is November!
To be honest, I dread Halloween.  The drama of working out costumes, the glorification of all things evil, though I would say 90% of people celebrating this day are unaware they are doing that.  And lets not forget the 30lbs of candy that sits 3 feet from me right now!  Tempted? You bet I am.  But more than that I find myself disgusted by the sight of it.  That much candy has no business being under my roof.

I've been reading through Leviticus in my Bible reading plan.  The dreaded parts of the old testament that spell out offerings and sacrifices and rules and laws that God set for His people.  I praise Him for my life post-resurrection, that I am not bound by those rules.  But I have also been praying for insight beyond the weighty repetitive nature of the passages, and one major theme has stuck with me through it all.

God protects.
So many of these laws were set to protect the Lord's chosen people from themselves, from the enemy, and from disease.  The strict dietary guidelines, when considering a time that was before refrigeration, before knowledge of bacteria and many diseases, was His way of keeping the Israelites from unneccessary illness.  The many guidelines for relationships, when considering a time when marrying within the family and heinous sexual habits were rampant, God sets His people apart, preserving family relationships, and keeping from many birth defects, diseases, and other issues.
When you read through this part of Scripture in light of how God is protecting his naive and ignorant people, knowing their propensity for sin, its not quite God putting all kinds of limitations on what you can do, but God protecting His beloved children from what they do not see and understand.

This morning as I read Leviticus 20:26 (and this verse is consistent of the previous couple of chapters) which says: "You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own."  Glance at mountain of candy.  This is what I believe the Lord is leading me to:  God has set apart His people for a purpose.  I believe that we are to intentionally and actively set the bar of standards very high.  We are to be pure, spotless, without defect.  This is an impossible task, but one that we should no relinquish our strain for.  As God was establishing His people, He made laws that would set them apart from everyone around them.  They would be so much more healthier, more disciplined, more righteous, fair, loving, and God-honoring than any other people group so that everyone would see and know that their God was THE GOD.  As means of being salt and light, I believe we should do the same.  "Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy."  Glance at mountain of candy.

So many verses are coming to mind right now,
"Consecrate yourselves, before the Lord"
"Honor the Lord with your body"
"I beat my body and make it my slave..."

Glance at mountain of candy.  To refine our diets within my household not for the purpose of weightloss or any other reason, but of supreme health and out of direct obedience to the Lord knowing "You are not your own, you were bought with a price..." that seems to be the direction the Lord has been leading me now for weeks and now I see the greatest purpose for it: Him.