“And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even” (Numbers 19:19).

We can not be part-time Christians. We are all in full-time Christian service, or we should be. A man who is faithful to his wife most of the time is not faithful at all. A man who is a Christian and something else is not a Christian in deed.

Have you noticed that birds do not sing because they have an answer, they sing because they have a song. When sin has touched us we are deadened and saddened. Yet God has made a way for us to be cleansed from all defilement.

God has given you the power of the third day for continual cleansing and joyful singing. Wash yourselves in the ongoing work of the cross of Christ. Out of His wounded side flows the blood and the water. Confess and turn back to your God today for the song He gives.

“He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean” (Numbers 19:12).

When you and I feel overwhelmed with fear, guilt, or weariness, picture yourself at the foot of the cross, with your arms wrapped around it, hanging on as tight as you can. You will be covered by the blood and God will protect you.

God desires His people to be holy and separated from sin. To touch the dead things of the world is to contaminate ourselves and those around us. God has given us the solution in the cross of Christ. There we find life…His life in us, alive and well.

Someone has penned these words:

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place; I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face; Content to let the world go by, to know no gain nor loss. My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

Reigning in Grace

“And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be accepted” (Leviticus 19:7).

The peace offering was to be a offering of voluntary measures. It was not forced upon the people of Israel to offer. But if it were not offered, or offered with a heart that was cold and indifferent, the worship of the people was not acceptable in the sight of God.

The offering was to be celebrated together in appreciation of God’s grace through the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, and the peace offerings. They each represented facets of the love of God expressed by sacrificial giving.

You and I should study these offerings and learn the value and virtues of the sacrifice of Christ for each sinner. The more we dive into the Old Testament the more we will understand the New Testament cross of Calvary.

When you and I try to worship or serve God in our flesh we fail to appreciate and have true communion with God and other worshippers. In the sight of the Lord it is an abominable thing to sit in a worship service and be out of contact with Him. That worship, either in a Sunday gathering or a Lord’s supper celebration, is not accepted by Him.

Why do so many stay at home while God has called us to gather? Why is there seemingly dullness and boredom in church? We have forgotten the power of the third day. God says that every day is to be a day of communion and when we forget and fail to remember we fail to reign in grace by One who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Peace Offering

“It shall be eaten the same day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire” (Leviticus 19:6).

God desires and commands a freshness about our lives. There is to be an aroma of holiness that is fitting of Christ.  A freshness and newness of life will result when we desire Christ above all.  

It is an odious thing to be stale and contaminated by sin. Because we have peace with God we ought to strive to rest in the peace of God that speaks volumes of a life endued  with power from on High.

Anything that is a stench in our lives ought to be confessed and burned by the consuming fire of God. An awareness and attitude of holiness should be the prevailing function of the Spirit of God allowed to dwell habitually in our temples.

The power of the third day is that we can confess our need and our sins before a holy God and He hears that cry. God has promised peace not only by our justification through the cross of Christ,  but also our “peacefulness” by His life freely dwelling within us.

Only What’s Done for Christ Will Last

“And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity” (Leviticus 7:16).

God commanded the people of Israel not to eat of the flesh of the sacrifice after three days. For if the offering is given to God it will not be accepted. The Bible tells us that it is “an abomination.” For whosoever eats of the sacrifice on the third day will bear his own perverseness in penalty.

When you and I are not enjoying the presence of Christ daily then we begin to stale-out and contaminate those around us. Our families are affected, our coworkers are contaminated, and all around us are brought down lower than where they were before.

The church suffers and the glory of Christ becomes a non-reality in the life. What an abomination before God and among others. God brought us out of the bondage of sin, given us newness of life, and supplies us the opportunity for nobility of life.

The sacrifice of the peace offering was meant for identification with Christ and with others. It was a meal shared together as well. He has become our peace and since we have the peace of God then we are to be at peace with one another. But the person who is compromised, the person who is play-acting, the one who is not in God’s Word failing to read, study, and feed off of Christ, will fail others and will fail to glorify God in the only life they have to offer to God.