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To all our devotion readers,

May I ask a favor to spend your devotion time in prayer for our Easter outreach ministry, Easter Eggstravaganza happening tomorrow, March 23?  Last year we had over 900 people and this year we are planning for over 1000, including 600 kids.  While the event is a bridge building event to connect our community to our ministry, we are fervently praying that the Lord would use the event to bring further Gospel ministry opportunities to our congregation and the expansion of the kingdom.  We also have been blessed with dedicated volunteers from our small congregation, kids from the local high school and four college students from our WELS college ministry at the University of Eau Claire in Wisconsin.  Together we are serving to bring this event to our community.

So will you pray with us?

• Ask the Lord for his Spirit to work conversations and connections at the event for the advancement of the Gospel in the hearts of people.
• Ask the Lord to move individuals to seek deeper connection with him through the Gospel ministry of Crosspoint.
• Protect all participants from any harm or danger.
• Give strength and health to all who are volunteering.
• Curtail any evil or anyone wishing evil at or on the event.
• That people would find more than eggs, but find a connection to their Savior.
• That the hundreds of invitations to Easter would be received and individuals attend worship on Easter Sunday.
• Gratitude for the many dollars that have been contributed
• Gratefulness for dedicated volunteers and willingness to serve.
• Thankfulness for our four mission team members from Wisconsin who came to serve the Lord on their spring break.
• Ask the Lord to bless the event as he sees fit…opening doors he wants open and closing the ones he wants closed.
• Any other prayer the Lord prompts you to pray!

Lord, thank you for all your faithful people who are praying today.  Hear their prayers as ones redeemed by Christ and purified by your Spirit.  We anticipate your blessing in many ways, ones maybe we expect and ones we didn’t.  For each, we are grateful! AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Scapegoat!  (WATCH HERE)

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Remember Monday’s reflection on Leviticus?

God is perfect…we are not…yet God wants us to be.

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

It’s easy to think that God can’t be serious and want us to be holy.  Afterall, we are human. How can we be holy.  It’s easy to think that all God is encouraging is our best effort to live as good as we can.  It’s easy to think…rationale that God doesn’t say.

The standard is not removed.  The Lord wants us to be perfect and to live as perfect people.

Might as well give up, right?

Sure, if it was left up to our own effort.  But remember the power of Jesus as our Scapegoat.

Our sin is placed on him and he removes our sin from us…forever.

Last time I checked is that a person without sin is holy.  So if sin is transferred to Jesus and removed by Jesus, I am left without sin and therefore as holy.

The Apostle Paul affirms this line of thinking in 2 Corinthians 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

The moral perfection that God demanded is GIVEN to us by Jesus Christ.  How can he do this? Because he was perfect he is able completely remove our sin and call us holy.

But holy is not just moral perfection or the lack of sin.  “Holy” is also the reality of living a life that is reflective of the Lord and separate from the world of sin.  Jesus said it this way, “John 17:13 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. 

The word “sanctify” is really the same as “make holy.”  These words carry the idea of being “set apart.” So the Lord wants us live as HIS children which is different than the world around us.  The tool?  The Word of God.  

When you think about it, what guides us in our ability to live “separate and holy lives.”?  The Word of God.  When we are guided by the Word of God, our lives and voices and thoughts will be different.  We will take our direction from the truth of God’s word, not the popular opinion of the people.  We will not seek to blend in and be like the world around us, but rather we will experience the joy of being in the world but living for the Lord.  The Apostle Peter put it this way:

1 Peter 2:9-12 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.  

With Jesus as our Scapegoat, we can very much be holy because of the perfection Jesus gave to us and the power that the Spirit gives to live for him.

 

Apply: What makes it difficult for you to live as holy, set apart, distinct in the world around us?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift of holiness.  Enable me by the power of your Spirit to live as one who is holy, set apart for you!  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Scapegoat!  (WATCH HERE)

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Leviticus 16:22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.  

The scapegoat would not make it back to the camp.  The sins of the people had been transferred and the goat was led out into the desert to die…never to return and thus the sins of the people were never to return.

The picture was very clear, but was the impact?

I can’t speak for the nation of Israel at the time of Moses and the celebration of the Day of Atonement, but I can speak for myself and maybe you can relate.

Sin can be like a boomerang instead of a scapegoat.

There are things from the past that you know in your head that Jesus has taken away and forgiven, but Satan loves to bring them back to your mind and torment you once again with the guilt they carry.  We can say, “Jesus takes my sin away” but inside feel like the sin is still very present and Jesus forgot that particular sin and left it with us.  We can maybe even visualize our sin being transferred to Jesus as our scapegoat and watch him carry our sin away, only to run after the goat and grab onto the sin and not let go of it.

It’s hard to release sin and the guilt it causes.  It becomes all too comfortable or common.

That’s why we need Jesus as our Scapegoat.

The symbolism of the scapegoat was to remind the people that the sin that had been transferred to it was removed forever.  The person in charge of leading the scapegoat out to the wilderness was tasked with one thing.  Remove the goat from the camp and thus every sin attached to it and MAKE SURE it does not wander back to the camp alive and thus bring the sin and guilt of the people back to them.

Jesus made sure that our sin was removed and would never come back.  He left no doubt that sin was paid for when he died on the cross.  He made sure the work was complete by the resurrection from the dead.

Because of Jesus, sin is not coming back.  Once transferred to Jesus, Satan can trick us to believe that Jesus forgot to take away a sin or two, but the promise could not be clearer.  Here’s how the Psalmist stated it in Psalm 103:9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;  10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 

Because of Jesus, our sin does not boomerang back.  When it’s placed on him, he removes it forever.  It’s not coming back!

 

Apply: What sin do you keep giving to Jesus, but then like to take back?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for taking my sin and removing it for good.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Scapegoat!  (WATCH HERE)

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Leviticus 16:21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. 

A scapegoat by definition is one who is made to bear the blame of others.  The word is used regularly in our English language and we ourselves have probably experienced a scapegoat or been one ourselves.  Whenever someone is blamed for something they didn’t do and treated as the guilty one even though they are not, they are a scapegoat.  A scapegoat can be the kid in class that gets blamed and punished for the unruly behavior of others in the class.  A scapegoat can be the person who gets fired for the failure of the whole team.  Situations come up that from the outside looking in, someone needs to get punished, but no one knows who and so someone is picked and treated as the guilty one.

If this has happened to you, it stinks to be the scapegoat.

Yet we can find it very easy to want a scapegoat or make something or someone else the scapegoat for us.  Every time we blame someone or something else for wrong we do, we are really trying to find a legitimate scapegoat.  

We are uncomfortable with sin and the guilt it creates.  We want to get rid of it because we don’t want to deal with it or feel it.  So what is our answer?  We blame someone.

This tactic really started in the Garden of Eden when God approached Adam for eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Adam responded, (Genesis 3:12) “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Adam didn’t want to admit he was at fault too.  He was looking for somewhere to transfer his guilt and appropriately blame for his sinful behavior.  Eve was no different.  When God approached her, she said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” In other words, “the devil made me do it.”

Taking personal responsibility for our sins is so hard.  The natural response is to blame Satan or blame someone else.  I suppose one could minimize the seriousness of their sin also, but the goal is to get rid of the sin and the guilt it creates.

So do these tactics work?  Does it work to blame someone else and claim to be the victim of someone else’s behavior?  Perhaps for a very short time, but the reality nags at your heart because deep inside, you know that blaming someone else doesn’t really get rid of the issue.

That’s where Jesus as our Scapegoat comes in.

In fact, we don’t have to sneak our sins onto Jesus or forcefully put them on him, the Lord himself lays on him the sins of us all.  The Lord himself is willing to take our sins and transfer them to Jesus.  

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” 

The impact of this is profound.  When we blame someone else, we know we still did something wrong.  When we minimize sin, we know we are fooling ourselves.  When we blame the devil, we know it really is our fault.  However, when our sin is placed on Jesus, guilt is gone.  The sin is not coming back because it is fully given over to Jesus to pay for.  Our blaming is a pseudo transfer.  We just think the sin is gone, but it really isn’t.  When the Lord lays our sin on Jesus, it is gone from us onto him.

So forget the blame games and pseudo solutions for guilt.  The only place where sin can be placed for a true solution is on our scapegoat, Jesus Christ.

 

Apply: What sin have you blamed someone else for and never really owned or confessed.  Stop blaming someone else and place it on Jesus and let him carry it away!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your grace that takes our sin and lays them on Jesus.  Jesus thank you for being willing to be my Scapegoat and take the blame and punishment for my sins.  AMEN.

This week’s devotions are based on this week’s message: Shadows: A Glimpse of a Scapegoat!  (WATCH HERE)

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This past January, I hosted our area pastors for our monthly study club.  The topic was a look at Leviticus.  Perhaps like many, when the book of Leviticus is mentioned as a point of study, it initially wasn’t one that made me super excited.  If you have ever spent time in the book of Leviticus, it is a tough slug to sort through the different festivals, sacrifices that were to be made and the rationale for the various sacrifices.  To be honest, I just haven’t spent a lot of time in the book.  But, as we know, every part of God’s word is useful to us…so it is with Leviticus.  

By time we were done listening to the presentation on Leviticus, I realized there are treasures of truth that are there to be mined and enjoyed.  As he always does, God has a purpose in doing what does and saying what he does.  

Perhaps I’d summarize my take-aways in this way.  First God is holy.  He is perfect, powerful and set apart.  Second, sin is serious.  Sin separates us from God and from each other.  Sin breaks our relationship with God and with sin as a reality, we are unable to stand in the presence of God.  Third, God provides a way to restore what is broken.  Many of the sacrifices were given as a mechanism to restore what was broken, either between individuals or between God and individuals. And fourth, God desires his people to live holy lives, separate and distinct from the rest of the world.

So why do I say this? We are not embarking on a study of Leviticus, although maybe we should, but we are looking this week at the shadow of Jesus pictured as a scapegoat which is found in Leviticus chapter 16 as part of the ritual for the Day of Atonement.  This once-a-year celebration was a cornerstone of all God was doing for his people in their worship life.  It highlighted his holiness, it reminded of the seriousness of sin, it provided a solution for sin and a reason to rejoice and live as a holy child of God.

As the Lord wrapped up his description of all the events of the Day of Atonement, he said this:

Leviticus 16:29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work—whether native-born or an alien living among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a sabbath of rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people of the community. 

34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” 

Really the whole day and all the rituals involved were glimpses of Jesus and what he would do to atone for the sins of the world, once for all.

Hebrews 9:11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! 

 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for providing all things so I might stand as holy in your presence.  AMEN.