Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Daily Encouragement: Laws for Life


This week we're going to look at a couple of chapters in the book of Leviticus. Now, before you go and decide to click back over to your Facebook page, bear with me because there are some really clear instructions on living a godly life included in this book and it's not all rules about how to slaughter a sacrifice or being "clean" or "unclean."

I was recently asked about what the Bible says regarding homosexuality, and I know many Christians are confused about this issue because our society is encouraging this kind of lifestyle everywhere you turn. Our children are growing up inundated with the idea this this is normal and must be accepted, and yes, the people themselves should be accepted and loved, but the lifestyle....well, here's some instruction on that and a few other issues of sexuality directly from God's word:


"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Say this to your people, the Israelites: I the Lord, am your God. So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. You must obey all my regulations and be careful to keep my laws, for I the Lord, am your God. If you obey my laws and regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

You must never have sexual intercourse with a close relative, for I am the Lord. Do not violate your father by having sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your mother; you must never have intercourse with her. Do not have sexual intercourse with any of your father's wives, or this would violate your father.

Do not have sexual intercourse with your sister or half sister, whether she is your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she was brought up in the same family or somewhere else.

Do not have sexual intercourse with your granddaughter, whether your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter; that would violate you. Do not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of any of your father's wives; she is your half sister. Do not have intercourse with your aunt, your father's sister, because she is your father's close relative. Do not have sexual intercourse with your aunt, your mother's sister, because she is your mother's close relative. And do not violate your uncle, your father's brother, by having sexual intercourse with his wife; she is also your aunt. Do not have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife. Do not have intercourse with your brother's wife; this would violate your brother.


Do not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter or marry both a woman and her granddaughter, whether her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter. They are close relatives, and to do this would be a horrible wickedness.


Do not marry a woman and her sister because they will be rivals. But if your wife dies, then it is all right to marry her sister.


Do not violate a woman by having sexual intercourse with her during her period of menstrual impurity.

Do not defile yourself by having sexual intercourse with your neighbor's wife.


Do not give any of your children as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.


Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin.


A man must never defile himself by having sexual intercourse with an animal and a woman must never present herself to a male animal in order to have intercourse with it; this is a terrible perversion.


Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the people I am expelling from the Promised Land have defiled themselves. As a result, the entire land has become defiled. That is why I am punishing the people who live there, and the land will soon vomit them out. You must strictly obey all of my laws and regulations, and you must not do any of these detestable things. This applies both to you who are Israelites by birth and to the foreigners living among you."

(Leviticus 18:1-26)

Today, I encourage you to "be careful to keep [His] laws....If you obey [His] laws and regulations, you will find life through them."

by Wendie Beddingfield

picture by Billy Alexander

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