Obedience!

For Saturday, March 22, 2025:

Leviticus 26:1a, 2 NLT: The Lord said to Moses, “Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.”

If you had wood from a tree trunk or stone from the ground, it’s pretty obvious that those things aren’t any kind of God. Yet ancient people would carve the wood or sculpt the stone and proceed to worship the resulting man-made image. God admits that he hosts a bit of jealousy, saying, “You shall have no other gods before me,” – especially man-made pretend gods!

It’s not that hard to get along with God Almighty. First, make the real God #1 in your life. And #2, just be nice. Get along with people. Cut out the gossip. Love your neighbor as yourself. That’s what Jesus said to do.

Because we’re humans with free choice, some will choose to follow the Lord and some will not. For the disobedient ones, there are consequences. God’s punishment will fall on the unbelievers. Diseases, failed crops and losses in battle may befall those no longer protected by God’s hand. In other words, Satan will have a field day when God steps back from protecting his people.

The punishments described in Leviticus ch. 26 get progressively worse. The more you disobey God, the worse the punishment becomes. That’s fair; the punishment should fit the crime. Continued disobedience results in increased punishment. The solution of course is to repent and return.

In spite of the Israelites’ disobedience, God says He will still remember the Covenant made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These are his people and He is their God, and that will never change!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship