12
Medium
Jeff WeinkaufLeviticus 18
1,And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. 3 You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes.4 You shall follow my rules[a] and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
It's easy to just kind of do it your "own way" isn't it?
To go along and to act not as bad as the really bad people, but also not to seek the kind of holiness we would associate with God. We pick the middle setting. Not the most expensive or the least expensive, the middle choice. A kinder and gentler christian. Not exactly immoral, but still fun at a party.
In Revelation 3:16, Jesus had some words about making medium our choice. He calls it lukewarm, but that's another devo.
Today the focus is on God's clear directions to His people. He starts off by saying to Moses "speak to the people...and say...I am the Lord your God.". Yes! The authority of God almighty is behind this next instruction. Take note. It's not a suggestion, it is a directive. Don't do what the folks are doing where you came from (Egypt) and don't do what the folks are doing where I'm sending you (Canaan). You are bracketed by people doing life in a self destructive way. Don't do that. Do life how I direct, and live. God leaves not room for medium, "you shall follow my rules and keep my statutes.".
It is important that I am clear about what God is directing and expecting of me. It's not profitable for me to just ride the middle and try to differentiate myself by not being as bad as the bad people. Even when the "statutes" of Egypt allow for certain things, they may still run afoul of what God's best is. i.e. just because it's "legal" does not mean it's profitable for me as a follower of God. Where God directs, my choice must be to follow and walk in His statutes. By doing so, He promises us life.
God, I must confess that I try to blend too many things together to form my version of life. I'm afraid I pick "medium" too often. Please help me to hear your voice clearly and to do as you direct. Amen.
