Jesus the Perfect Mediator

Daily Devotional Bible Verse: Leviticus 10:1-3

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ”And Aaron held his peace.

Words of Ministry

Nadab and Abihu went into the Holy of Holies, the most holy place, a thing only to be done by Aaron, their father. God had rules for purification and for coming before Him and offering sacrifices. 

Unfortunately for Nadab and Abihu, their unauthorized fire as they came before God was punishable by death.

 Fortunately for us, we don’t have to go through any of this anymore when coming before our God. We have a person who took our place before God, His name is Jesus. Because of His substitutionary death on the cross we are now sinless in the eyes of God (Colossians 1:22).

We are no longer enemies of God, but friends on account of Jesus (Romans 5:10). We can now enter the Holy Places with confidence and not be fearful of death (Hebrews 10:19).

We tend to take much of this for granted. Next time you come before God in prayer or worship think of Jesus and His work on the cross to allow you to enter it with confidence.

Do you come before God with confidence?

The Value of Obedience

Today’s Text: Proverbs 2:1-6

My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.

Words of Ministry 

Despite Peter's vast fishing experience, he returned from a night's work with nothing to show for his efforts. It's quite possible that the Lord's request to let the nets down one more time struck him as unreasonable—after all, Peter and his partners were the professionals. Nevertheless, the fisherman complied, and his obedience blessed many. 

Scripture demonstrates that divine plans often defy human logic. For instance, who would design a battle strategy that involved only marching and shouting? God told Joshua to conquer Jericho that way, and doing so proved successful (Josh. 6:1-5). 

Moses is another example. When he felt unsure about his leadership potential, the Lord gave reassurance in an unusual way—by telling him to throw down his walking stick. When Moses obeyed, God powerfully confirmed His choice of leader (Ex. 4:1-3). 

Our Father may ask us to do something that seems illogical—perhaps to accept more responsibility when we were hoping to reduce our workload, to leave a position that He provided just recently, or to take on an assignment for which we feel ill-equipped. His plan might feel unrealistic in view of our age, stage of life, or health concerns. We must press forward in obedience, regardless of how impractical the request may appear. 

To grasp the importance of obeying, think about children receiving instructions from parents or teachers. Careful listening is needed for the task to be done safely and properly. Some steps may seem pointless, but the rationale often becomes clear later. Always make obeying God your priority.