Month: January 2018

Leviticus 1 – A Permanent Solution to an On-Going Problem

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S-I-N. These three little letters form a very powerful and highly charged word in both our vocabulary and our experience. Sin is a destructive force in our lives, and it must be dealt with decisively.
The method God gave the Israelites for dealing with their sin portrays not only the destructive nature of sin, but also the costly nature of sin.
In short, someone has to pay for sin, and the payment is death! (Rom. 6:23.) God allowed the Israelites to offer a temporary substitute as payment…a lamb without defects, or a dove/pigeon if the person was poor. The animal substitute was to be completely destroyed as a picture of sin’s destructive nature and high cost. You see this in the first chapter of Leviticus.
But this was just a temporary solution to and on-going problem. Though a person would sacrifice an animal to pay for their sin, the person would continue to sin; requiring another sacrifice.
We needed a permanent solution to our on-going sin problem. All of the sacrifices were meant to point to God’s ultimate and permanent solution for our sin…the once-for-all sacrifice of the perfect, sinless Lamb of God. (John. 1:29) (2 Cor. 5:21) (Rom. 6:9-10)
As the person offering the sacrificial lamb would lay his hands on the sacrifice to personally connect their sin with that lamb’s death, we must make the personal application that our sin is personally responsible for Christ’s sacrificial death.
When we personally realize that Christ died for our sin, and we truly accept that His death is applied toward the debt of our sin, we can stand clean before God, and nothing pleases God more.
The book of Leviticus can seem confusing with all it’s rules and rituals, but ultimately it is an object lesson pointing to God’s ultimate sacrifice for us…Jesus.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 40 – God Must Fill the Space

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I’ve known people who wanted to learn to play an instrument. So they purchased the instrument, took the lessons, bought the music, and did everything just as they were supposed to do. They learned how to technically play the instrument, but they never learned the joy of making music. That requires more than correct technique.
In Exodus chapter 40, you find all the elements and parts of the tabernacle gathered and ready for assembly. Then you find Moses putting the tabernacle together, exactly as God had instructed. He put all the right pieces in all the right places. But it was still just an assemblage of part. It was colorful, but lifeless.
It wasn’t until the Spirit of God descended and filled the tabernacle that it became something more than a lifeless assemblage of parts. It was the presence of God’s Spirit that turned a lifeless tent into a powerful place of His presence.
This principle holds true today. Just as on the day of Pentecost, when cautious disciples were transformed into courageous dynamos, only the presence of the Holy Spirit will turn our correct theology into courageous biology. Only the power of God will turn our orderly approaches to religion into extraordinary appeals from God.
We mean well. We try to get things right. We try to do what we’re suppose to; in the way we’re suppose to. And that’s all important, but we must remember that we’re just an empty tent apart from the in-dwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 2:22) All of our efforts lack life and impact apart from the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. (John 15:5)
So let us live by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), and God will fill the space in our lives with His presence and power.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 36-39 – There’s Always Enough

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I remember my parents telling me, “There will never be enough money to do all you want to do.” As I’ve grown older, I’ve certainly found that to be true.
Still, God has shown us there is always enough money and resources to do all He wants to do. But His work seems to inch along, hampered by limited resources. Why? Where are all the funds and resources for His work?
All the funds and resources needed to further God’s work are in the hands of God’s people. We already have it! We’re just not freely and sacrificially turning it over to God and His purposes. We (and I’m including myself) allow selfishness, covertness, and mounting debt to redirect the resources that rightfully belong to God and His work.
In Exodus chapters 36-39, the Israelites freely give…
  • A ton of gold.
  • 3.75 tons of silver.
  • 2.5 tons of bronze.
  • Untold amounts of spices, fabrics, and other things.
And they gave so liberally that they had to be restrained from giving! (Ex. 36:6-7) Can you imagine that?
God still desires that same spirit of generosity in His people. Yes, there are some very great needs, but everything that’s needed, has already been given to us. We just need to pass it on.
We’ve been given, so that we might give.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 35 – Give What You’ve Been Given

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When I was a kid, I used to play a game called “hot potato.” The object of the game was to pass on what was passed to you as quickly as you could, without dropping it. If you dropped it or held on to it, you lost.
There is a spiritual principle in this that can be seen in Exodus chapter 35. Everything needed to build the tabernacle (the place of God’s presence) had already been given to them by God. God provided all the materials needed through the Egyptians before they left Egypt. (Ex. 12:35-36) Even the skill needed to make things from all this material was given to them by God. (Ex. 35:31,34-35.) They just needed to give it all back to God.
The bottom line is this: God freely gives us everything we need to do everything He wants us to do. (James 1:17) (2 Peter 1:3) But the key ingredient is something that only we can provide…a willingness to give back what He has given. (Ex. 35:5,21,26,29.)
God’s complete provision, coupled with our complete willingness to give, produces accomplishments which further His presence and glory where we are…and in the world at large.
Jesus told His disciples, “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matt. 10:8) If we are to foster the presence and glory of God in our lives and in the world, we must freely give what God has given us.
You have been given everything you need to do all God wants you to do. The question is…are you willing to give it away?

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 34 – What Are You Bringing To God?

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Sometimes things just stick out to me when I’m reading Scripture. It’s as if, in the midst of all that’s there, one thing jumps off the page and gets my attention. It may be insignificant or inconsequential to others, but it floors me.
That happened as I read Exodus chapter 34. There are many important things in this chapter, like God proclaiming His name to Moses. (Ex. 34:6-7) But in the midst of all that’s in this chapter, this phrase jumped off the page at me:
“No one is to appear before Me empty-handed.”
What a powerful statement! I hadn’t thought about this before.
We are to bring something to God each and every time we come to Him. It could be our possessions, our ambitions, or the people we love. It could be any number of things, but when we come to God we are to bring something to Him that we’re willing to surrender to Him.
And the most important thing we can bring to God is ourselves! We need to offer up our whole self…internally (Ps. 51:17) and externally (Rom. 12:1). Our total submission to His will and way is more pleasing to Him than anything else we can bring.
In short…when you come to God, what He wants most from you is…you!

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Mishaps in Messaging

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My wife is not much for talking on the phone. She prefers to text, so she often texts rather than calls. The problem is, if she’s texting someone when we’re together, I have no idea who she’s talking to, because I can’t hear her part of the conversation. This leads me to frequently ask her, “Who are you texting?” (I’m pretty sure she hates this question.)

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Exodus 33 – Time With God

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Have you ever wanted to be with someone so much that you took advantage of every opportunity to be with them? Maybe you felt this way when you were dating. you were so much in love, you wanted to spend as much time with them as you could…even if no one said anything!
Have you experienced this? Do you remember?
This is a picture of Moses’ relationship with God, as seen in Exodus chapter 33. Here we find Moses speaking to God as you would to a close friend. (Ex. 33:11) You see Moses wanting God to stay with him, and not leave him. (Ex. 33:15) You also see Moses speaking of feeling special because of his relationship with God…as if Moses wants to show God off to others. (Ex. 33:16) Finally, you see Moses wanting to know God more intimately. (Ex. 33:13,18)
When someone feels that way about us, it thrills us. I believe God feels the same way when we intensely desire to be with Him. To have a heart that says to God, “Be very close and real to me. Teach me how you see and do things. Show me who you really are.”…this is pleasing to God.
I admit that I’m not always that intensely passionate about wanting to be with God. I want to get there, but I can’t make that happen on my own. (Matt. 19:26) (John 15:4-5) So I need to ask God to build my desire and hunger to be with Him in a more consistent and intimate way.
How about you?

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 32 – Crossing the Line

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In Exodus chapter 32, Aaron and the people cross a line when they try to replace God with a golden calf. The moment they decide to build the idol, they cross the line from being servants of God to trying to be sovereign over their circumstance.
Then Moses comes close to crossing that line when he switches from asking God what to do to telling God what to do. (Ex. 32:32) God responds by reminding Moses that He is God and would do what He chose to do. (Ex. 32:33-34)
There are at least three reasons we sin and move from servant to sovereign:
  • We get impatient. You can see this in Exodus 32:1. In this day of cell phones and instant messaging, we are not good at waiting. When God seems to be taking too long, we let ourselves imagine the worst and begin to do things ourselves. When this happens, we need to get control of our thinking (2 Cor. 10:5) and patiently wait on God. (Ps. 46:10)
  • We think we should know all the details of what God is doing. You see this also in Exodus 32:1. We want to be completely in the know, but God doesn’t always work that way. (Isa. 55:8) We must learn to live by faith and not by sight. (Heb. 10:38)
  • We become too casual and familiar with God. Though God goes out of His way to pursue us, have a relationship with us, and call us His friend, we must never forget that He is not like us. His is the “Holy Other.” He is pure, powerful, and righteous; exhibiting not just love but wrath. We must never lose our awe and reverence for God.
It is so easy to subtly cross the line from servant to sovereign. May God make us aware when this happens and help us to turn back to being humble servants.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

How to Embrace Change

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People who know me know I am not a handyman. I’m someone who can turn a simple fifteen minute fix-it job into an all day nightmare. I am the guy from whom repair people make their money.

So with that in mind, here’s the story…

It was around eight in the evening and my wife was in the laundry room when I heard these words. “Oh no! That’s just great!” Though I didn’t want to, I asked, “What’s wrong?”

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Have You Lost the Magic?

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Couples come into my counseling office for many reasons. Some are having on-going conflicts they can’t resolve. Others are having trouble with their parents or in-laws. Some are struggling in their sexual relationship. Others are at odds over finances. And some just seem to have different ideas about what makes for a good marriage.

But there was one couple who came into my office who summed up marital issues in one simple sentence. “We have lost the magic.“

Ever feel like your marriage has lost the magic? If so, maybe it’s because: 

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