Forever and Ever

A Forever Agreement
Leviticus 1:1-2:16

"Salt stands for your agreement with God that will last forever; do not leave it out of your grain offering." (Leviticus 2:13)

Salt, a favorite addition to dishes of all kinds, was a much more precious commodity back in the day when it wasn't so easy to preserve foods. Leftovers? Stick it in the fridge. The what? Salt, known for its powers of preserving food and making it last is here seen as a symbolic addition to the grain offerings given to the Lord- a reminder of the agreement with God that will last forever.

Wow... what a beautiful reminder that is. I hope to keep this in mind every time I see salt throughout this week. In a world where nothing seems to last very long, I am so thankful, God, that all of the promises, all of the agreements, all of the love that You have offered me are forever.

A Forever Lord
Psalm 22:22-31

"The people in the future will serve him; they will always be told about the Lord. They will tell that he does what is right. People who are not yet born will hear what God has done." (Psalm 22:30-31)

The Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Our God was served and worshiped and known way back in the day... and still now we praise His holiness. And people in the future will learn to know and love the Lord God. From generation to generation, our God is not a fashionable fad but a father of all creation who was and is and is to come.

A Forever Savior
Matthew 27:32-56

"At noon the whole country became dark, and the darkness lasted for three hours." (Matthew 27:45)

A dark day indeed. It is quite fitting that the skies darkened on such a day. While the darkness lasted only three hours, the unfathomable sacrifice of our Savior lasted much longer. Praise the Lord. Jesus laid down his life for us in a way that saves all of us forever... if only we accept this gift.

Today in church, we read that familiar verse- "greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." And if we are to love as Jesus loved us, we must lay down our life for our Lord (who is our friend in a personal relationship that we seek with Him) and each other (who we are told to love... not just our friends). What a challenging scripture. Love is something that comes kind of easily to me... but laying down my life, leaving all aside. This evening the hermana spoke of the Phillipians 3 passage where he "considers everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things." (8) Lord, you laid down your life on that cross so long ago... dying to save me from my sins. I pray that You take my life... I will lose it all for You, God, because You are the most important part of my life and I want to follow where You would lead me.