my burg

Bible reading for April 8 -- Leviticus 11-12; Psalms 13-14.  "For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." This is the law about beast and bird and every living creature that moves through the waters and every creature that swarms on the ground, to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean and between the living creature that may be eaten and the living creature that may not be eaten." (Leviticus 11:45-47)  The God who divides.   The word for "make a distinction" ( badal , v. 47), first appears in the creation account (Gen 1:4) where God separates light from darkness. Later he separates (same word) the people of Israel for himself and his purposes (Lev 20:24). The tabernacle veil divides the holy place from the most holy place. Isaiah tells us that sin separates [ badal ] us from God (Isa 59:2). This is a biblical theme : our God is a God who makes distinctions, ...

"In hope he [Abraham] believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, 'So shall your offspring be.'  He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.  No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised."  (Romans 4:18-21 ESV)  Early in my Christian life I learned that my feelings and emotions, and my mental state of mind, did not change the certainty of God's promises.   The "train" of our Christian life is pulled and energized by the facts of the great salvation that Christ accomplished for us.  Our faith is placed in (attached to) the great promises of God, not in how we feel at any moment.  As important as feelings may be -- and we are not to b...