“the day of his cleansing” Leviticus 14:2
At midnight last night the clock ticked, the ball dropped and in one second everything changed. In that moment right before it happened, with glasses held high, I turned and glanced from the TV screen to my husband’s eyes. And with a squeeze of the hand and a sparkle in his eye we rang in the New Year together. Hand in hand, heart in heart we crossed over into a new season of life together.
I’m not exactly sure what it is, but there is something magical about that moment when the clock ticks and the calendar flips, or maybe it’s just that look that’s always in my husband’s eye. This look of excitement mixed with the very real fear that is in my heart in that moment.
It’s a fear of the unknown future facing us. Faceless foes just waiting to try and trip us up and make us fall. And yet there we stand, hand in hand, heart in heart ready to face them together. A few minutes after midnight I logged onto Facebook to say Happy new Year to everyone there. Scrolling through my News Feed I came across several posts form friends talking about the woes of 2013. It was a hard year for many. Some lost babies, some lost husbands, and others lost family members. Yet no one went through any of it alone. No matter how lonely it may have felt at the time, we were never alone. And we won’t be in 2014 either.
We didn’t step over the line in the calendar square alone, Jesus jumped into it with us. He comes down and walks with us. We are never alone. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He is ALWAYS there when we need Him. Always there to hold and squeeze our hand at just the right moment to let us know that no matter what happens, no matter what we do to try and make Him leave, He won’t; because He loves us way too much to do that. He is Love and Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:13 “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 2:27 “the anointing that you received from Him abides in you,”
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Psalm 31:24 (HCSB) “Be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD.”
Luke 8:50 (HCSB) “When Jesus heard it, He answered him, ‘Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be made well.”
Matthew 17:7 (HCSB) “Then Jesus came up, touched them, and said, ‘Get up; don’t be afraid.'”
1 Chronicles 28:20 (HCSB) “Then David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my god, is with you. He won’t leave you or forsake you…”
Jeremiah 17:8 (HCSB) “He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.”
Ezra 7:28 (HCSB) “So I took courage because I was strengthened by Yahweh my God.”
Nehemiah 4:14 (HCSB) “After I made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, ‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, and fight for your countrymen, your sons and daughters, your wives and homes.”
Tamar Knochel 
Tyra; “Propituation” is a powerful word in 1 John I thought this was only in King James Version. Take care, tim johnson
🙂 yup, I love that word! It means I’m saved and free.
Day 1 complete. So excited to be doing this with you! Man Leviticus is hard to read though!
Woohoo! I am too!!! And tell me about it! I’ve been shaking my head about it now for a week. What a place to jump in right? But He is much wider than I so I will choose to trust Him. Today’s reading is pretty awesome though, Day of Atonement! That’s great stuff!