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Friday 24 June 2016

Leviticus Chapter 26



LEVITICUS 


CHAPTER 


26




1. You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your land, to worship at them; for I am the LORD your God. 2. You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 1 to 2)





Oh God my Father nobody or anything can ever take Your place or merit Your worship. The statues that we find are simply there to stimulate our hearts to give praise and worship to You and not to the particular image, that in itself has no power whatsoever Amen.



3. If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully. 4. I will give you rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5. Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 3 to 5)


Oh God my Father You gave us the perfect guidelines if we want to follow in Your ways. We are to follow Your statutes as found in the Bible, and as proclaimed by the Holy Spirit during our times by means of the Roman Catholic Church and even other churches that You may be using in order to attract our attention. We are to know Your commandments as they are and not as we tailor them in order to suit our needs and last of all we are to observe them. When observing an object we analyse in detail its properties and behaviour, therefore as in the Spiritual life, we are to observe Your commandments so that we can live them to the fullest Amen.




6. And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid; I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword shall go through your land.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 6)





Oh God, my Father I thank You for being in control of all that takes place on earth. You have the power and authority to restore peace and for good reasons You can give the forces of evil the power to inflict war and evil schemes on earth, knowing well that in the end, You are able to control even such forces and change the event into a positive one Amen. 




7. You shall give chase to your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8. Five of you shall give chase to a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give chase to ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9. I will look with favor upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you;  and I will maintain my covenant with you. 


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 7 to 9)




Oh God my Father with You by my side I expect nothing but success especially if my will is according to Your will. Amen






10. You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new.


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 10)


Oh God, my Father how nice it would be for us to rid away of our past lives and start living our new life based on our relationship with You. Amen. As You said oh God, there is not enough space for both the old and the new in our lives, therefore it is best to live the 'Present' which is a gift each day, learn from the past and aim for the future Amen. 




11. I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. 12. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people. 13. I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect,


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 11 to 13)


Oh God my Father, this is indeed a special day, for You have claimed us back to be Your people. Since the time when Your people had broken the ten commandments at Sinai You had disowned them as being Your people, however even though You told them so, You were always with them. During moments of anger due to our hurts, we might say many things even in my case, however when we cool down and experience Your loving grace and mercy we experience You again. The problem oh Gid my Father is re the person we hurt, for although I receive your forgiveness, the people I have hurt still hold everything against me and at the appointed time, they throw back their accusations at my face. I still pray that You forgive these people oh God my Father, for while we are still in the flesh, we cannot always overcome our sinful self.  I thank You for always being with me Amen. 




14. But if you will not obey me and do not observe all these commandments, 15. if you spurn my statutes, and abhor my ordinances, so that you will not observe all my commandments, and you break my covenant, 16. I in turn will do this to you: I will bring terror on you; consumption and fever that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away. You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17. I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down by your enemies; your foes shall rule over you, and you shall flee though no one pursues you.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 14 to 17)




Oh God my Father as a loving Father, You set down the terms and conditions and even make us aware of the positive consequences that may be achieved through obeying You and Your Commandments and even the negative consequences of not obeying them. Throughout these twenty-six chapters of the book of Leviticus, You have given us an in-depth analysis and description of Your ways, therefore nobody is excused or exempted or can say that one is not aware or did not know Amen. 




18. And if in spite of this you will not obey me, I will continue to punish you sevenfold for your sins. 19. I will break your proud glory, and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like copper. 20. Your strength shall be spent to no purpose; your land shall not yield its produce, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 18 to 20)




Oh God my Father, I understand that many of the issues experienced by the world at large are a consequence of our sins. In order to produce more in less time so that we will have more to sell, we are using means that although make the produce faster, however as a consequence this is destroying the field. There will come a time when we will pay dearly for this sin by consequences that we are already experiencing. Oh God, we are all worthy of such punishment, for in some way or another, we have all sinned against You. Amen




21. If you continue hostile to me, and will not obey me, I will continue to plague you sevenfold for your sins. 22. I will let loose wild animals against you, and they shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock; they shall make you few in number, and your roads shall be deserted.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 21 to 22)




Oh God my Father You love us so much that You make us aware of the consequences of our actions so that from then on it will be our responsibility. May we all be responsible people both to You, to our families, to nature and to the earth, to ourselves and even to each other Amen. Oh God life would be so different if we were to be more responsible for our actions, if we were to be more aware of the consequences of pollution, aborting our children, terrorist attacks, corruption of both a minor and major level, the world would be much better than it is today Amen.




23. If in spite of these punishments you have not turned back to me, but continue hostile to me, 24. then I too will continue hostile to you: I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins.  25. I will bring the sword against you, executing vengeance for the covenant; and if you withdraw within your cities, I will send pestilence among you,  and you shall be delivered into enemy hands.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 23 to 25)




Oh God wherever can we escape from the negative consequences of our actions, either way, we are bound to face both the positive actions and even the negative ones. Although You spoke so strongly about the negative consequences I still believe that You are a loving and merciful God and even in the worst case scenario of Sodom and Gomorrah, if You had found one person who was faithful You would not have destroyed the land. Therefore I pray for Your love and mercy oh God my Father, for if You were to analyse my behaviour, You would find both positive and negative actions. Amen.




26. When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven, and they shall dole out your bread by weight; and though you eat, you shall not be satisfied.


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 26)


Oh God my Father even though the world may give us many pleasures and luxury if we do not have You in our lives, it will be meaningless and will never give us the satisfaction that can give us peace and love and holistic well-being Amen. 




Along with the Rolling Stones again, and again we can sing 'I can get no satisfaction for it is only You who can satisfy our souls Amen.



Rolling stones I can's get no satisfaction



27. But if, despite this, you disobey me, and continue hostile to me, 28. I will continue hostile to you in fury: I in turn will punish you myself sevenfold for your sins. 29. You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30. I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars; I will heap your carcases on the carcases of your idols. I will abhor you.



(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 27 to 30)



Oh God, my Father I thank You for being just and merciful. I understand that if we disobey You we bring on ourselves the consequences of both our sins and even Your anger. Even though You are loving and patient we are not to abuse of that love. Amen. Thank You for loving us and thank You for always being present and active in all that goes on in my life Amen. I pray that You keep on guiding me so that I remain in Your ways, for I am weak and prone to sin Amen.



31. I will lay your cities waste, will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing odors. 32. I will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to settle in it shall be appalled at it.



(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 31 to 32)



Oh God my Father, whenever we choose to act according to our own will, we are closing the door, so that You are locked out of our life, therefore when doing so we are on the path of our own destruction and instead of finding You as a friend, we find You as the opposition who because You really love us, will do anything to stop us from hurting ourselves due to our disobedience. Amen



 
33. And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword against you; your land shall be a desolation, and your cities a waste.


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 33)



Oh God my Father this prophecy was fulfilled to the letter for Your people were totally scattered throughout the world and they still are. The Nazi Regime unsheathed the sword of death against them by means of the death chambers, however even, though they experienced such hard times, You were still with Your people and did not permit them to be totally exterminated Amen.  



34. Then the land shall enjoy its sabbath years as long as it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its sabbath years.



(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 34)



Oh God my Father when we dip our soiled hands in clean water, it becomes polluted and dirty. Unless we remove our hands from the water and have them cleaned and also the container where the water had been contaminated, the contamination will remain. However, if the area is cleaned it becomes free from dirt and can experience a period of cleanliness. When I confess my sins oh God my Father my soul also experiences a period of purity and cleanliness a new beginning in our relationship with You, my God and Father Amen.



35. As long as it lies desolate, it shall have the rest it did not have on your sabbaths when you were living on it.


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 35)



Among ourselves oh God my Father we consider others as a burden or responsibility, however, as humans, we are also a burden on the planet that we are living on. We are destroying the natural habitat in order to use the land for development in order to increase our wealth, we are polluting the air with toxic emissions, the food we eat is also being contaminated as a consequence. I imagine this planet in great pain and agony. Along with this planet, I also pray for Your second visit, so that You will press the reset button and restore all to its perfect form Amen.




36. And as for those of you who survive, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall though no one pursues. 37. They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand against your enemies.




(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 36 to 37)





Oh God my Father in a way we can escape those who pursue us due to our sins, however, we can never escape You. Although You love us and care for us, we can never escape Your judgment. You are able to make us confident when facing tribulations that are beyond our control, but You can also make us feel anxious and in trauma when we are guilty and weaken us before those whom we have transgressed or hurt by means of our actions Amen. I pray for forgiveness oh God my Father for we and I may have good intentions at not harming others but on the other hand, I still feel weak. Amen.




38. You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall devour you.


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 38)


Oh God, my Father when we open our doors to sin it takes over both our mind and our body. We start to gradually lose control over both to the extreme that we end up being driven by our lusts and passions and live a life that is lacking in human dignity. I pray oh God my Father that You help me from ending up in such a sinful and degrading state Amen.


39. And those of you who survive shall languish in the land of your enemies because of the iniquities of their ancestors.



(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 39)




Oh brothers, and sisters we are to take our spiritual lives seriously for we might get away with negative events of this world, but we can never get away from the justice of God. Even though God is loving caring and merciful, He is also fair and just and can never turn a blind eye to our negative actions and their consequences. For God loves us as sinners but he does not like our sins.  



40. But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their ancestors, in that they committed treachery against me and, moreover, that they continued hostile to me-41. so that I, in turn, continued hostile to them and brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42. then will I remember my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.


(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 40 to 42)



Oh God my Father, You are so caring and loving, and we are so sinful. I thank You for giving us the opportunity to repent from our sins so that You could restore order in our lives. Once we are in harmony with You and within ourselves and with others we could be a better world and even the quality of our lives would improve, however, if we choose to remain as we are even mother earth and all ofGod's  creation, will turn against us. Amen.



43. For the land shall be deserted by them, and enjoy its sabbath years by lying desolate without them, while they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they dared to spurn my ordinances, and they abhorred my statutes.



(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 43)



Oh God my Father when I am with You and in Your presence nothing seems to be impossible, because You bless all my actions because they are according to Your will, however if the task or role is not according to Your will You will take it away from me and give it to other people as You did to the people of Israel, who had to face a long period of exile until they repented from their sinful ways. I pray oh God my Father that You preserve me and keep me in Your ways Amen.




44. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, or abhor them so as to destroy them and utterly break my covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God; 45. but I will remember in their favor the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God; I am the LORD.



(Leviticus Chapter 26 verses 44 to 45)



Oh God my Father when I am with You during prayer time I feel that I am on safe territory, however when I am away I feel that I am surrounded by enemies, evil spirits that harass me by means of people with a negative attitude. I pray for your protection. I live with the hope and faith that You will keep Your promise that one day You will deliver me to the promised land, where I will finally be reunited with You, my God and Father. Amen.



46.  These are the statutes and ordinances and laws that the LORD established between himself and the people of Israel on Mount Sinai through Moses.



(Leviticus Chapter 26 verse 46)


Oh God my Father today You are telling us that these are the rules of the game, and as Christians or Roman Catholics to these we are to abide if we want to play the game and be part of the team or Your body on earth. Since the times of Leviticus the Holy Spirit of God has never stopped intervening in the Church. Many times we have obeyed Your instruction during other times, we have permitted our human side to take control and we did what we thought was right iinstead of returning to You or maybe acted according to the needs of the circumstances, instead of referring to You. Therefore when doing so many mistakes were done and people were not motivated to be Roman Catholics anymore or even attend mass. However today You are challenging all of us to choose if we still want to be belivers or not. If our answer is 'Yes' we have the message of the Good News and the Roman Catholic Church who is led and enlightened by Holy Spirit as its point of reference, if our answer is sadly a strong 'No' one would be wise to seek other options, however the door to return back to You my God and Father is still open as long as we are still alive as humans. Amen.



Oh God my Father I would like to end this twenty-seventh chapter of the book of Leviticus with the following prayer.


Throughout the years oh God my Father You have been given us many messages, by means of many people such as Pope Saint Frances and even by those who preceeded him. However we have not always paid attention to such proclamations and or exhortations. Lately You have shown us that a new approach is needed towards people who are divorced and separated in relation to communion. I pray that as humans we remain open to Your dynamic spirit that guides us throughout the course of life. I invite all to click on the following link Amen.



A new attitude towards divorced people re commmunion