Transitions Everywhere.

There is so much to catch up on. The past 4 months has been crazy, yet beautiful all at the same time. We are about to finish the 8^th year of the ESBS, and I can’t believe that I have been here for 4 years. These years here have been life changing and so foundational for me. I know that there has been so much growth that I can’t communicate all that God has done in my life. I don’t think I am able to comprehend how important these years will be for me down the road. 

The end of this school year is one that is exciting for me personally. It is exciting because come August I will be moving to Brandon, Mississippi to be a part of the student ministry at Pinelake Church. I will have the ability to intern for 11 months to learn about student ministry from some amazing people and continue to grow in my ministry experience. I am excited to see what God has in store for my time there.

 This move is one that is also sad for me because I really love this place and the ministry that is done at the ESBS. It is going to be hard to leave the strong friendships here. There is something so beautiful about living within community and going through life with that support system around you. I want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement of my ministry here over the years. 

I also have some more exciting news. On May 17^th, I got engaged to my girlfriend Anna Lauren up in Lake Lure! We went to one of my favorite places here to watch the sunrise, and that is where I popped the question. She said yes, and I was extremely grateful that she did! Her family, roommates and my family came up for the engagement, and so we got to spend some great time together that weekend. 

Also as an update on the health and insurance front. I am starting to feel back to normal. There are times when my stomach gets mad at me; but that is usually when I abuse it with junk food and a whole lot of sugar. I feel like I am around 85% back to normal. I also feel totally blessed by The Lord because with the donations I received and my insurance all of my bills are totally covered! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement once again! 

This time right now for me is all over the emotion spectrum. I am excited for what is to come with marriage on the horizon and a change in location and ministry. I am sad due to leaving a place where I have grown so much. I am scared to go out and leave a place behind that is so comfortable for me. But I know that The Lord is leading in this. I know that He will be with me and will be guiding me along the way. Transitions are difficult but when it is made with a personal infinite God who walks with you in them, then there is nothing to fear. 

Here are some pictures from the engagement.

We had a beautiful sunrise

This is the rock that we were on

Didn't even see it coming

The Livingstons and Schumperts

Thoughts On Leviticus.

I hope that y'all are doing well! I recently wrote a blog post for a friend of mine and so I thought that I would share it with you. It's my thoughts on the book of Leviticus, which I always find myself teaching this time of the year.

Thoughts On Leviticus.

For the past 3 years I have had the pleasure of teaching Leviticus at the Emmaus School of Biblical Studies, and that book has become one of my favorites to teach. I know what you may be thinking … Leviticus … seriously? But that’s the reason why I love it so much. I love it because it gets such a bad rap within our Christian communities because you actually have to do some work to get something out of it. It’s common for Leviticus to be the graveyard for those who aspire to read the Bible in a year. This is why I love how our students have to take a week to really get into, because it forces them to see God’s character within the laws given.

The thing that so many people miss in Leviticus and within the Law in general is God’s character. This might be a shock to some, but God giving the Law to the Israelites was an act of mercy and grace. The Law was given to the Israelites so that they may know this God who rescued them from Egypt (Lev 18:1-5). The pagan gods and pagan worship of Egypt surrounded the Israelites for 400 years, so this was probably how they would have naturally tried to worship the True Creator God. The mindset that is common among all pagan worship is “what is this god thinking?”

The book of Leviticus is the answer to this question for the Israelites. This is God, through his grace, mercy and love, showing the whole nation of Israel – this is how they are to please Me, this is how you are to worship Me, this is how you are to live in relationship with Me – And he does this so that they do not have to be in that state of worry and uncertainty.

Leviticus along with Exodus, Number and Deuteronomy are setting up the religious, social and political structure for a people group that is becoming a nation. They speak into the character of God. The book of Leviticus teaches the truth that God is Holy and the Israelites in their sin are not; because of this they need to maintain the purity of the camp because God’s Holiness cannot tolerate or be in the presence of sin (Lev 11:44-45). This is where the sacrifices come in. The sacrifices were God’s way of providing atonement for the sins of the Israelites (13 times in Lev 1-7) so that they may be in his presences. They were something that were something that God used to show the Israelites that their sin is a real problem and needs to be taken care of. One important thing to remember is that God is in control of this whole system and He is the one who made them clean. Seven times within Leviticus God makes the statement that “I sanctify you.”(Lev 20:8) It wasn’t the sacrifices, but God alone that sanctified the Israelites. The real power and transaction to sanctify and atone for sins lies with God … It has always been with God.

The author of Hebrews speaks about Leviticus and the Law as “a shadow of the good things to come” (Heb 10:1). The beautiful thing about Leviticus is that it gives us an amazing picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Leviticus shows us that blood had to be spilled in order for the Israelite to gain atonement because the life is in the blood (Lev 17:11). Jesus spilled real blood on the cross to atone for our sins because that is what was required. And unlike the priests offering sacrifices day after day He only had to do it once and then when He was finished He went and sat at the right hand of God.

There is so much that we can miss about Jesus if we don’t study our Old Testament. I believe that you will gain a greater appreciation for Jesus if you look at the OT in light of the cross.