Sharing on Spirit and Soul

Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.
Kahlil Gibran

L'VELY GUEST BLOGGER YAN
needs no introduction at Desi's Place.
The One with the yen for L'VE
never fails to oblige Desi when he needs
Light
whether from li'l bluetwinkles
or that ray at the end of the tunnel.

So on a Saturday preceding Christmas, the delightful one from yancorner.blogspot.com
sprinkles some Light on Spirit and Soul:


Leviticus – God establishes a pattern of life

Some thoughts by Yan

(based on Bible commentaries and The Maxwell Leadership Bible)

The key to the understanding of man is a building called “the tabernacle”. This building is built to represent man. All the functions of the building are intended to go within man, our body, our human spirit and soul.

The tabernacle was later reproduced in the temple.

That is the reason that throughout the Bible, tabernacle and temple receives such tremendous emphasis.

The building of tabernacle and temple teach man truth of himself – they are built according to the pattern of man.

In the book of Leviticus, we know that God gave Moses specific instructions on how to build the tabernacle. Moses was with God for forty days and nights on the mountain top. All Israel waited at the foot of the mountain. Forty days and nights to give instructions on exact plan for constructing the tabernacle? It shows its extreme importance, if not more important than the Ten Commandments, it is at least at par.

Mosses was very obedient and fulfilled exactly what God instructed.

Now let’s look at the pattern. (Refer to Leviticus 24)

The tabernacle had three divisions. Man has also three divisions.

First, it was the outer court – it is also the body of man. It is the outer court where Gentiles could also come. Like the pattern of man, the body is the part of the body which is in touch of the material universe.

The, the structure of the tabernacle had two divisions, the holy place and the holy of holies. This is the same as the division within us.

The holy place is our soul. The soul is the conscious life, of ideas, of knowledge, of emotions, of choices, of conscience and of memories.

The holy of holies of the tabernacle is hidden behind a veil in a secret area. Just like our spirit. This is the place where all our urges and hungers of life are. This is designed as God’s dwelling place.

There are three major functions of our soul – the mind, the emotions and will. Moses was instructed by God this –

“Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning continually.”

Light is a symbol of truth. It is the mind that is designed to give truth.

The light is to be produced by the oil. Oil is a symbol of Holy Spirit. So, truth should be revealed by the Holy Spirit or God.

It is the Holy Spirit that revealed to us who we are, where we are, what’s life I all about etc.

Most of the problems of life are caused by the fact that we do not start with the mind being taught by God to see life as God sees it.

If we do not see things the way as God sees it, if we do not operate our business of family based on this, then everything go awry! Life is out of focus. It is here that we start buying paintings of millions of ringgit for our office to show our status. These are the deepest longings of our soul – the status, the recognition.

In the tabernacle there was a table with twelve freshly baked loaves of bread made of fine bread. What does that symbolize? The twelve loaves are the twelve tribes of Israel, in other words, all the people of God. It is sharing together as a community. This is a body life, bearing one another’s burdens, encouraging, ministering to each other, meeting the needs of others and rejoicing together.

Man is made up three divisions – body, soul, and spirit. Jesus came to this world in human form. Jesus experienced whatever we men experience. God also tested His Son, Jesus Christ on the level of three divisions. You can read it in the book of Matthew. He went into the wilderness as the Son of man and was tested.

Jesus was tested first on the body’s demands. He had not eaten for 40 days and nights, and the temptation came to him: “Change these stones into bread, if you are the Son of God, Preserve your life.” But Jesus did not give in. He chose to walk the will of God. What would you have done if you are offered bread after 40 days of fasting?

Then, he was tested on the level of the soul. He was taken up to the top of the temple and was given the opportunity to reveal Himself, to show what He can do. Such temptation plays upon the urge for status, for show of pride of life. We are constantly under such temptation, isn’t it not? But Jesus proved Himself true to His Father despite such pressure that come to the way.

Finally, he was tempted in the deepest, most essential part of his humanity, the spirit. The spirit is always looking for something to worship. The spirit is craving for someone to follow, something to worship. The Devil came and said to Jesus, “All these kingdoms of the world will be yours if you will fall down and worship me.”

Our Lord’s answer was, “…it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”

I have included this part of the temptation of Jesus to show clearly the three divisions of man – body, soul and spirit.

The passion of the body is self-preservation.

The passion of the soul is self-expression.

The passion of the spirit is to worship.

Amazingly, the book of Leviticus gave guidelines on leadership as noted by John C. Maxwell. I have a copy of the Maxwell Leadership Bible authored by John C. Maxwell. The Maxwell Bible is lessons in Leadership from the Word of God.

In the book of Leviticus, John Maxwell writes,

What characterizes those who choose to pursue life at God’s higher standard?

*They adopt godly values
*They care for the interests of others
*They live with integrity
*They keep their words
*They develop their gifts and potential
*They manage time and money well
*They pass on to others what they have received
*John Maxwell also includes this in the book of Leviticus a column –

Sowing and Reaping: Decisions and Consequences

(Leviticus 26:3-39)

Leadership, like life, is the sum total of the decisions we make.

Every decision has consequences. We decide how we will respond to people. We decide how large to make a budget for promotion and marketing. We decide whom to hire. We decide which values are worth going to the mat for.

Toward the end of Leviticus, God lists the blessings He offers to those who obey Him and the punishment they’ll receive for disobedience. God, the Ultimate Leader, clearly outlines the consequences for His people’s choices.

Leaders who fail to make good decision …

*Lack of commitment
*Suffer from a scattered focus
*Look for excuses
*Forget the big picture
*Go public with private thoughts
*Adopt the motto, “That’s good enough”
*Don’t take God’s direction seriously
*Behave inconsistently
*Create poor relationships
*Avoid change

According to John Maxwell, the Book of Leviticus illustrates the leadership principle and the following applications can be applied –

+A leader must pursue moral purity
+A leader must offer excellent effort and service
+A leader must commit to prioritize relationship
+A leader must request forgiveness when wrong
+A leader must desire to maintain communication/momentum

One lesson that Malaysian leaders can learn from Leviticus is -

Leadership must be driven by values, not public opinion. Character counts!

On Character, John Maxwell has this to say (I quote a few) –

Sound character communicates credibility and consistency

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there

We cannot rise above the limitations of our character.

May this Christmas season be a time for us, the leaders and people, a time of rest, an opportunity for reflection, a time for reward and repair, a time for relationship and a time to refocus.

DESIDERATA:

A note of S-million Terima Kasih to sister Yan, my mentor mostly, my sometimes mentee.
My ER. please address any opinions, or any questions, on Spirit and Soul to Yan; Desi will oblige with tehtarik, tambah manis for Yuletide for Santa is always generous with chocs and cakes. ENJOY!

As midnight draws near today, mGf from Blogsworld, and loved ones, wherever you are, Desi sings with thee a favourite carol.
Yes, I missed carolling with the Boys and Gals, when we were young and gay,
But sweetness is still the night
That comes with a voice and vision
on a Mdinight Clear.

Just listen with your heart --
I hear your voice too.



It Came Upon A Midnight Clear :


It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men
From heavens all gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on hovering wing,
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.

O ye beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way
With painful steps and slow;
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
Oh rest beside the weary road
And hear the angels sing.

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old,
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold,
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

***It Came Upon a Midnight Clear was written by Edmund Hamilton Sears in 1849. The carol started life as a poem written by its author who was a minister living in Massachusetts at the time. The music for the Christmas Carol was composed by the American musician Richard Storrs Willis in 1859 who was inspired by the words of the poem.

YAN: Again, S-million Thanks for the sharing.