Hello friends. This Sunday is Easter Sunday! Jesus Christ is alive and well, and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven! That is who we follow and serve today – an all powerful and resurrected Savior. When you go to church this Sunday, worship Him with all your strength and heart.
In this week’s newsletter I thought I’d continue to share what I’ve learned about Carl Lentz after listening to his podcasts. I only heard two episodes.
(I remember Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback church was sharing why he is a great learner. He is constantly reading books and listening to people’s stories. In essence, he said he wants to learn from others’ experiences and mistakes in order to save time and resources. I feel the same way and that’s why I read and listen so much.)
I really appreciate Carl Lentz and his wife, Laura, being so vulnerable and open about the worst time period of their lives. This is their first podcast together in June 2024. It is about what happened after Carl Lentz’s exposure. Their world crumbled in a day, and you’ll hear what happened afterwards. I didn’t realize that their children were at an age of understanding. Their daughter was 14 years old at the time. You’ll also learn why Laura Lentz decided to stay in the marriage even if she had biblical grounds for a divorce. It wasn’t for the children if you are wondering. I highly recommend you to listen to their first podcast and learn from their experiences. (FYI, you cannot fast forward the ads. It lasts about 3 minutes long. Hey, they have to make a living.)
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lights-on-with-carl-lentz/id1747789103?i=1000657781733
When Ravi Zacharias’ exposure happened soon after his death, I did a lot of reading and listening to his victims’ stories. Why? Because I really respected him and his work, and so I had to make sure that the accusations were legit. His victims tried to warn his ministry and board members but they refused to believe their stories and kept believing Ravi Zacharias’ lies. It seemed he was very good at lying. Afterall, their reputation and ministry empire was at stake.
Yesterday, I read Times Square Church’s devotional on Leviticus 10 and the strange fire that Aaron’s sons offered to God. It explained even more why they were judged instantly by God. Please read this backstory and be forewarned.
Strange Fire
Chapter by Chapter | Leviticus 10 — Episode #100
by Pastor Tim Dilena, Senior Pastor
Welcome to the 100th day of Chapter by Chapter, a 4-year journey through the greatest book given to the human race— the Word of God, the Bible—and we get to go through it chapter by chapter. Seven minutes a day and seven days a week.
Join us each day and share it with others so they can join this journey that will be life changing.
We will stop at unexpected places on the journey and be challenged. Some verses will create awe and wonder. We will have chapters that will be instructive, and in others we will find joy and comfort.
We will occasionally be convicted and want to change. All in all, the journey will be worth it. Once in a while we may take a detour on the journey and hear from some of God’s servants on their favorite passages from a chapter of Scripture and let them give you their insight—every journey needs a small detour occasionally. The best way to get the most from this podcast is to read the chapter we are discussing before or after. It’s His Word that transforms. You will find more and see more than I could ever articulate.
Today we will be looking at Leviticus 10.
Michelangelo was asked why he bothered with perfect detail on figures high up on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, where viewers from below wouldn’t notice. He replied, “I will notice.” God would notice if His priests missed steps and added their own opinions and additions to the process. The result to the natural eye would be the same—fire—but the assessment from heaven would be completely different. God would call it strange fire. This is Leviticus 10 and God was mad.
I was not looking forward to Leviticus 10. I know this chapter and have always read it with caution. After 8 chapters of clear instructions on how He wants to be approached and worshipped in Leviticus, still the men who are called to lead this process somehow feel that they have an equal vote with God to tweak what has been spoken from heaven. This is high treason. This is foolish. This will be fatal. This will be the choosing of Nadab and Abihu.
“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.'” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent” (Leviticus 10:1–3, NASB).
What could have gone wrong? What made the fire strange?
To the onlooker, none could tell the fire was strange—but to God, man’s ideas got mixed in. Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe was so insightful on this horrific event. He said, “Everything that these two men did was wrong. To begin with, they were the wrong people to be handling the incense and presenting it to the Lord. This was the task of their father, the high priest (Exodus 30:7–10). They also used the wrong instruments, their own censers instead of the censer of the high priest, sanctified by the special anointing oil (40:9). They acted at the wrong time, for it was only on the annual Day of Atonement that the high priest was permitted to take incense into the holy of holies. They acted under the wrong authority. They didn’t consult with Moses or their father, nor did they seek to follow the Word of God, which Moses had received. In burning the incense, they used the wrong fire, what Scripture calls ‘strange fire’ (10:1; NIV says ‘unauthorized fire’). The high priest was commanded to burn the incense on coals taken from the brazen altar (16:12), but Nadab and Abihu supplied their own fire, and God rejected it. They acted from the wrong motive and didn’t seek to glorify God alone (10:3). Finally, they depended on the wrong energy; for verses 9–10 imply that they were under the influence of alcohol.”
Everything was wrong.
The great Puritan pastor John Owen says, “He that hath slight thoughts of sin never had great thoughts of God.” To these two boys, they had those slight thoughts of sin. They did not see it as a big deal to do things their way—thus leading them to have low thoughts of God—which at the end would be their end. They would lose their lives.
The burial of Nadab and Abihu was swift. They were taken out of the camp with no mourners. Verse 6 is a strange command to a grieving father and two shocked brothers.
“Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, so that you will not die and that He will not become wrathful against all the congregation. But your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, shall bewail the burning which the Lord has brought about” (Leviticus 10:6, NASB).
They were not to mourn the loss of these two boys. Why? To mourn for their judgment was to feel sorry for them and to raise an accusation that God did something wrong.
The fire of God was never intended to consume the people of God—that’s why God always intended for there to be a sacrifice. There are two ways whereby God punishes sin: the fires of hell and the blood of Jesus. It’s not a question of whether your sin will be punished—it’s a question of how it will be punished.
Leviticus 9:24 says, “Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering…” Leviticus 10:2 says, “And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them.” When you come to God you must do it His way—the only way. He is not interested in our additions or opinions. Nadab and Abihu thought more highly of themselves than they should have.
Whatever made that fire strange did not please God and angered God. In essence, they were offering a new way to worship. This is a trumpet blast for the church today. I believe churches are playing with strange fire. When you are living in rebellion and sin but feel that a gift or a talent you have is being used in the house of God—and this nullifies your disobedience—that is playing with strange fire.
After fire consumed two men, something happened that I have not seen happen before or after this shocking moment in the tabernacle. It says in Leviticus 10:8, “The Lord then spoke to Aaron…” God always speaks to Moses. Now God will talk to Aaron. What does God say to this man who has just lost two of his four sons to judgment?
“The Lord then spoke to Aaron, saying, “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die—it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations—and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean”(Leviticus 10:8–10, NASB).
God says that you will have to keep your eye on worship in My house. There will be times you will have to see that the profane is trying to sneak into the house of God. You will see the unclean proclaiming all is well. You must take this fire seriously.
Residents of the state of Washington are no strangers to wildfires. However, even veterans of the fire-ridden west can become too comfortable with the blazes. Officials in Chelan County, WA reported that even as one of the most vicious wildfires of the summer bore down on homes and businesses in Chelan, hundreds of local residents refused to seek safety. They said, “We thought it was a little fire.” What had begun only three days earlier as a seemingly insignificant flame had escalated to a raging, life-threatening inferno.
Leviticus 10 was no little fire. Aaron’s sons did not take the fire seriously—as the residents of this Washington county did not take the fire seriously. Both were fatal.
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Wow. This sentence stood out to me. This is what happened to Carl Lentz and Ravi Zacharias.
“When you are living in rebellion and sin but feel that a gift or a talent you have is being used in the house of God—and this nullifies your disobedience—that is playing with strange fire.”
Fast forward to today, I heard this recent podcast with Carl and Laura Lentz. They sound so much better, relaxed and even playful with each other. This podcast subject was very good too. It’s about sharing your marriage struggles with your children. I also learned that more married women are having affairs. I think you should be aware that it’s no longer just the men falling into the sexual temptation and being unfaithful in their marriage vows.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lights-on-with-carl-lentz/id1747789103?i=1000757250832
I remember once I did a visual exercise with my Bible study group ladies. I told them to close their eyes and now visualize being in a crowded party. Now visualize your celebrity crush star. Ok, now visualize him making eye contact with you and he is walking over to you. How are you going to say no to such a beautiful person who wants you?…the answer is the “fear of the Lord”! I forget why we did this exercise but I think we were discussing the importance of having a good, healthy fear of the Lord. And now, I will also add “learning from others’ painful mistakes.”
If you are wondering what happened to Lentz’s children, all I know is that they did not walk away from their faith. They are still together as a family. I look forward to hearing from their children when they are ready to share publicly.
This article about the pursuit of happiness was excellent. The Holy Spirit had me do a lot of research on this topic in the earlier years of my wrestling with God. I thought that I knew better. I discovered that my assumptions were all wrong and based upon ads, entertainment and marketing strategies. I read a lot of secular research studies and articles about happiness. I discovered that what the Bible teaches is truly what leads us to abundant life on earth.
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/pursue-happiness/
Here’s a TSC guest speaker who talks about Jacob’s “wrestling with God”. It was exactly what happened to me, somewhere at the end of year two.
http://sermons.tsc.nyc/wrestling-with-god/
Currently I’m reading Ruth Graham’s biography. It’s written by a best selling author, Patricia Cromwell. Her writing style is a bit sensational and graphic at times. Once I looked her up, I understood why. She writes crime mystery novels. I also learned a lot about China before communism. Ruth Graham’s parents were medical missionaries in China before the Japanese invasion. They got out literally a month before the Japanese army came into their region.
(You will have to read the introduction in the book to know how Patricia Cromwell got Ruth Graham to agree on a biography. Ruth Graham was a private person and uncomfortable with notoriety and fame.)
Her courtship with Billy Graham reminds me of a Korean drama love story – the main couple is young, beautiful, headstrong and intelligent. It’s very tense at times during their courtship. It seemed that they almost broke off their engagement because they argued over what denominations to belong to – Baptist or Presbyterian. We laugh at this minor difference today but in the 1940s it was a big deal! They eventually got married in 1943 during WWII. Because of the strict rationing during the war, they were very creative in their wedding attire and decorations. It was fun to read about these details that weren’t mentioned in Billy Graham’s autobiography.
(I just read this short writing in an English tutoring workshop where I volunteer at. It is about the excessive garbage problem of today, and the creative solutions to repair, reuse and recycle. The article also talked about how it used to be during WWII and in the past. It’s so interesting. I remember only having about 4-5 shoes in high school (late 80s) but I never thought I was poor or lacked shoes. Today, I have way too many shoes. It’s embarrassing to note that I only wear about 6 pairs regularly. I’ve attached this short article at the bottom if anyone is interested in reading it.)
For those who practice prayer and intercession faithfully, I think you’ll find this sermon by the late Pastor Derek Prince inspiring and challenging too. (Background about him – he was a philosophy professor in a top university in England before he was drafted into the war during WWII. He served the military for 5 and half years. He got saved in a Pentecostal church right before he started serving the British army. He has incredible stories that he shares throughout all his sermons about his life in the war, and living through many dangers in Israel and Africa as a soldier and later as a pastor. His ministry stories as a Pentecostal pastor are out of this world too. What a very exciting and abundant life that he lived in Jesus Christ! I believe his children are the ones who maintain his ministry currently.)
Thy Kingdom Come – Derek Prince
Passion Week: Redemption Began In Gethsemane
Today I read a beautifully written devotional about Jesus’ great struggle to do God’s will in his famous prayers at Gethsemane. May it touch your soul as well.
https://us5.campaign-archive.com/?e=6b8c571579&u=21ae4b9aa9f11e4a8320b5ed6&id=654430a288
This CBN news article about the shroud of turin was very interesting. I thought it was a fake but this Bible archeologist scholar is convinced that it is not fake.
Have a blessed and wonderful Easter weekend. It’s all about Jesus Christ. Let’s worship Him well.
The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance. – John 10:10 (VOICE)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2010&version=VOICE
Journal of Faith 