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      • 40. One of the Greatest Need America
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      • 43. Learning to Listen
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      • 45. Memorial Day
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      • 49. The Decline in Family Living
      • 50. Give Me a Problem
      • 51. Decoding the Da Vinci Code
      • 52. Thanksgiving is not a Holiday
      • 53. What a Christmas Present!
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      • 54. What Do You Mean by that?
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      • 67. Tribute to My Mother
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      • 79. The Redemption of Tookie Willaims
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      • 80. Is Religion a Problem?
      • 81. The Rights of the Born
      • 82. Did You Hear What She Said about Muslims?
      • 83. Judas: Betrayer or Best Friend?
      • 84. Weekend or Week--Beginning?
      • 85. A Tribute to My (Spiritual) Father
      • 86. Your Relationship to the Word of God
      • 87. What an Opportunity!
      • 88. America's Four Gods
      • 89. How to Deal with Your Enemies
      • 90. The Case for Systematic Exposition
      • 91. Don't Miss the Message
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      • 92. I can Afford it!
      • 93. The Gospel according to Patricia
      • 94. The Functional Church
      • 95. Who wants to Deal with a Taxman?
      • 96. Vital Virtures
      • 97. Have You Grown up Yet?
      • 98. A July 4th Reminder
      • 99. The Volume of Silence
      • 100. Biblical Illiteracy
      • 101. A Modest Political Propospal
      • 102. How to Handle Credit Cards
      • 103. When it is Tough to be Thankful
      • 104. Romney's Religion
    • 2008 Articles 105-114 >
      • 105. Continue
      • 106. A Tribute to Jack
      • 107. Why Good Ftiday?
      • 108. Happy Birthday
      • 109. The Most Important Room in the House
      • 110. The 80-20 Rule
      • 111. Be Sensible
      • 112. To Be Like Christ
      • 113. Sweet Reasonableness
      • 114. The Other Benefit of Christmas
    • 2009 Articles 115-126 >
      • 115. What Determines who Obtains Eternal Life?
      • 116. The Healing Touch
      • 117. The Function of Dysfunction
      • 118. When Your World Falls Apart
      • 119. 24-7-365
      • 120. To Complain or not to Complain
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      • 122. Making a Mark
      • 123. God's Timing
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    • 2010 Articles 127-138 >
      • 127. Don't Ask; Don't Tell
      • 128. A Forest Dark
      • 129. The Rule of Law
      • 130. The Hits and Miss of Grace
      • 131. People Need the Lord
      • 132. Examples Worthy of Notes
      • 133. A Hassle Reduction Strategy
      • 134. Gossip
      • 135. My Favorite Poem
      • 136. Let's Put the Cross in its Place
      • 137. "Don't Spare Me"
      • 138 The Unseen Message of Christmas
    • 2011 Articles 139-147 >
      • 139. What Parents Should Teach their Children
      • 140. How to Avoid Having to Serve
      • 141. What Happen to Mike?
      • 142. An Atheist Recommends God
      • 143. Surprise
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      • 146. Get in the Way
      • 147. "Let George do it."
    • 2012 Articles 148-160 >
      • 148. Truth or Consequences
      • 149. Don't Leave Home without it
      • 150. Take a Break
      • 151. The Worth of an Individual
      • 152. A Tribute to Nana
      • 153. Jesus Crossed the Line
      • 154. Thomas Jefferson
      • 155. Taxes
      • 156. You Must be Present to Win
      • 157. A Grandfather's Wish
      • 158. Trials. Temptations, and Tests
      • 159. Is There a Santa Claus?
      • 160. A Tribute to Sumner Wemp
    • 2013 Articles 161-172 >
      • 161. How to Finish Well
      • 162. Rewards
      • 163. Spiritual Binging
      • 164. There is no way out of this one
      • 165. Half Empty or Half Full
      • 166. Nones
      • 167. Greet One Another with a Holy Kiss
      • 168. God's Answer to Atheism
      • 169. Obedience
      • 170. The Problem of Fellowship with God
      • 171. Character Development
      • 172. For Mercy's Sake
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      • 173. Lies
      • 174. Endure to the End
      • 175. Teaching Children How Money Grows
      • 176. The Principle of Delay
      • 177. By Their Fruit
      • 178. Sermons that Changed My Life
      • 179. If Paul Harvey were the Devil
      • 180. The Principle of Practice
    • 2015 Articles 181- >
      • 181. In Wrath Remember Mercy
      • 182. Choosing the Right Shepherd
      • 183. The Lord's Requirements
      • 184. Your Ear Lobe. Thumb, and Big Toe
      • More articles will be added as they are written
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  • 1185. What is Your "Attitude" tiward Scripture?
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Your Ear Lobe, Thumb, and Big Toe

Are you aware that God has something to say about the ear lobe on the right ear, the thumb on the right hand, and the big toe on the right foot? Well, He does! And while it specifically pertained to a special group of people who lived many years ago, it has something to say to us today. What might that be? 
    
In Exodus 29, the Lord gave Moses instructions for the ordination of the priests. Part of the ceremony was for Aaron and his sons to lay their hands on a ram (Exodus 29:19). The laying on of hands was a symbolic act of identification. Then Moses was told to “kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar” (Exodus 29:20).
    
No doubt, the ear symbolizes hearing, the hand doing, and the foot living, but beyond that the blood has been taken to be a reference to cleansing by some commentators (JFB; MacDonald) and to consecration by other commentators (Clarke, Constable; The NKJV Study Bible; The Ryrie Study Bible). The blood has also been said to signify both cleansing and consecration. One commentator says the blood signifies “that they were cleansed and dedicated to God. Blood on the ear may have symbolized dedication to the hearing of God’s Word, blood on the thumb may have pictured holiness in doing God’s work, and blood on the toe may have spoken of walking carefully in the service of God” (John Hannah in the Bible Knowledge Commentary).
    
This applies to us as well. The Old Testament is for our learning. Paul says, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). Believers are priests, too. Peter says believers are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). So what happened to the Old Testament priests is for our learning.
    
Believers should use their redeemed ears for the Lord. They need to hear the Lord speak, which He does through His Word.
    
Believers should use their redeemed thumbs (hands) for the Lord. They need to serve the Lord. As Paul says believers are to “through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13).
    
Believers should use their redeemed big toe (feet) for the Lord. They need to walk by means of the Holy Spirit so that they do not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
    
Believers are to hear the Word of God, walk in the truth of the Word by depending on the Holy Spirit, and serve the Lord through love by serving people, not to be cleansed from sin, but because they have been cleansed by the blood of Christ.
    
Because the Lord has been merciful and gracious to us, we should present out bodies, our ears, our thumbs, and our toes, as living sacrifices to the Him (Romans 12:1).
                                                            
ã G. Michael Cocoris 9/17/2015

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