Leviticus 8:1

Leviticus 8:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Then verse two adds, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;  God was now giving Moses instructions on the cleansing of the priests and the things associated with them.  As followers of Christ, we are a priesthood of believers, and I believe that we bound to spiritually cleanse ourselves and everything associated with our lives by placing everything under God's control by our faith in Christ.  Verse three continues, And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  The whole congregation of Israel was to gathered together for this ceremony.  The tabernacle was ready, the laws had been given, and now it was time to set aside Aaron and his sons for the office of the priesthood.  When we come to Christ, everything is already in place to enable us to assume our calling as a part of the priesthood of God, and we must simply consecrate our self to fulfilling the role.  Verse four declares, And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.  The first thing that had to happen was for Moses to do as God commanded, and he did.  The first thing we must do in every situation after we come to Christ as our Savior and Lord is to do what God tells us to do, as we must do in every situation after that, if we are to be successful in doing what God calls us to do.  Verse five adds, And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.  Moses first let the congregation know that this was God's instruction and not just his own plan.  We should always know that what we are doing is what God instructs us to do, and we should let others know that we are doing what God has instructed us to do.  If we all know that we are all doing what God calls us to do as His followers, then there should be little reason for dissension among us.  Verse six continues, And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water.  Moses began the purification ceremony for Aaron and his sons, again done before the whole congregation.  There was nothing secretive about this.  We today cannot attempt to do things secretively that would somehow put us in a position of authority over other Christians.  Verse seven says, And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith.  Moses then put the priestly garments on Aaron.  Verse eight adds, And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.  Moses then began to place the other items associated with the priesthood on Aaron.  Verse nine continues, And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.  Moses had now dressed Aaron in all the items associated with the priesthood.  Aaron did not just put these things on by himself, but they were put on him by Moses, God's representative to the people of Israel.  We today cannot just assume whatever position we may desire in the church, but we must be called and placed there by the Holy Spirit.  When we do come to Christ, we have all the armor of God that we should put on as we go out into the world to do God's bidding.  Verse ten states, And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein, and sanctified them.  Moses then anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it with the anointing oil.  Though Aaron and his sons were being anointed to the priesthood, all of the people of Israel were to be a part of this setting them aside for the priesthood.  I believe that we as Christians are all involved together with the carrying out God's purpose here on earth, and we should all support one another in whatever position God calls us to fill.  Verse eleven adds, And he sprinkled thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot, to sanctify them. Verse twelve concludes, And he poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him, to sanctify him.  Moses then anointed Aaron with oil, thereby setting him aside for the priesthood.  Today, we should anoint, or set aside for God's use, all that we are or have.

Leviticus 7:22

Leviticus 7:22 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse twenty-three adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, or of sheep, or of goat.  God now began to tell the people of Israel some dietary restrictions, Matthew Henry says since fat was used in the sacrifices to God.  Though we don't have dietary restrictions today, I believe that God still expects us to put every aspect of our lives under His control and to never misuse what He has blessed us with.  Verse twenty-four continues, And the fat of the beast that dieth of itself, and the fat of that which sacrifices and is torn with beasts, may be used in any other use: but ye shall in no wise eat of it.  They were allowed to use the fat in other ways, but they were not to eat of it.  Verse twenty-five states, For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people.  Though the people were allowed to eat of the flesh of an animal sacrificed, they were not allowed to eat of the fat.  If they did, they were to be cut off from the rest of God's people.  If we disobey the word of God today, we will be cut off spiritually from God's people.  We cannot disobey God's laws and still maintain a closeness with His people or Him.  Verse twenty-six adds, Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.  The people of Israel were also prohibited from eating any blood in their dwelling.  Again, blood was used in sacrifices to God.  Verse twenty-seven continues, Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.  As with the eating of the fat, anyone who ate of the blood was to be cut off from the rest of the people of God.  Verse twenty-eight declares, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse twenty-nine adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, He that offereth the sacrifice of his peace offerings unto the LORD shall bring his oblation unto the LORD of the sacrifice of his peace offerings.  This would appear to be a separate time when God spoke to Moses, but could just be a reemphasis that this was God's instructions to Moses.  Verse thirty continues, His own hands shall bring the offerings of the LORD made by fire, the fat with the breast, it shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before the LORD.  The man bringing the offering was to kill it and also remove the breast as a wave offering, which could later be used by Aaron and his sons for food.  Verse thirty-one says, And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar: but the breast shall be Aaron’s and his sons'.  This was what I have just stated.  Verse thirty-two adds, And the right shoulder shall ye give unto the priest for an heave offering of the sacrifices of your peace offerings.  The right shoulder was to used as a heave offering, once again something that was not to be burned.  Verse thirty-three continues, He among the sons of Aaron, that offereth the blood of the peace offerings, and the fat, shall have the right shoulder for his part. The one of Aaron's sons offering the sacrifice of the blood on the altar was to be allowed to keep the right shoulder.  Verse thirty-four states, For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them unto Aaron the priest and unto his sons by a statute for ever from among the children of Israel.  God told Moses that He had taken the wave breast and heave shoulder of the peace offerings and had given it to Aaron and his sons by statute.  This was one way God provided for the priests.  Verse thirty-five adds, This is the portion of the anointing of Aaron, and of the anointing of his sons, out of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, in the day when he presented them to minister unto the LORD in the priest’s office;  God was providing for Aaron and his sons, the priests, but it was still by His plan and authority.  God provides for our needs today as followers of Christ, but it is still under His plan and by His authority.  Verse thirty-six continues, Which the LORD commanded to be given them of the children of Israel, in the day that he anointed them, by a statute for ever throughout their generations.  God told Moses that this wasn't an optional thing but was a statute throughout all the generations.  Verse thirty-seven says, This is the law of the burnt offering, of the meat offering, and of the sin offering, and of the trespass offering, and of the consecrations, and of the sacrifice of the peace offerings;  God then told Moses that these laws applied to the burnt, meat, sin and trespass offerings.  Verse thirty-eight adds. Which the LORD commanded Moses in mount Sinai, in the day that he commanded the children of Israel to offer their oblations unto the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai. We are then told that these were laws commanded to Moses on Mount Sinai.  This was God's law 

Leviticus 7:11

Leviticus 7:11 says, And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.  This was still God's instructions to Moses, this time concerning the peace offering.  We need to hear what God has to say to us today if we are followers of Christ.  Verse twelve adds, If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.  Moses was first told of the requirements for a thanksgiving offering, which was to be offered with unleavened cakes and wafers anointed with oil.  These offerings were not required, but were to be freely offered any time a person wanted to do so.  Accepting Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins is all that is necessary for salvation, but we are still to make offerings to God of the material things that He blesses us with.  Verse thirteen continues, Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.  There were also leavened cakes that were to be offered with the peace offering as an offering of thanksgiving.  Verse fourteen declares, And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.  One part the leavened bread was to be given to the priest, who would sprinkle it with the blood of the peace offering.  We know today that we are made righteous with God by the shed blood of Jesus, and when we offer anything to God, it is purified by the blood of Jesus.  Verse fifteen adds, And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.  What was left over from the peace offering could be eaten not just by the priest but by the one bringing the offering as well, but it had to be eaten that day.  Matthew Henry says this was so that something given to God would never be allowed to decay.  When we offer something to God today, we must give it freely to be used up immediately if God sees fit, and if we are allowed to still keep a portion for ourselves, then we must still use it all for the glory of God.  Verse sixteen continues, But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:  There was a little difference in the offering made for a vow, and that was that what was left could be eaten on the second day as well.  As Christians, everything we own should belong to God, and some of it will be immediately removed from our possession to do God's work through the church as a whole, but even the rest should be viewed as belonging to God and used for His honor and glory.  Verse seventeen states, But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.  Anything left by the third day was to be burned up.  Verse eighteen adds, And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity.  Any of the offering eaten the third day would make the offering not be accepted.  We need to realize that God is the One Who controls the way that our offerings are to be used, and once we make them they are then under His control.  Verse nineteen continues, And the flesh that toucheth any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burnt with fire: and as for the flesh, all that be clean shall eat thereof.  If the flesh of the offering touched anything unclean, it was to be burned.  All that was clean could still be eaten.  When we bring an offering to God today, we should ask forgiveness for any sin in our lives when we do so, and then our sacrifice will be pure.  Verse twenty declares, But the soul that eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, that pertain unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.  Anyone eating part of the peace offering who was unclean was to be cut off from the people of God.  If we allow something unclean, or some sin, to enter our life today as a follower of Christ, then we may lose our close relationship with other Christians, though won't lose our salvation.  Verse twenty-one adds, Moreover the soul that shall touch any unclean thing, as the uncleanness of man, or any unclean beast, or any abominable unclean thing, and eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which pertain unto the LORD, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.  Offerings and sacrifices were taken seriously then, as should our offerings be today.  Whenever we offer anything to God, we should first make sure that we are not made unclean by some sin that is in our life.

Leviticus 7:1

Leviticus 7:1 says, Likewise this is the law of the trespass offering: it is most holy.  The law of the trespass offering was said to be most holy.  A trespass would be a deliberate sin against God I believe, and even if our actions are against a neighbor, they are ultimately against God if the are wrong.  Verse two adds, In the place where they kill the burnt offering shall they kill the trespass offering: and the blood thereof shall he sprinkle round about upon the altar.  The trespass offering was to be killed in the same place that the burnt offering was killed.  I believe that we can say that all offerings we make today as Christians are made at the same place, and that is at the foot of the cross of Jesus.  Verse three continues, And he shall offer of it all the fat thereof; the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards,  Verse four concludes, And the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, which is by the flanks, and the caul that is above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away:  These two verses give the specifics of what was to be offered.  As with all the sacrifices, God set the terms of what was to be sacrificed.  Today, it is simple.  We offer all that we are and all that we have to God through our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse five states, And the priest shall burn them upon the altar for an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a trespass offering. The offering was to be burned like the trespass offerings had been on the altar, just as the peace offerings had been burned.  Verse six adds, Every male among the priests shall eat thereof: it shall be eaten in the holy place: it is most holy.  Evidently the fire was not to consume this offering, or this refers to the rest of the sacrifice that was not consumed by the fire.  The priest were to be allowed to eat of the sacrifice together in the holy place.  This would bring them both food and fellowship with each other in the presence of God.  We still need that sustenance and fellowship with God and our fellow believers today.  Verse seven continues, As the sin offering is, so is the trespass offering: there is one law for them: the priest that maketh atonement therewith shall have it.  The people were told then and we are told today that there was one law for all the offerings, and that was the law of God.  We know today that all sins are forgiven the same way, and that is by coming to Jesus Christ and confessing our sins, and all sin can only be forgiven this way.  Verse eight says, And the priest that offereth any man’s burnt offering, even the priest shall have to himself the skin of the burnt offering which he hath offered.  The priest who offered the offering was to have the skin of the burnt offering.  This would be of use to the priest, and it was not to be divided among the priests.  God does not give all of His followers the same things materially, but He does provide for all their needs if they put their faith in Him.  Verse nine adds, And all the meat offering that is baken in the oven, and all that is dressed in the fryingpan, and in the pan, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.  If the offering was of flour then all that was left from preparing the offering was to belong to the priest offering it.  Then verse ten concludes, And every meat offering, mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as much as another.  Matthew Henry says that this refers to those parts of the sacrifice that did not need to be consumed immediately.  We do know that some of the sacrifice was to be consumed in the holy place and by the priest on duty and some was to be shared with all the priests.  Today, some of what God blesses us with will be for our own use and some will be for sharing with others.  I believe that if we are listening to God that we will know how to use what He blesses us with.

Leviticus 6:19

Leviticus 6:19 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Then verse twenty adds, This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto the LORD in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night.  God then specified a perpetual offering of fine meal that was to be offered, half in the morning and half in the evening.  I believe that we can say today that God expects us to offer ourselves to Him day and night as a living sacrifice, through our faith in Christ, Who is our high Priest.  Verse twenty-one continues, In a pan it shall be made with oil; and when it is baken, thou shalt bring it in: and the baken pieces of the meat offering shalt thou offer for a sweet savour unto the LORD.  The flour was to be cooked with oil and burned as a sweet smelling offering to God.  Verse twenty-two concludes, And the priest of his sons that is anointed in his stead shall offer it: it is a statute for ever unto the LORD; it shall be wholly burnt.  The priest who was anointed that day was to offer the sacrifice, and this offering was to not only be perpetual. but it was to be burned totally up.  Verse twenty-three declares, For every meat offering for the priest shall be wholly burnt: it shall not be eaten.  As just stated, this offering was to be burned up totally, since it was an offering for the sins of the priests.  We cannot hold back parts of ourselves when we come to Christ by faith, but we must give all that we are and have to Him to be used as He sees fit.  Verse twenty-four adds, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse twenty-five continues, Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin offering: In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin offering be killed before the LORD: it is most holy.  God through Moses continued to give instructions about the offerings.  The sin offering was to be killed in the place where the burnt offer had been killed, because it was a most holy place to God.  Then verse twenty-six concludes, The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation.  This offering was not to be totally burned up but was to be eaten by the priest who was anointed.  This would signify the taking of the sins of the people on himself by the priest, just as Christ took all sins on Himself when He died on the cross.  Verse twenty-seven states, Whatsoever shall touch the flesh thereof shall be holy: and when there is sprinkled of the blood thereof upon any garment, thou shalt wash that whereon it was sprinkled in the holy place.  Anything that the offering touched was to be considered holy, and if blood got on a garment, it was to be washed.  I believe that we today can say that when we touch Christ by putting our faith in Him as our Savior and Lord that we are made holy, or set apart for His service.  Of course, instead of washing off His blood, we are made pure by being washed in the blood of Christ.  Verse twenty-eight adds, But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. If the sin offering had been in an earthen pot, it was to be broken, and if it was in a brazen pot, the pot was to be scoured completely.  Verse twenty-nine continues, All the males among the priests shall eat thereof: it is most holy.  All the male priests were to eat of this offering.

Then verse thirty concludes, And no sin offering, whereof any of the blood is brought into the tabernacle of the congregation to reconcile withal in the holy place, shall be eaten: it shall be burnt in 

the fire.  Then, God said that no sin offering was to be eaten, but it was to be burned completely.  There was to be no profit materially from the sin offering.  

Leviticus 6:8

Leviticus 6:8 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse nine adds, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.  God spoke to Moses and told him to command Aaron and his sons, who were the priests, concerning the burnt offering.  Though the priest represented God to the people, they were still under God's command, just as preachers are today.  This offering was to be a daily offering, just as we are to offer ourselves as a daily living sacrifice to God.  Verse ten continues, And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. The priest was even to dress in a particular way, wearing the garments that he wore at any service at the altar, and then remove the ashes from the altar.  This was basically a housecleaning job.  We today do not have to dress in a particular way when we come into God's presence, but we do have some house cleaning to do everyday.  We need to remove all the things from our lives that get between God and us.  Verse eleven states, And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.  After the priest removed the ashes from the altar, then he was to change out of his priestly garments.  The priest was then to dispose of the ashes in a clean place.  Matthew Henry says that the ashes were still representative of the sacrifice to God and were to be treated as such.  Verse twelve adds, And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.  The fire on the altar was to never go out.  It was the responsibility of the priests to keep the fire going so that the daily sacrifices might be made.  It is our responsibility today as followers of Christ to make sure that the fire of the gospel never goes out.  We must feed the flame daily.  Verse thirteen continues, The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.  This was simply a reemphasis that the fire on the altar was to never go out.  The fire of the altar was to be ever ready at anytime for a sacrifice, just as we are to be ready at anytime to offer our lives as a sacrifice to God.  Today, being a Christian is a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week calling.  Verse fourteen declares, And this is the law of the meat offering: the sons of Aaron shall offer it before the LORD, before the altar.  God now goes into the specifics of the way the meat offering was to be presented.  Once more, we need to follow God's directions when we are serving Him.  We cannot just do what we want and then claim that we were doing it for God.  Verse fifteen adds, And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD.  Only a portion of the meat offering was to be burned.  Verse sixteen continues, And the remainder thereof shall Aaron and his sons eat: with unleavened bread shall it be eaten in the holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation they shall eat it.  The rest was to be eaten by Aaron and his sons, the priests, with unleavened bread in the tabernacle of the congregation.  God was making provision for them, but that did not mean that they were to skimp on the amount burned because they knew the rest was going to be theirs,  We today need to realize that as followers of Christ that everything that we have belongs to God, and we should never skip on what we give to do His work.  Verse seventeen says, It shall not be baken with leaven. I have given it unto them for their portion of my offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as is the sin offering, and as the trespass offering.  Then verse eighteen adds, All the males among the children of Aaron shall eat of it. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations concerning the offerings of the LORD made by fire: every one that toucheth them shall be holy.  Only the male descendants of Aaron were to eat of the leftovers from the offerings, because they were the priests.  Today, any Christian, whether male or female, is a part of the priesthood of God.  We can come freely to God at any time.

Leviticus 6:1

Leviticus 6:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Once more, we are told that this is God's word given to Moses.  If we are sharing the word of God today, we must first make sure that it is His word, and to do that, we must first know what His word says and recognize His voice when He talks to us.  Verse two adds, If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;  God now begins to deal with sin that involves a person's neighbor.  Though these are things done against a neighbor, the are called sins against God.  We, as followers of Christ, represent Him in the world today, and if our actions cause harm to our neighbor, they reflect on God.  Ultimately, all sin is against God, because it breaks our relationship with Him.  God speaks of breaking ones trust with a neighbor by attempting to misuse what the neighbor has entrusted him or her with.  Verse three continues, Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:  Then God, through Moses, speaks of finding something someone has lost and attempting to keep it for one's self, even lying to do so.  We can never justify the finders keepers, losers weepers attitude as Christians.  If we find something, we must attempt to return it to its rightful owner if at all possible, and we can certainly never justify lying to keep it.  Verse four declares, Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found,  God deals with more than one way that a person could be guilty of taking something belonging to his or her neighbor.  It could be taken violently, deceitfully, found, or have been given in trust.  We might notice that God does not distinguish between these acts.  All are sins.  We might judge those more harshly that take things by force, but in the eyes of God, a person is just as guilty if he or she takes something by violating a trust.  Verse five adds, Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering.  This verse adds lying to keep something that isn't yours, then specifies the penalty.  Not only was the thing attained illegally to be restored, but a twenty percent penalty was to be added to it.  This was to be done before a trespass offering was offered.  It is not enough to just say that we have asked God's forgiveness and not think that we therefore need to do nothing more.  God expects His people to deal honestly with other people, and when they don't, He expects them to do their best to make restitution.  Not only are we as followers of Christ not above the law, but we are to set the standard for others to follow in obeying the law, unless it somehow directly affects our relationship with God.  Verse six continues, And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest:  After restoration was made, the man was to bring a ram to the priest as an offering.  We must attempt to make things right with those we have offended and then we are to offer our sacrifice to God, which is our true repentance and placing our lives once again in His hands, since Jesus Christ has already made atonement for all our sins.  Verse seven concludes, And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.  Jesus Christ is our Priest today, and He makes atonement for all our sins, but we cannot just ignore it when we sin, especially if we have hurt our neighbor by saying that God has already forgiven us.  We must take responsibility for our sins and do our best to make things right with our neighbor if we have harmed him or her.