I really favor Dominican, Puerto Rican or Arab barbers to cut my hair. I like their style especially when it comes to lineups. The way they use the blade for the line or part is a a nice touch. Any spots like that in Newton or am I looking in the wrong place?
Due to a church meeting and a summer Bible study, I studied Numbers 22-24 followed by 1 John 1 and found unexpected enjoyment placing them side-by-side.
Numbers 23:21 says, "He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, / Nor has He seen trouble in Israel..." Footnote 1 says, "...In themselves God's people have many defects, but in God's redemption and in Christ they have no defects. When God looks at His people, he does not see them according to what they are in themselves but according to what they are in Christ (2 Cor. 5:16-17)."
When I read 1 John 1:8, I thought it strange that John seemed to present a different angle. The verses says, "If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us." So, while God's divine view is that His people are without defects in Christ, there is still a place to recognize the sins which dwells in us according to the human view. We must see this, not only so that we do not deceive ourselves, but so that we can know how to return to the fellowship of life when we sin (1 John 1:3). If we consider sin to be fully eradicated, we will struggle to remain in the cycle of life (1 John 1:1-2), fellowship of life (v. 3), light (v. 5) and blood (v. 7) needed to continue to grow in the Lord.
Last week in the local campus meeting, we shared on Matthew 25:1-13. The focus was our need to buy the Spirit as oil to mature in the Lord. I never saw before that Paul's word to the Galatians in chapter 3 is very similar. He even called the Galatians "foolish" twice in verses 1 and 3, the same word used to describe the virgins in Matthew 25 who did not take oil in their vessels.
Paul told the Galatians that they had "begun by the Spirit (v. 3)" but his concern was how they were being perfected or how they were continuing. Instead of being perfected by receiving more of the Spirit, they sought after works of law. But Paul asked them "He who bountifully supplies to you the Spirit and does works of power among you, does He do it out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith? (v. 5)." Paul was concerned that the Galatians would store up more of the Spirit!
The verses say (referring to qualifications for the priesthood): "For no one who has a defect shall approach: one who is blind or lame or with a disfigured nose or with an extended limb, or one who has a broken foot or a broken hand."
V. 18, note 1 "defect" The various defects listed in vv. 18-20 have the following significances: Blindness signifies a lack of sight for seeing because of the shortage of Christ as the enlightening light (cf. John 8:12). Lameness signifies the lack of strength for acting because of the shortage of the strengthening of Christ (cf. Phil. 4:13). A disfigured nose signifies the lack of christ as the sensing ability in our service to God (cf. S.S. 7:4b). Having one limb longer than the other signifies overstepping and overtouching outside of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 10:13). A broken foot or hand signifies some part of our being that is not complete in Christ (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16-17)..." What enlightening verses to help in our fellowship with the Lord!