As a perfectionist, fear distorted my view of God's character. I saw Him through a faulty lens. I felt more anxious around Him than I did peaceful, but it's because of what perfectionism taught me. Through the lens of Scripture, God has revealed His true nature to me.

No longer do I waste precious energy and time trying to solve my humanity.

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu

Purified by God, Not Ritual | Leviticus 14

Leviticus 14 continues the discussion of skin diseases from chapter 13 and shifts into instructions about purification rituals and even mildew in homes. At first glance, chapters like this can feel distant, confusing, or even irrelevant to modern readers. But in this episode, we explore why every part of Scripture still matters and how God continues to speak through passages many people are tempted to skip.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why believers should read all of the Bible—even the difficult or “boring” parts

• What Leviticus 14 reveals about God’s holiness and authority

• The difference between ritual and true purification

• How God—not the ceremony itself—declared people clean

• Why repentance and obedience sometimes require intentional effort

• How reading Scripture with the desire to know God changes the way we approach His Word

Key Scriptures:

• 2 Timothy 3:16

• Hebrews 4:12

• Leviticus 14

God did not accidentally include Leviticus in the Bible. His Word is living, active, and purposeful, and when we approach Scripture with humility and openness, He faithfully reveals Himself through it.

Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu

Some exhaustion doesn’t come from doing too much.

It comes from believing your worth before God depends on how well you perform for Him. This is called performance-driven faith, and it’s exhausting.

This type of exhaustion is not the kind that sleep can fix, but the deeper kind—the mental, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion that comes from believing your relationship with God depends on how well you perform for Him.

I know that exhaustion well because I lived in it, both knowingly and unknowingly, for most of my life.

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu

You could be reading the Bible wrong.

I don’t mean that harshly. I mean that personally.

For years, I started with the question, “How does this apply to me?”
But Leviticus 14 showed me something deeper.

The Bible was first given to reveal who God is.

When we start there, everything changes.

In today’s episode of the You Don’t Have to Be Perfect Podcast, I share the lens that shifted how I read not just Leviticus — but the entire Bible.

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

To Support

Leave a review and help spread the word about this uplifting podcast. You can also support it financially here:

https://anchor.fm/vanessa-luu 

Some of Leviticus is downright gross to read, but this book powerfully points to Jesus and highlights how much we need Him and how our lives should be lived out in gratitude!

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu

Today's episode is more about finding clarity and understanding. Typically, I have several practical applications to share with you. This was more about understanding difficult text. What I found eased my mind; I hope it eases yours, too, as you continue to learn more about God.

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu

You can’t follow God without God. Even these food laws could not be followed without the desire to be near to God. What would be their motivation for staying away from certain foods if they didn’t care about being in God’s presence? I’m sure many didn’t care enough to be in God’s presence and follow these food laws, and there were consequences for them, given by God. Today, there are still many who don’t desire to be in God’s presence, and some of those people even go to church, but they aren’t looking for God. They are looking for peace, or comfort, or community, or purpose. All of those are indeed found in God, but it’s God we need to be seeking, not those things. 

I understand the challenge I’m describing, trust me. What I can tell you is, you will desire Him more when you sincerely seek Him because when you sincerely seek Him, you will find Him, but it starts with believing that He’s better than ANYTHING this world has to offer, because anything this world has to offer was made by someone so much greater.

Leviticus 10 is wild. Two priests are instantly consumed by fire because they offered “unauthorized fire” before the Lord. It’s shocking, dramatic, and honestly… it raises big questions.

But tucked inside this intense moment is a deeper revelation of who God is, what He expects, and why His holiness matters.

Join me in this week’s episode as we slow down, open the text, and discover what God reveals about Himself even in passages that feel confusing, heavy, or hard to understand.

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu

God's Word is exciting! Even in the book of Leviticus, God speaks, and He speaks CLEARLY. I love reading God's Word and I pray you will come to love it as you grow closer to Him.

Enjoy Leviticus 9 as I read it for you and share my thoughts.

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu

 If I were to apply a personal application to this chapter, it would be, if God gives me specific instructions, I’d better obey. It would be foolish and dangerous to disobey.

I hope this is an invitation to us all to listen for God’s voice, get familiar with his voice in the Word, and abide by it, obey, and live!

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Other Resources:

You Don't Have To Be Perfect by Vanessa Luu

Truth and Tools Workbook by Vanessa Luu

The Relevant Old Testament by Vanessa Luu

The Wilderness Remains by Vanessa Luu

Return to Me by Vanessa Luu