9/11/2011 7:56:33 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: We must give our gifts to God
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Nehemiah 12:44-47
Message of the verses: “44 ¶ On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the offerings, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They were responsible to collect from the fields outside the towns the portions required by the Law for the priests and Levites. For all the people of Judah took joy in the priests and Levites and their work. 45 They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as commanded by David and his son Solomon, and so did the singers and the gatekeepers. 46 The custom of having choir directors to lead the choirs in hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God began long ago in the days of David and Asaph. 47 So now, in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel brought a daily supply of food for the singers, the gatekeepers, and the Levites. The Levites, in turn, gave a portion of what they received to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.”
This section is about giving, and God has much to say about giving in His Word. As this celebration continued to unfold this was the last thing that the children of Israel would do and it was an important thing to do. In the Law of the Lord the children of Israel were instructed on how they were to give to the work of the Lord, and now since they had the temple rebuilt they needed to make sure that these laws were followed so that the work of the Lord through the temple worship could continue. As seen in verse 44 the people were pleased with the work that the priest and the Levites were doing and so that made it easier for them to give their tithes to support them in their work for the Lord. Again we see both David and Solomon’s names in the section that is being looked at, for they had set up many things that contributed to the work of the Lord through the temple worship and the people were eager to follow their instructions.
When one looks at verse 44 in the context of the church today it also makes sense that people will give to the work of the Lord when they are pleased with the leaders in their local church. Paul says in 2Cor. 9:7 that believers are to give to the Lord “not grudgingly or of necessity” but joyfully and with a happy heart. J. Hudson Taylor used to say, “When God’s work is done in God’s way for God’s glory, it will not lack God’s support.” I have been in churches where there was not any way that I could support what they were doing, for the services were weak, and it was difficult to learn from what they offered.
As I have thought about giving to the Lord, and I have done a lot of think about this subject, I have come to the conclusion that it is really a great privilege for me to give to the work of the Lord, and the reason that I think in this way is because God does not need what I have to offer to Him, but God does accept my gift if given in a proper way. The Bible teaches that God owns everything, for after all He created everything, and believers are stewards of what the Lord has entrusted them with and therefore I, as a believer am to give to the cause of Christ out of what God has blessed me with, but realizing that God owns it all. I once was talking to a man at my place of work and he began to brag to me that he owned his house, for after all he had bought and paid for it. The man was probably in his early sixty’s and I said to him that I did not believe that he owned it, to which he disagreed, so I told him that who would have possession of “his” house a hundred years from now. I doubt that this made much impression to him, but I felt that it was a small way of talking to him about the Lord.
The celebration is now over for the children of Israel, and one must wonder if it would last, and of course the answer is, no it will not last, and we will see about this in chapter thirteen of the book of Nehemiah.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am thankful for verse 44 for from this verse I have come to realize that my actions were correct when I chose not to give to certain ministries. My very favorite places to give to the Lord are to the missionaries that leave everything and go to places that they have been called to go. One of those works is in the country of Bangladesh where a former Pastor of mine used to go and teach in a Bible School. I have gotten to know the man who leads that Bible Study and have come to love and support the work that he is doing there. He can do more work with very little funds than anyone that I have ever met. One can build a small church building there for about $12,000, and that would include the land. Christianity is really growing under the ministry that God has given to this man and it is a great privilege to support his ministry for this reason, for people are coming to know the Lord, and are growing in their new found faith.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Trust that the Lord will guide me in my giving for the cause of Christ.
2. Continue to learn contentment.
3. Trust the Lord to see me through this illness that I am going through.
9/11/2011 8:37:54 AM
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