May the mumbling commence!
Our portion is the Lord. We are the priesthood of believers, and our portion is the Lord. There is no other portion that is better! Read from Numbers chapter eighteen:
And the Lord said to Aaron, "You priests will receive no inheritance of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your inheritance and your share. As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will pay them for their service in the Tabernacle with the tithes from the entire land of Israel. "From now on, Israelites other than the priests and Levites are to stay away from the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and die. The Levites must serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law among you. But the Levites will receive no inheritance of land among the Israelites, because I have given them the Israelites' tithes, which have been set apart as offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites' share. That is why I said they would receive no inheritance of land among the Israelites."
The Lord also told Moses, "Say this to the Levites: 'When you receive the tithes from the Israelites, give a tenth of the tithes you receive – a tithe of the tithe – to the Lord as a gift. The Lord will consider this to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress. You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a gift to the Lord. From this you must present the Lord's portion to Aaron the priest. Be sure to set aside the best portions of the gifts given to you as your gifts to the Lord.'” (Verses 20-29)
The great I Am is our portion. What else do we need? Particularly for those in the set-apart ministry, we need nothing else. We receive our living from the tithes of the Body of Christ. And we get the best that people have to give.
But that’s not the end of the story. Those in set-apart ministry must give back to the Lord a tithe of the tithes. We give back the best of the best of the people of God! What a privilege!
May we give back as handsomely as Jesus gave back in the way he set others free to praise and worship God. Read from Luke chapter four:
After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon's home, where he found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. "Please heal her," everyone begged. Standing at her bedside, he spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and immediately her temperature returned to normal. She got up at once and prepared a meal for them.
As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one. Some were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, "You are the Son of God." But because they knew he was the Messiah, he stopped them and told them to be silent. (Verses 38-41)
Peter’s mother-in-law was healed to serve. Let’s remember that as we receive healing from the Lord. How can we best use our talents for the benefit of helping to bring in the Kingdom of God?
And let’s respect the set-apart day, the Sabbath. The people of the village waited until sundown – the official end of the Sabbath – to bring the diseased and demon-possessed for healing. And all who came were healed. What a wonderful thing to celebrate!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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