May the mumbling commence!
Place great value on honoring the Lord and His
servants. It is the call that we hear in
Nehemiah chapter twelve. Read it below:
On that day men were appointed to be in charge of the
storerooms for the gifts, the first part of the harvest, and the tithes. They
were responsible to collect these from the fields as required by the law for
the priests and Levites, for all the people
of Judah valued the priests and Levites and their work. They performed the service of their God and the service
of purification, as required by the laws of David and his son Solomon, and so
did the singers and the gatekeepers. The
custom of having choir directors to lead the choirs in hymns of praise and
thanks to God began long ago in the days of David and Asaph. So now, in the
days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, the people 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.
(Verses 44-47)
Tithing showed the Lord’s servants value, honor and
respect. And that value, honor and respect
was then given to the descendants of Aaron… and eventually to the Lord. When we worship and praise the Lord, we stand
on the shoulders of our spiritual ancestors.
And God’s dedication has never wavered from His
people. Read from Second Corinthians
chapter one:
Since I was so sure of your understanding and trust, I
wanted to give you a double blessing. I
wanted to stop and see you on my way to Macedonia and again on my return trip.
Then you could send me on my way to Judea.
You may be asking why I changed my plan. Hadn't I made up
my mind yet? Or am I like people of the world who say yes when they really mean
no? As surely as God
is true, I am not that sort of person. My yes means yes because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, never wavers between yes
and no. He is the one whom Timothy, Silas, and I preached to
you, and he is the divine Yes – God's affirmation. For all of God's promises have been fulfilled
in him. That is why we say "Amen" when we give glory to God through
Christ. It is
God who gives us, along with you, the ability to stand firm for Christ. He has
commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit
in our hearts as the first installment of everything he will give us.
Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the
truth. The reason I didn't return to Corinth was to spare you from a severe
rebuke. But that does not mean we want
to tell you exactly how to put your faith into practice. We want to work
together with you so you will be full of joy as you stand firm in your faith. (Verses
15-24)
All truth and dedication finds its source in God. Jesus is God’s hearty affirmation of our
standing with Him. Through Jesus, we
stand firm before God. Through Jesus, we
have the Holy Spirit of God in our hearts.
And that’s just the first installment!
Praise the Lord!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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