OT DAY 199 - Your Offerings Need to Be Accepted by God (Please click here for English podcast)

Please click the link below to my new 40 days Break.Build site any time you like to having a 40 days "Break.Build" daily devotion with one to two people as a discipler to help those Jesus prepares for you to disciple. You need to know that the call and purpose of my Break.Build and this Discipler123 blog/podcast is for you to become a discipler to help more people to have a daily intimate relationship with Jesus and then they can become disciplers too:
http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

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Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Open your heart to praise the Lord

       Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
                       and to you shall vows be performed.
2         O you who hear prayer,
                          to you shall all flesh come.

                             Psalm 65:1-2

                                                                       

Confession and Repentance

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

The Word (Leviticus 21:1-22:32)

English(ESV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus 19&version=ESV

17 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the Lord, 19 if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. 20 You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. 

29 And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. 

31 “So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. 32 And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, 33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.”

                              Leviticus 22: 17-20, 29, 31-33

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

My Listening
     Have you given a gift to someone close to you and you got rejected? He didn't like the style. She didn't like the colour.

     Today's passage is about whether our offering to God is being accepted by God or not. When did you make your offering to God last time? Yesterday? Do you know whether God accepted your offering?

Let's see how Professor John Goldingay tells us: 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goldingay) :

    

     Giving needs to be a bit selfless, and it should be the best you can do...
     You can't fulfill a promise to God by attempting to pass off a sick or lame animal that is less use to you than a healthy and whole animal.  As Malachi puts it, try offering them to the government when you are paying your taxes - you think that would work? If not, doing it to God is an insult.  The comparison also helps us see the background to the extra expectations of the priests, detailed in chapter 21.  The special position of people who have a responsibility to the king or the governor places special obligations on them.  Their position of privilege involves forfeiting some of the freedoms of ordinary people.  And like the servants of a king or governor, the sacrificers need to be healthy and whole like the sacrifices. 

John Goldingay. Exodus and Leviticus for Everyone. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p.171-172.

      So, how is your offerings lately? Have you offered your best to God, or just your second class, third class or even leftovers. 

Dear Lord Jesus, 
Help us to understand the significance of our offerings and that we need to offer our best to you in order for you to accept our offerings. We say we love you, lead us to enter into our true love to you.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

Reflect on these questions:

1. As Professor Goldingay says, do you think your offering would insult God? How do you feel about that? 

2. How can you offer your best to God from now on? 

Praise and Thanksgiving

Let's give thanks for God with us. Let us praise Him:

10,000 Reasons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

You may choose to follow my other daily blog:

Daily Devotion on Fire: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/

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