OT DAY 209 - Make Joyful And Passionate Offerings in Unity (Please click here for English podcast)

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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

         Blessed be the Lord,
                              who daily bears us up;
                          God is our salvation. 

                             Psalm 68:19

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 (Numbers 7:1-89)

English(ESV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=numbers+7&version=ESV

On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, 2 the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers' houses, who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed, approached 3 and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses,5 “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” 6 So Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites.

                             Numbers 7:1-6

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
     This is a special chapter in the Bible that same passages repeats twelve times. This chapter shows the passion to make offerings for the use of the sanctuary. This chapter also shows the spirit of unity through same offering of all the twelve tribes. 

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

    

     Numbers 7 emphasizes that each clan made the same contribution…God did not say all the clans had to make the same offerings. They do so, implying a mutual recognition that all had the same status…
     Numbers 7 details the contributions of each of the twelve clans, made over twelve days, and does so by repeating the same paragraph twelve times with a different clan name and leader's name at the beginning. This makes the chapter the longest in the entire Bible apart from Psalm 119.   

John Goldingay. Numbers & Deuteronomy for Everyone. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p.19-20.

      Numbers 7 gives us a good example of how joyful and passionate people should give to their church in unity when they have a new church. In reality, this is not the case. As in some statistic, 70% of churches got major argument and division in the process of building issues. How sad!
      May we learn from Numbers 7 to make joyful and passionate offerings no matter we are going to build a new church or having daily routine ministries.

Dear Lord Jesus, 
Help us to be able to learn from Numbers 7 to make joyful and passionate offerings to you as often as we can.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Group photo of Primates, Archbishops and Bishops in the Installation of the new Bishop of Sabah, Rt. Rev. Melter Jiki Tais

Reflect on these questions:

1. Do you agree with the reality that there are argument and division whenever a church is in the process of building project? Why? How can we avoid that to happen? 

2. How can Numbers 7 inspires you to make joyful and passionate offerings? 

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

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

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