KJB Daily
Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
Chapters: Exodus 34-36
Message: Exodus: Giving An Offering To God
Hello My Friend,
Offering, An animal, portion of bread, vegetables, gold, silver, or other valuable articles, presented to God as an atonement for sin, or as a return of thanks for His blessings. We just had stewardship month at my church, they do it every January sort of as a way to make resolutions to God. It is finished with a beautiful banquet and a message about making faith promises to God, trusting Him to provide the offering we promise to give each week/month for the year. The following week is time and talent week, we are handed a list of church ministries in which we can offer our time. The first thing we tend think of when the word offering comes up in the church is money, and while it is necessary, we ought to be careful about churches who constantly preach about giving money only. God is looking for something more than money from us, our time. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” - 1 Corinthians 12:1,28,31.
“But covet earnestly the best gifts: ” Some people have many talents, but we all have one talent. God does not want us to covet or desire other gifts or talents, He wants us to desire the very best He gave us and offer it to Him. Now, after all that mess with the golden calf, God instructed Moses to go back up to Mount Sinai with two tables of stone, it was there that He gave him further instructions, and a new covenant with the children of Israel.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.” - Exodus 34:1,2,8-10.
“for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.” Terrible, Adapted to impress dread, terror or solemn awe and reverence. God was about to show His talents, not His wrath, but the amazing acts that would bring Israel to acknowledge (reverence) and respect Him. If we trust Him and follow His commands we show His respect, and not only that, He respects us. While God does want us to fear Him, it's a godly fear, a fear in which we give Him honor and respect for everything He has done for us. “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” - Psalms 119:9,10.
Part of showing respect to God is offering our times, talents, and things to Him. After another forty days and nights on top of the mountain, Moses came down and told that people what God wanted from them. “And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office. And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.” - Exodus 35:4,5,19-21.
“every one whose heart stirred him up,” God does not want us to give anything out of obligation or force, after all He cannot force us to do anything, He does want us to give willingly. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” - 2 Corinthians 9:7.
Once we come to the realization that everything we own belongs to God, including us if we are saved, we will willingly offer anything He needs. Men and women, including Bezaleel and Aholiab, brought their, time, talents, and offerings to build the tabernacle.
“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.” - Exodus 36:1-6.
“And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning.” God does not just want a one time offering, He wants a daily offering, a daily sacrifice in fact, one in which we give so much to Him, that it pours on others. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” - Romans 12:1-3.
Today's Prayer: God, You have given every one of us talents and gifts that we use every day for provisions or fun, but You have a greater purpose for them, You want us to willingly use them for You. Thank You for the talents, skills, and provisions You have given me, there is not a day that goes by that I am not in awe of what You do for me. Everything I have is a gift from You, and it is time I stop being selfish and offer them back, all of them. Lord, everything I have is Yours, including me, I want to be a living sacrifice that shows Your Son in me and one that conforms me to Him and not the world. I offer myself daily, lead me and guide me, show me what You want me to do for You, and open my heart to give willingly every time. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://godsprice.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
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Copyright © 2016 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
Date: Friday, January 29, 2016
Chapters: Exodus 34-36
Message: Exodus: Giving An Offering To God
Hello My Friend,
Offering, An animal, portion of bread, vegetables, gold, silver, or other valuable articles, presented to God as an atonement for sin, or as a return of thanks for His blessings. We just had stewardship month at my church, they do it every January sort of as a way to make resolutions to God. It is finished with a beautiful banquet and a message about making faith promises to God, trusting Him to provide the offering we promise to give each week/month for the year. The following week is time and talent week, we are handed a list of church ministries in which we can offer our time. The first thing we tend think of when the word offering comes up in the church is money, and while it is necessary, we ought to be careful about churches who constantly preach about giving money only. God is looking for something more than money from us, our time. “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.” - 1 Corinthians 12:1,28,31.
“But covet earnestly the best gifts: ” Some people have many talents, but we all have one talent. God does not want us to covet or desire other gifts or talents, He wants us to desire the very best He gave us and offer it to Him. Now, after all that mess with the golden calf, God instructed Moses to go back up to Mount Sinai with two tables of stone, it was there that He gave him further instructions, and a new covenant with the children of Israel.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.” - Exodus 34:1,2,8-10.
“for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.” Terrible, Adapted to impress dread, terror or solemn awe and reverence. God was about to show His talents, not His wrath, but the amazing acts that would bring Israel to acknowledge (reverence) and respect Him. If we trust Him and follow His commands we show His respect, and not only that, He respects us. While God does want us to fear Him, it's a godly fear, a fear in which we give Him honor and respect for everything He has done for us. “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.” - Psalms 119:9,10.
Part of showing respect to God is offering our times, talents, and things to Him. After another forty days and nights on top of the mountain, Moses came down and told that people what God wanted from them. “And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office. And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.” - Exodus 35:4,5,19-21.
“every one whose heart stirred him up,” God does not want us to give anything out of obligation or force, after all He cannot force us to do anything, He does want us to give willingly. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” - 2 Corinthians 9:7.
Once we come to the realization that everything we own belongs to God, including us if we are saved, we will willingly offer anything He needs. Men and women, including Bezaleel and Aholiab, brought their, time, talents, and offerings to build the tabernacle.
“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.” - Exodus 36:1-6.
“And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning.” God does not just want a one time offering, He wants a daily offering, a daily sacrifice in fact, one in which we give so much to Him, that it pours on others. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” - Romans 12:1-3.
Today's Prayer: God, You have given every one of us talents and gifts that we use every day for provisions or fun, but You have a greater purpose for them, You want us to willingly use them for You. Thank You for the talents, skills, and provisions You have given me, there is not a day that goes by that I am not in awe of what You do for me. Everything I have is a gift from You, and it is time I stop being selfish and offer them back, all of them. Lord, everything I have is Yours, including me, I want to be a living sacrifice that shows Your Son in me and one that conforms me to Him and not the world. I offer myself daily, lead me and guide me, show me what You want me to do for You, and open my heart to give willingly every time. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://godsprice.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I'm Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I'm Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2016 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
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