Devotions

reverent fellowship

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 33:7-11

⁷ That was when Moses had taken the tent and pitched it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he had called it the meeting tent. And everyone who wanted to inquire of the LORD would go out to the meeting tent, which was outside the camp.⁸ Whenever Moses had gone out to the tent, all the people would rise up, and each would stand at his tent door, and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent.⁹ When Moses had entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses.¹⁰ And when all the people had seen the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, each at his tent door.¹¹ And the LORD had spoken to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not leave the tent.

reverent fellowship

God’s people had sinned greatly, and there would be consequences. Some of the consequences we have already seen: an immediate violent death of about 3000 souls at the hands of the obedient Levites, and a plague that would kill even more. But another consequence is seen here in this passage. The presence of the LORD can no longer reside in the tabernacle, because it is in the midst of the camp. God had told Moses that if he were among the people, he would strike them again because of their rebellion.

So, the next church where God will meet with Moses – for communication purposes – is another meeting tent. This tent was placed well outside the camp, symbolizing the distance between the people and their God. It would not contain any of the elaborate furniture of the tabernacle, and it would not be frequently visited and maintained by the priests. It would stand empty except for brief intervals when Moses would enter it to speak with the LORD on behalf of the Israelites. Joshua would stay nearby, guarding and maintaining it.

Two lessons the Israelites would learn from this temporary arrangement seem almost opposite to each other. On the one hand, the respect each showed Moses when he met with the LORD was a welcomed change from the disrespect and derision they had shown him before the incident with the golden calf. Their reverence for the LORD and Moses was refreshing. That lesson had been learned. On the other hand, the meetings that Moses would have with the LORD in the meeting tent were described as fellowship in the most casual of terms.

Prayer and worship before the LORD of the universe is always a matter of balance of both of these elements. We must come before him reverently, but he also wants us to fellowship with him intimately. It is no surprise that we often struggle for the right balance of these two emphases.

LORD, show us how we can fear you rightly, and fellowship with you closely.

Posted in discernment, fear, fellowship, Moses, reverence | Tagged Exodus 33 | 1 Comment

this discouraging word

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 33:1-6

¹ The LORD told Moses, “Go on up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’² I will send an angel in front of you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.³ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, or I would consume you on the way, because you are a stiff-necked people.”⁴ When the people heard this discouraging word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.⁵ Because the LORD had told Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, so that I may know what to do with you.'”⁶ Therefore the people of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward.

this discouraging word

We need to stop and camp out at these words before going further. Notice that the LORD is sending his people to the promised land, but not agreeing to go with them as he had done before. Their horrible sin at the foot of Sinai has caused a change in plans. Finally, the people get it. They strip off their fancy ornaments and begin to mourn. They realize that they could not have gotten this far if God had not been present with them. They begin to ponder their fate if they try to do God’s mission without his presence.

Fast forward to a Galilean mountainside. Jesus, having called his disciples to him, gives them their mission to make disciples of all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. Just before sending them to Jerusalem to wait for empowerment for that mission, he adds: “see, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[1] Believers in Christ need not be concerned that they might lose the presence when they are involved in the mission.

LORD, thank you for the promise of your empowering presence as we seek to accomplish your mission.

[1] Matthew 28:20.

Posted in dependence upon God, missions | Tagged Exodus 33 | 1 Comment

perhaps I can make atonement

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 32:25-35

²⁵ And when Moses saw that the people had lost control of themselves (for Aaron had let them lose control, so that those standing with them gossiped),²⁶ then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who belongs to the LORD? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.²⁷ And he said to them, “This is what the LORD God of Israel says: ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his friend and his neighbor.'”²⁸ And the sons of Levi did what Moses said. And among the people that day about three thousand men were killed. ²⁹ And Moses said, “Today you have shown yourselves committed to the service of the LORD, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that he might bestow a blessing upon you[1] this day.” ³⁰ The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. So now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”³¹ So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Now, this people have sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold.³² But now, if you will forgive their sin- but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.”³³ But the LORD said to Moses, “I will blot out of my book the one who has sinned against me,.³⁴ But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; see, my angel will go before you. But on the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”³⁵ Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

perhaps I can make atonement

This horrible day in the existence of God’s people would forever settle the place of the Levites as his chosen priests among their countrymen. It would also show Moses the extent to which God was willing to forgive the sins of the nation as a whole due to his intercession. Moses thought he could appeal to God to forgive the entire nation of their part in the golden calf incident. He learned that he could not. There could be no general atonement for that apostasy. Instead, the LORD told Moses “I will blot out of my book the one who has sinned against me.” In other words, no. The LORD was going to punish the guilty nation with a plague.

The LORD did not rebuke Moses for trying to intercede to save his people. The picture we get is that the LORD was pleased that Moses tried. But we also get a picture of a God who says “for this sin, there must be punishment.” God is a God of forgiveness, and we are all grateful for that, because we all need his forgiveness. But judgment day is coming, and it is real. Christ went to the cross because the LORD could not ignore our sins. For those who reject Christ, judgment is coming, and there will be no forgiveness. The LORD will blot their names out of his book.

LORD, help us to reach the lost around us. They need to hear the gospel message of forgiveness in Christ before it is too late.

[1] plural.

Posted in atonement, idolatry, judgment, Moses | Tagged Exodus 32 | 1 Comment

passionately wrong

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 32:15-24

¹⁵ Moses then turned and went down from the mountain and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand, tablets that were written on both sides; on the front and on the back they were written.¹⁶ The tablets fashioned by God, and the writing was the writing of God, he had engraved the tablets.¹⁷ When Joshua had heard the noise of the people as they were shouting, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”¹⁸ But he said, “It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.”¹⁹ And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.²⁰ He took the calf that they had made and had it burned with fire and ground it to powder and scattered on the water and made the people of Israel drink it.²¹ And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought such a great sin upon them?”²² And Aaron said, “Let not the anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.²³ For they said to me, ‘Make us gods who should go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’²⁴ So I said to them, ‘Let any who have gold take it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

passionately wrong

The golden calf incident was one of many examples in the wilderness narrative where the people rose up to revolt against Moses, and their betrayal was later seen as an apostasy against the LORD. It was not like the people just woke up one day and said that they wanted to be idolaters like the Egyptians. No, the root of their sin was their resentment against the man that God had chosen to lead them. They resented his long delays as he stood upon the mountain, waiting on God. They refused to trust that God was working through him. They wanted a god they could manage – a god they could manipulate to their own liking.

They also had their own ideas about worship, and were passionate about those ideas as well. Joshua heard the sounds the people made as they reveled over their newly acquired god. He mistook the noise for the sounds of war. The LORD had already told Moses of the people’s apostasy, so he knew that the sounds were not war sounds. The people had been so caught up in getting what they wanted that their worship had become about that. Their focus was no longer on their deliverance, or the LORD who had delivered them. They were passionate, but their passion was wrong.

LORD, restore right worship to us. Forgive us for making it into a self-centered frenzy. Turn our hearts back to you, and to an expression of your worth.

Posted in Aaron, animism, discernment, Moses, worship | Tagged Exodus 32 | 1 Comment

these are your gods

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 32:1-14

32:1 After the people saw that Moses was overdue coming down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Stand up, make us gods who will go before us. We do not know what has become of this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, of him.”² So Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.”³ So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.⁴ And he took the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”⁵ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow should be a feast to the LORD.”⁶ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.⁷ And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have ruined themselves.⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'”⁹ And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and see, it is a stiff-necked people.¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”¹¹ But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, “O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?¹² Why should the Egyptians say, He brought them out with a wrong motive, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the land? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they should inherit it forever.'”¹⁴ And the LORD relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

these are your gods

All around the world today, many who claim Christ as their Savior are following a vile practice. They set up statues and icons, venerating these images along with the invisible God of the Bible. They have been deceived into believing that it is OK to pray to such images, because God allows the persons behind the image to intercede with him on their behalf. These images (they are told) are simply additional means of honoring God.

That is precisely what was taking place in the desert while Moses was atop Mount Sinai. Notice that Aaron had fashioned only one golden calf, but the Israelites said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” The calf was not designed to replace the LORD, but to serve as a visible addition. This is why Aaron went on to proclaim a feast to the LORD. Aaron did not want to be a pagan priest; he simply wanted to give the people what they wanted: a supplement to bolster their faith. But it was all wrong. God called it apostasy, and it still is. Scripture proclaims that “God is one, and the mediator between God and humanity is also one: the human Christ Jesus.”[1] There are no substitutes for that mediator – not even his mother.

Moses had a very interesting role in this passage. He interceded with God on behalf of these apostate Israelites. His actions that day prefigured the actions that Christ would take for all of us, whose sins have placed an enmity between ourselves and our God. They also teach that it is OK to have others pray for us, as long those human intercessors never seek the place in our hearts reserved for God alone.

LORD, we determine to not have any other gods. We reserve our reverence and thanks to the LORD who rescued us from our sins through the atoning blood of Christ.

[1] 1 Timothy 2:5.

Posted in Aaron, discernment, idolatry, loyalty | Tagged Exodus 32 | 1 Comment

the sign day

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 31:12-18

¹² And the LORD told Moses,¹³ “You are to speak to the sons of Israel and tell them, ‘You must keep my Sabbaths, because this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.¹⁴ You should keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it should be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul should be put to death from among his people.¹⁵ Work should be done six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of sacred rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day should be put to death.¹⁶ Therefore the people of Israel should keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.¹⁷ It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'”¹⁸ And when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave to Moses, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

the sign day

The Sabbath was a sign day. Every Saturday, an Israelite under the Mosaic covenant was to cease all unnecessary labor for the entire day. Notice what this sign day was a sign for:

The LORD is the One who sanctifies Israel (13).
The day is holy for Israel (14).
Israel’s LORD rested and was refreshed on the seventh day (17).

This message and command was vitally important for those within the covenant being established. It did not apply to those outside the Israelite community. While taking a rest once a week is a good idea for anyone, this sign was specific for the Israelite, and is not an obligation for Gentile Christians.

The Sabbath was a unique way of linking the people of Israel with the LORD who rescued them. It was a regular break in the normal routine that specifically reminded the Israelites that they were created by God, and that this same God who created them redeemed them from bondage. Taking the day off of work was not done under Pharaoh, because under him the work was never finished. The Sabbath reminded the Israelites that they are under new management.

LORD, thank you for the rest we have in Jesus. Thank you that we need not work for our salvation, but can rest from our labors, trusting in the finished work on the cross.

Posted in deliverance, rest, Sabbath, Sabbath keeping | Tagged Exodus 31 | 1 Comment

faith in community

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 31:1-11

¹The LORD told Moses,² “Notice, I have called by name Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,⁴ to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,⁵ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.⁶ And see, I have appointed as his assistant Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all the skilled workers their skill, so that they may make everything that I have commanded you:⁷ the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent,⁸ the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense,⁹ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand,¹⁰ and the finely worked garments, the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons, for their service as priests,¹¹ and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They will do just what I have commanded you,.”

faith in community

The tabernacle building project shows us how faith in the Israelite community worked. The LORD gave the commands to Moses, and he passed them on to the Bezalel and Oholiab, who would oversee the architectural and artistic details of the construction. Just as Moses had been called to lead the nation, these men also had been specifically called to the task they were to accomplish, and that calling came with skill (wisdom) and intelligence, knowledge and all craftsmanship, all given by the God who called them. Moses had to have faith that God did that for them. He had to trust that the LORD was involved in the process. They had to have faith that God was speaking through Moses, and in their own God-given skill to accomplish what he instructed them to do.

There was added to that another layer as well. God had also called and qualified a group of skillful (wise hearted) workers. The LORD assured Moses that he had given the workers all the skill necessary to build the tabernacle and its furniture to code – that is, to the exact specifications they would hear from him through Moses.

The LORD could have done it another way. He could have called and endowed one special craftsman with all the knowledge and all the skill and set him to work alone to accomplish the task. I’m guessing that the LORD did not do it that way because the Israelites would not learn the lesson of faith in community that way.

Faith in community is a lesson we are called to learn as we do the work of the kingdom today. It takes cooperation and teamwork. It also takes trust in the divine plan as it is being revealed through his servants whom he has called to reveal it. It is hard work, and we do not always get it right. But there is a lesson in the process that glorifies the God who chooses to work within us.

LORD, teach us to trust you, and in the community in which you are working.

Posted in church, cooperation, ministry, trust | Tagged Exodus 31 | 1 Comment

the aroma of worship

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 30:22-38

²² The LORD told Moses,²³ “And you, take for yourself the best spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of sweet smelling cane,²⁴ and 500 of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.²⁵ And you should make of these a sacred anointing oil blended like the perfumer would; it will be a holy anointing oil.²⁶ With it you should anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,²⁷ and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand.²⁹ You should consecrate them, so that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them is to be holy.³⁰ You should anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.³¹ And you should say to the people of Israel, ‘This should be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.³² It should not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you should make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it should be holy to you.³³ Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider should be cut off from his people.'”³⁴ The LORD said to Moses, “Take sweet spices, gum resin, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each there should be an equal part),³⁵ and make an incense blended as by the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy.³⁶ You should beat some of it very small, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I should meet with you. It should be most holy for you.³⁷ And the incense that you should make according to its composition, you should not make for yourselves. It should be for you holy to the LORD.³⁸ Whoever makes any like it to use as perfume should be cut off from his people.”

the aroma of worship

While visiting Singapore a few years ago, I was struck by how different the little communities within the city are. My family walked from one section of the city to another, and noticed the differences in architecture, food, and even the way each community smells. It was most noticeable when we entered the Indian community. The smell of sandalwood was prominent, and added to the distinctiveness of the places there.

For the Israelites under Moses, the tabernacle and its worship was designed by the LORD to be a unique experience. Contributing to that uniqueness was the fact that the tabernacle area, the priests and the furniture was to smell unique. The sweet smelling aroma of the spiced oils and incense was to be a marker of the distinctiveness of the place and its purpose. That distinctiveness was to be taken very seriously. Anyone attempting to imitate that prescribed aroma for himself personally would be executed.

The tabernacle does not exist today, so it is not possible to literally obey these instructions as the Mosaic Israelite community could in that time. But I do see a word of warning for believers today in this text. Much of modern worship seeks to be relevant, and seeks to bring popular cultural entertainment practices into the worship experience. There is no problem with being either modern or relevant – and there is no necessary spiritual benefit for worship following the archaic practices of previous centuries or decades. But in our rush to be relevant we must never forget that biblical worship should be unique. The aroma of our worship should be distinct and different. It should not feel like a funeral dirge nor should it feel like a rock concert.

LORD, help us to honor your holiness and uniqueness with our expressions of worship.

Posted in church, holiness, worship | Tagged Exodus 30 | 1 Comment

ritual washing

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 30:17-21

¹⁷ The LORD told Moses,¹⁸ “You should also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You should put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you should put water in it,¹⁹ with this, Aaron and his sons can wash their hands and their feet.²⁰ When they go into the tent of meeting, they should wash with water, so that they may not die. When they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the LORD,²¹ they should wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It should be a permanent statute for them, both to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

ritual washing

This rule was hijacked by the Pharisees and their followers, and made into a requirement for all kinds of spiritual service. So, today the rabbis today claim that the rule “has been observed by the pious in all ages, who wash their hands before beginning any of the statutory services, which the Rabbis declare to be the present-day equivalents of the sacrifices.”[1] In Jesus’ day, it had been made into a custom that every meal should begin with this ceremonial washing. Jesus did not encourage his disciples to adopt this tradition, and they were criticized for it.[2] Jesus explained that defilement comes from within – that eating with ceremonially unwashed hands does not defile anyone.[3] So, is Jesus ignoring this command, and teaching others to do so?

If we look at the command itself, we will see that it clearly has limitations. It has only to do with Aaron and his descendants – the priesthood. the washing is to occur only as they approach either the altar in the courtyard or the holy tent itself. Were the priests to test this rule by attempting to approach their service unwashed, they would be struck dead.

So, Jesus is right in his exegesis to reject this external rule that tradition has set up requiring ritual washing at every table. The Aaronic priests were to be set apart from the people as holy to the LORD, because of their special work of intercession. Their washing was to remind them of the holiness required for that service. It was to encourage the inner cleanliness that Jesus spoke of.

It is this inner cleanliness that is so elusive for those of us who have submitted to the new covenant priesthood. I refer not to ordained ministers (which I am), but to the priesthood of all believers in Christ.[4] We have no earthly tabernacle to enter as we approach the LORD to intercede on behalf of his creatures. But we do have a requirement to come before him undefiled. James instructs us that “pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”[5] That is how we prepare ourselves to enter the LORD’s presence on behalf of others. It involves loving and serving others, and keeping ourselves from spiritual compromise. Without this preparation, washing of the externals is hypocrisy.

LORD, we seek to serve you, and others in your name. Clean us, that we may appear before you and not die.

[1] J. H. Hertz, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs. (London: Socino Press, 1985), 353.

[2] Mark 7:2.

[3] Matthew 15:20.

[4] Revelation 1:6; 5:10.

[5] James 1:27 NET.

Posted in Aaron, holiness, prayer | Tagged Exodus 30 | 1 Comment

atonement money

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Jefferson Vann

Exodus 30:11-16

¹¹ The LORD told Moses,¹² “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each should give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.¹³ Each one who is numbered in the census should give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel equaling twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.¹⁴ Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and older, should give the LORD’s offering.¹⁵ The rich should not give any more, and the poor should not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD’s offering to make atonement for your lives.¹⁶ You should take the atonement money from the people of Israel and should give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

atonement money

That half shekel ransom fee was not the atonement itself, but it was given by each worshipper as part of their worship experience. That little gift spoke volumes:

It was a reminder during the census that numbers do not matter. If tempted to look at the vast number of Israelites tallied, and presume safety and security in those numbers, the LORD warned them that such thinking brought the plagues on the Egyptians, and could do the same to them.
It was a reminder that wealth and power do not matter. Each was to give the same amount, because in the LORD’s eyes the differences between us are insignificant. True equality can only be envisioned by those who dare to see their entire nation “under God.”
It was a reminder that worship matters. The atonement money was something of value that was to be offered for a service that mattered. Bringing the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD was a blessing, a valuable one.

LORD, every time we give to our local church, remind us of these important truths. Bring to our minds what we know about your grace. Remind us that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Bring to our minds what we know about you. May we value our times together worshipping you and proclaiming your worth.

Posted in church, giving, humility, worship | Tagged Exodus 30 | 1 Comment