Tag Archives: godly devotion

Numbers, chapters 7-9

You must separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites will become mine.
~Nu. 8:14

All the families in Israel received a type of inheritance.
In most cases, the inheritance constituted of land, but in the Levites’ case, it was a spiritual inheritance.
The Levites had the privilege of carrying out Jehovah’s service in matters of worship.

God said to them, “In their land you will not have an inheritance, and no portion of land among them will become yours. I am your portion and your inheritance in the midst of the Israelites,” (Nu. 18:20).

Today, Christian ministers are not born into their service.
It is a conscientious choice each one of us makes.

However, being a dedicated servant of God still calls for a modest lifestyle which involves economical sacrifices.
It is a vow we take that requires a lifelong commitment.
A dedicated Christian no longer belongs to him or herself, as in the case of the Levites.
We belong to God and his higher purpose (Matt. 16:24; 1 Pet. 2:21).

Although we are not born into our ministry, each one of us has innate gifts that we can use to serve Jehovah.
Within the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, ministers may use their talents in various fields.

For example the Kingdom Hall or Bethel construction work calls for a wide range of abilities, including demolition, cooking, interior design, landscaping, carpentry, electrical work, and technical support, as well as more administrative roles.

Our website JW.org is the most translated website on earth and is maintained by volunteers who have a technical inclination.
At a branch level, there are translators, musicians, fashion designers, housekeepers and logistic experts, among others.

Then there are also the disaster relief groups which are composed of brothers and sisters with their own unique set of talents.

At a more localized level, we have our Christian elders and ministerial servants who sacrifice their after-work hours to prepare public talks and individual counsel, carry out administrative duties and organize our conventions.

All of us come from different walks of life but we strive to collaborate as the Levites would, as one family.

Personally, I have always enjoyed the field ministry aspect of our service since I started participating in it at the age of 12.

In the field ministry, one has to be able to hold a meaningful conversation with any type of person, from professors and church leaders to felons, foreign language speakers and the mentally ill.

I turn 32 today. I began serving as a full-time Pioneer exactly 16 years ago (volunteering an average of 70 hrs./month).
When compared to others, I am not particularly knowledgeable in any one field.
I do not have good physical nor emotional health.
I am not an energetic people-person, nor am I detail-oriented and goal-driven.

But what I am today, God has made me.
To the extent to which I have allowed him, he has made me his.
He has made ‘his joy my stronghold,’ (Ne. 8:10).
Serving Jehovah in the field ministry is my spiritual inheritance.

What is yours?

 

 

Numbers, chapters 1-3

They [Moses, Aaron and his sons] were responsible for taking care of the sanctuary as their obligation in behalf of the Israelites. Any unauthorized person coming near would be put to death.
~Numbers 3:38

God has assigned responsibilities as he sees fit within the congregation.
Or as Ephesus chapter 4, verse 8 puts it, “he gave gifts in men.”

Isaiah chapter 32 verse 2 describes the role these men play:
[…] Each one will be like a hiding place from the wind,
A place of concealment from the rainstorm,
Like streams of water in a waterless land,
Like the shadow of a massive crag in a parched land.

In order to shepherd the flock and oversee worship, these imperfect men make decisions and arrangements which are not always popular with the entire congregation.

However, as the aforementioned text highlights, when a person encroaches the responsibilities and decision-making power of those whom God has chosen to lead, either by manipulation or physically taking matters into their own hands, God views it as a very serious sin.

We do best to submit to God’s arrangement, cultivating patience and humility, contributing to the congregation’s well-being by demonstrating a cooperative spirit, even when we do not fully understand all the underlying factors or dynamics that affect the congregation’s functioning  (Eph. 4:2,3; Phil. 2:2-4).

Leviticus, chapters 21-24

No unauthorized person may eat anything holy. No foreign guest of a priest or hired worker may eat anything holy. But if a priest should purchase someone with his own money, that person may share in eating it. Slaves born in his house may also share in eating his food.
~Leviticus 22:10,11

This text implies that circumcised foreigners who had been bought as laborers were thereafter considered to make up part of the priest’s household.

The priest’s immediate family members could also partake in holy meals.

Daughters were considered a part of the household if they were single, divorced or widowed and did not have children who could care for their needs (Lev. 22:13).

Jehovah truly extends his kindness toward every person regardless of their origin (Matt. 5:45).

From these verses we can gather at least a couple lessons:

1. God has his own arrangements as to who can enjoy things that he considers to be His own and how those things are enjoyed.

When we respect those arrangements, we are demonstrating godly devotion, especially if that implies making certain personal sacrifices (1 Tim. 6:6).

2. God is not partial toward any “but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him,” (Acts 10:34,35).

Therefor we should make a genuine effort to eradicate racist or prejudice notions that may have been engrained in us as children and that keep us from extending our hospitality toward members of our own faith who come from different roots.

Leviticus, chapters 1-5

Every grain offering you make is to be seasoned with salt; and you must not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be missing from your grain offering. Along with every offering of yours, you will present salt.
~Leviticus 2:13

What does salt symbolize?

It has often been used as a preservative and an antiseptic.

Therefor it can symbolize permanence and cleanliness.

As Christians, we put into practice Christ’s words, “You are the salt of the earth,” when we share his message of ever-lasting life (Matt. 5:13).

We also have a “preserving” effect when we positively influence others through uncorrupted moral behavior.

Jesus also said, “Have salt in yourselves, and keep peace between one another,” (Mark 9:50).

In effect, today we do not make food offerings, but rather, we “offer to God […] the fruit of our lips,” (Heb. 13:15).

How do we add “salt” to our praise?

God’s word tells us the answer: “Let your utterance be always with graciousness, seasoned with salt, so as to know how you ought to give an answer to each one,” (Col. 4:6).

In other words, we ought to think before we speak and say things in a considerate manner.

“For God is well-pleased with such sacrifices,” (Heb. 13:16).

Exodus, chapters 30-33

“But now if you are willing, pardon their sin; if not, please wipe me out from your book that you have written.”
~Exodus 32:32

Moses is making reference to the “book of life,” a figurative book representing God’s memory of those who have passed away and whom he will one day resurrect (Rev. 3:5).
Shortly after Israel solemnly vowed to obey God, Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving instructions on how to institute pure worship (Exo. 24:3, 12).
Meanwhile, back at the camp, the people were growing restless.
They concluded something must have happened to Moses and asked his brother, Aaron, to make them a god- a tangible one that they could worship then and there (Exo. 32:1).
Aaron succumbed to the pressure and figured the gold idol he made was just as well a representation of Jehovah (Exo. 32:2-5).
Jehovah was furious and he explored the option of exterminating the nation in order to form a new nation stemming from Moses (Exo. 32:10).
Moses humbly appealed to God on behalf of his people, begging him to take other factors into account (Exo. 32:11-13).
Of course, Jehovah already knew he was going to give Israel the opportunity to repent time and again, but by planting the option of extermination, we can appreciate Moses’s self-sacrificing attitude and the great love he felt for those whom he led.
Moses was willing to be wiped out from existence because the extermination of his people would have signified he had failed them as a leader.
This leads me to ask myself: do I show similar concern for the welfare of those who have been commended to my spiritual tutelage?

Genesis, chapters 17-20

The point I’d like to highlight from my reading last week is the story of Lot as related in Genesis ch. 19.
Lot did not have an easy life. His is basically a riches to rags story.
In ch. 13 we see he is so financially prosperous that he needs to separate his livestock and herders from Abraham’s in order to conserve the peace between the two households.
However in ch. 14 he and his entire household are kidnapped.
By the time we get to ch. 19, he is living among the lawless people in the insecure town of Sodom.
When two angels come to avert him of the oncoming destruction, he goes to warn his daughters’ fiances who do not take him seriously (Gen. 19:14).
His wife evidently has a predominantly materialistic inclination, which ends up costing her her life (Gen. 19:26).
And once they are “out of danger” dwelling in a cave, his daughters get him drunk and rape him (Gen. 19:30, 33-35).
Even though Lot was not respected by those around him, 2 Peter 2:7-9 demonstrates he had God’s approval by qualifying him as someone “righteous” and as having “godly devotion.”
This demonstrates that the hardships we face in our lives are not an indication of God’s neglecting us, but rather opportunities for us to exercise our faith in him.