I AM THINE, OH LORD!

SCRIPTURE

Numbers 8:5-22 (NRSV)

The Levites consecrated for service

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take the Levites from among the Israelites and cleanse them. Thus you shall do to them, to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification on them, have them shave their whole body with a razor and wash their clothes, and so cleanse themselves. Then let them take a young bull and its grain offering of choice flour mixed with oil, and you shall take another young bull for a sin offering. You shall bring the Levites before the tent of meeting, and assemble the whole congregation of the Israelites. When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the Israelites shall lay their hands on the Levites, and Aaron shall present the Levites before the Lord as an elevation offering from the Israelites, that they may do the service of the Lord. The Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, and he shall offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites. Then you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you shall present them as an elevation offering to the Lord.

Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the other Israelites, and the Levites shall be mine. Thereafter the Levites may go in to do service at the tent of meeting, once you have cleansed them and presented them as an elevation offering. For they are unreservedly given to me from among the Israelites; I have taken them for myself, in place of all that open the womb, the firstborn of all the Israelites. For all the firstborn among the Israelites are mine, both human and animal. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, but I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn among the Israelites. Moreover, I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the Israelites, to do the service for the Israelites at the tent of meeting, and to make atonement for the Israelites, in order that there may be no plague among the Israelites for coming too close to the sanctuary.

Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the Israelites did with the Levites accordingly; the Israelites did with the Levites just as the Lord had commanded Moses concerning them. The Levites purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; then Aaron presented them as an elevation offering before the Lord, and Aaron made atonement for them to cleanse them. Thereafter the Levites went in to do their service in the tent of meeting in attendance on Aaron and his sons. As the Lord had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did with them.

DEVOTION

In today’s Bible passage we see the tribe of Levi being set apart for God’s special service! In order to be of service to God they had to be cleansed and purified in a very special way. The community of faith had to lay hands on them and pray for them, and they had to make sacrifices in order to atone for their sin. Only after they had accomplished all that God had prescribed, were they ready to undertake ministry unto the people and service unto our God!

In yesterday’s devotional, we discussed how happy-glad we ought to be that Jesus has taken on the role of our Great High Priest. No longer do you and I have to depend on Aaron or the Levites to offer sacrifices to atone for our sin, or to mediate our concerns with God!

Now, we have a Great High Priest in Jesus Christ! He is the flawless, spotless, and unblemished One, who laid down his life as the perfect and eternal sacrifice for our sin! After dying on the cross and being resurrected on the third day, he ascended into heaven and now sits at God’s right hand making intercession for us!

Hallelujah! That is really GOOD NEWS!

But, there is even more GOOD NEWS for us today! The Bible teaches us that as people of God, who have put all of our hope in Jesus Christ, we are a “chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,^* in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy (1 Peter 2: 9-10).”

Wow! Ain’ta that GOOD NEWS?!

Because of our saving faith in Jesus Christ, God has set us aside as a royal priesthood charged with declaring God’s GOOD NEWS message! And what is this message? It is that God so loves the world that God gave Jesus to die upon the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!

As we declare the GOOD NEWS to every person within our spheres of influence, we offer praise and worship to The One who forgives our sin, grants us grace and mercy, and gifts us with eternal life in paradise!

Although we are not perfect, our sins are completely forgiven when we put all of our faith in Jesus! It is God who loves, gave, and saves. It is God who accomplishes the work of salvation. All we have to do is accept the free gift that God is offering to us today!

Now, you may be saying, “I’m too sinful for God to love me. I’m too blemished for God to forgive me. I’m too screwed up to ever share the GOOD NEWS with anyone.”

My friend, you are wrong! God loves you so much and so passionately that God decided that you were worth dying for! Jesus willingly died on the cross to make you a friend of God!

Don’t you want to be God’s friend?

If so, please pray with me.

Holy God, thank you for loving me so much! I realize now that I can’t out sin or outfox your love for me! Thank you for giving Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so that I can share Your GOOD NEWS with others! Today, I put all of my hope in Jesus, trusting that you have done all that is necessary for me to inherit eternal life. Thank you so very, very much and I love you! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! I would be so honored if you would let me know about your decision by clicking “Yes” in the poll located at the top/right of today’s devotional! I am so happy for you! Happy Spiritual Re-Birth-Day!

Next steps: In response to what God did for you just now, let me suggest that you consider telling another Christian so that they can celebrate with you! Ask them to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand so that you can learn more about your new-found faith! Ask them to help you find a good Bible believing church where you can make new friends who will walk with you on your new journey! You are already saved; now let God mature you by faith! Congratulations!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

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Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com