A Cheerful Giver

Leviticus 27:26-34  

28  But nothing that a person owns and devotes to the LORD—whether a human being or an animal or family land—may be sold or redeemed; everything so devoted is most holy to the LORD.

v.28, 30, 33  If one was to offer anything to the LORD, it’s not so easy to take it back!

        God considered the offering to be holy and to be His!

We are to give joyfully and thoughtfully to God.  If we give, don’t take it back!  Let’s keep our word.  Can we afford to give it to God, or are we willing to give?  Do I give cheerfully or grudgingly?  Do I give without reserve, or am I holding back?  2 Corinthians 9:7 echoes this thought from Leviticus:  “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  Lord God, when You continue to give me so much, help me to give willingly with joy!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Happy New Year!

No Cheap Offering

Leviticus 27:9-25  

22  If anyone dedicates to the Lord a field they have bought, which is not part of their family land,

23  the priest will determine its value up to the Year of Jubilee, and the owner must pay its value on that day as something holy to the LORD.

God cars about fair and honest business dealings with property dedicated to the Lord’s work.  No trifling matter, no haphazard decision, no cheap offering will be given to God without some sort of standard or value in place.  People can cheapen their service or donation to God by offering just any old thing.  But God does not treat us the way that we often treated Him.  He wants and deserves a real sacrifice!  It has to be something of value to us before it can be dedicated to God.

Heavenly Father, You didn’t first offer all the riches of heaven to us.  You offered something of infinite value—the sacrifice of Your only Son.  We didn’t deserve anything from You, but out of love You gave anyway.  We are truly grateful.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Now is Your Time!

Leviticus 27:1-8  

2  If anyone makes a special vow to dedicate a person to the LORD by giving the equivalent value,

3  set the value of a male between the ages of 20 and 60 at fifty shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel;

4  for a female, set her value at thirty shekels;

5  for a person between the ages of 5 and 20, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels;

6  for a person between 1 month and 5 years, set the value of a male at five shekels of silver and that of a female at three shekels of silver;

7  for a person 60 years old or more, set the value of a male at fifteen shekels and of a female at ten shekels.

At first glance, this portion of Scripture might seem unfair.  After all, aren’t we all valuable in God’s eyes, regardless of our age and gender?  However, for a person being dedicated to the LORD for His service, one should consider how many years of fruitful service he or she can give to God, one’s physical stamina or health, level of wisdom/knowledge/education, and a host of other factors.  Between the ages of 1 month to 5 yrs old, the baby/child will have much to learn and grow and require lots of care and nurture.  Between the ages of 5 to 20 yrs old, the child/teenager will continue to acquire Biblical teaching, wisdom and knowledge, start to serve in some capacity, and possess tons of energy!  The older adult at 60+ yrs old will accumulate the most wisdom and knowledge of any age group, but his/her physical stamina and health will be declining.  I find it interesting and sobering that the greatest value set for a person, male or female, was between the ages of 20 to 60 years.  This age group encompasses the older college student, career young adult, young couple, young parent, middle-aged adult parent, even the empty nester and young grandparent, right up to near retirement. 

·             God called Jeremiah for His service, probably while in his teens (Jeremiah 1: 1-9), and he served God and prophesied faithfully to the end of his life. 

·             God called David to be the shepherd over His people, and he became king at age 30 (2 Samuel 5:4-5) and served for 40 years until his death. 

·             God called Joseph at age 30 to become second-in-command to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46), and he served God faithfully until his death at age 110 (Genesis 50:24-26).  

·             God called some notable preachers such as Billy Graham, Charles Spurgeon, John MacArthur, D. L. Moody, William Carey, etc. while in their teens/early 20’s, and they served God for the rest of their lives. 

·             God called my husband’s mentor, Dr. Russ Rosser, to preach in his late teens, and he’s still preaching in his older adult years. 

·             God called a young adult who grew up in our church to become a full-time missionary to Japan.  He’s now 25 yrs old.  He’ll be giving his best years to serve God in the mission field.

I grew up in the church back in the Midwest and was baptized when I was 16 years old.  God had called me to be a pastor’s wife at age 24, and now I’ve been living this calling for more than 25 yrs, making a lot of mistakes and learning along the way.  When I was in my mid 30’s, God called me to start Awana children’s Bible club at my church, and this calling required much prayer, physical stamina, creativity, faith, recruiting, training, and interaction.  I was also serving in many other ministries along with leading Awana for 7 years.  When I handed off my leadership position to another co-worker, I knew physically that I could not handle this responsibility anymore, even though some of my older clubbers begged me to stay on. Right now, I felt that God is not telling me to serve in the extent that I was before, but rather to equip others to serve.  It’s still very fruitful service, but different than in my younger years.

What am I trying to say?  If you’re between 20 and 60 yrs old, you are at your “peak” in both physical and mental capacity.  God may be preparing you to serve Him in your childhood and teenage years, and then you’ll really be bearing spiritual fruit in your 20’s to your 60’s.  I remembered an old hymn that states “Give of your best to the Master, give Him the strength of your youth.”  These are the best years of your life.  Are you going to give the best to God?  Now is your time to serve the LORD!

God's original plan

Leviticus 25:23-34   

25  If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold.

28  But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee.  It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.

Throughout most of Leviticus 25, God definitely has an opinion on how we conduct business.  With a few exceptions, the acquired land or property should revert back to its original owner/family in the Year of Jubilee or thru buying and selling.  In His original plan back in Joshua, chapters 13 to 21, God had already parceled out to every tribe and family in Israel his inheritance.  Because of sin, resulting in bad financial decisions, famine, loss/death of primary breadwinner, etc, people may find themselves in desperate financial straits.  But God didn’t put the blame on anyone for their financial situation, unlike what most of us would do.  Instead, He provided a way to make sure everyone got their inheritance back, and that’s the provision through the Year of Jubilee.

In the same way, sinful man had strayed away from God and His original plan of eternal fellowship and worship of Him.  Instead, man had walked in his own way.  But, God sought to redeem us back to His original plan—back to Adam’s sinless state and fellowship with his Creator.  God did not nullify His original plan but provided the means to bring us back to it, which was the great sacrifice of His Son.

LORD God, Your ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  Your plan is the best!  We submit to Your Lordship.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

You will always have the Poor among you

Leviticus 25:35-38  35  If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.
36  Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you.
37  You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit.
38  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
It’s clear from today’s passage that God wants us to care for the poor among us and to treat them with compassion, not to take advantage of them.  From my time of living in New York, I can say that not all the poor I met made me muster up compassion.  Some were angry or belligerent.  Others threw dirty water on my car windshield and expect money for their “services.”  Some may smell or be mentally impaired, such as the homeless people I had met before.  Despite my experiences, God wants me to love everyone, even those whom I find repulsive.
Later on in the day, I was opening my mail, filled with numerous letters from charities at this Christmas time of the year.  I don’t know how you feel, but I get a little weary at all the charities asking for money.  It’s not that I don’t give, for I do, but it seems like it’s never enough.  It’s like filling water in a bucket with holes.  Then the letter from Covenant House (shelter for homeless children/teens in New York) jumped out at me.  I was not planning to give to them since my “to give” list was already set, but the LORD reminded me about my devotions this morning-to have mercy on the poor.  Tears welled up in my eyes, and I knew God was moving me to help these kids.  Then He reminded me of this Bible verse, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me.”  John 12:8.  God touched my heart and renewed my spirit.  LORD God, fill me with Your love and compassion.  Help me to give joyfully and gratefully by Your grace.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Clean House

Lev. 14:33-42   God not only cares about us having clean and healthy bodies but also a clean environment to live in.  Maid and janitorial services are routinely offered in hotels and businesses but nowadays private homes are getting into the act too.  People want a clean house or room but don’t have the time or want to put the effort in cleaning up.  I can’t say this ranks as one of my favorite things to do.  Apart from the daily battle with dirty dishes, dirty laundry, and decluttering, little else is usually accomplished at the Chan residence.  But God requires much more than an outward shine; He wants a pure and spotless mind and heart.  Verse 41 says “He must have all the inside walls of the house scraped and the material that is scraped off dumped into an unclean place outside the town.”  Can you imagine the amount of elbow grease involved?  Whew!  As a mom, I make it a habit of mine to periodically go through and toss questionable books, newspapers, magazines, CD’s, DVD’s, and other media that have wormed their way into my home.  As long as I don’t put it off, the task is manageable.  What’s worse and harder to control is the ever-present Internet, readily available in several locations around our home, filled with both good and bad at the flip of a switch and the click of a mouse.  It takes persevering diligence and self-control on everyone’s part to achieve a clean house here.  Then we are to build with good and clean materials, as stated in verse 42: “then they are to take other stones to replace these and take new clay and plaster the house.” That means we are to build our hearts and minds NOT with what’s careless, rude, and evil, but with what’s good, pure, and holy (also quoted in Phil. 4:8).  May the Lord give us victory over the areas of our lives that needs cleaning up!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Lord of All

Lev. 13:9-23 

Last night, I read with my daughter Stephanie the introduction to Leviticus from her Message Bible.  When we read about the part that Leviticus addresses all areas of our lives—family, neighbors, other nations, eating habits, medical conditions, social justice, environment, government, etc—she was curious as to why.  I told her what I had heard many years ago—that if the Lord is not Lord of all, then He’s not Lord at all!  God is concerned with every area of our lives, not just going to church on Sunday.  Leviticus spells it out in excruciating detail.  It’s all important to God!

In this passage, what impresses me was the breadth of responsibility the Israelite priests had over the community—examining the sick, pronouncing the patient clean or unclean, and isolating the patient if needed.  Here, God is very specific about what healthy skin condition is and what is not.  The priest was the shepherd of the community, tending not only to their spiritual well-being but also their physical health.  Even the modern-day Jewish rabbis have the authority to declare whether a certain food is kosher or not.  In our society today, the areas of our lives are compartmentalized with politicians, doctors, psychologists, educators, etc.  overseeing their field of expertise, and the whole person is usually not dealt with.  Would a young man in prison for acts of violence also struggle in his relationship with his father?  Would a student falling behind in class also struggle with his parents’ divorce?  Would a cancer patient fighting for her life also struggle with keeping her hopes up? In these situations, the areas of our lives affect one another—family and neighbor relationships, education and family, physical and emotional health.  We need an Expert who has the authority to handle all areas of our lives.  We need the Lord.

Inside to outside

Inside to Outside

Lev. 13:3  “The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling skin disease.  When the priest examines that person, he shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean.”

As my daughters and I were wrestling with today’s devotion, Esther asked me “What’s the point of this passage?”  God gave me instant wisdom right there, for I answered her, “As the skin disease was an indication of what’s going on inside the body, so our outward appearance indicates what’s going on inside our hearts.”  A rash or a sore on a person’s skin usually means that something wrong is going on inside that person’s body.  This is different than a slight burn or a scratch coming from the environment outside.  I pointed out to Stephanie that if her facial expression was moody and pouty, I could tell what’s going on inside her heart.  Then I asked my girls what could be done to stop the spread of infection, and they reply that the infected person must be isolated, as written in Lev. 13:4-8.  In order to stop sin from spreading, the sinner must be isolated or pulled aside and dealt with.  That’s why a rambunctious student gets sent to the principal’s office or a dangerous criminal gets sent to jail.  An addicted person must separate from his source of addiction, or he/she could not get “clean.”

Lord, let not the sins and temptations around us infect our hearts.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.