まつり – Matsuri: Scenes from a local festival.
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まつり – Matsuri: Scenes from a local festival from Robin White on Vimeo.
Numbers 22:36-23:12
“He answered, ‘Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?'” (Numbers 23:12)
Balaam’s example here is a great challenge to those of us in ministry. He was offered a huge reward to curse Israel, but here refuses to speak anything that is not from the Lord. Instead, he will only say what God commands him to say. As a missionary, am I that in tune with God’s will for what He wants to say and do through me? In my teaching, preaching and leading, do I listen for His voice or go with my own feelings? Am I willing to follow His leading no matter what the cost, or do give in to outside pressure?Lord, help me to be faithful to the call You’ve placed on my life. Help me to hear Your voice clearly, and give me the courage to follow. Help me be more bold for You.
Numbers 22:21-41
“The angel of the LORD asked him, ‘Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.'”
I wonder how often God tries to warn us, but like Balaam we don’t see it. How often do we find ourselves on “reckless paths” but not realize it until it’s too late? We fall into sin and act like it was inevitable; but if we’d been paying attention, we’d have seen the Lord’s warning signs. Father, help me to be sensitive to Your Spirit today, to hear Your voice, to heed Your warnings. Give me the grace to follow Your path today.Numbers 18:8-20
“The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.” (Numbers 18:20)
If we as Christians are a Kingdom of priests, why don’t more of us act like it?
What if we followed the example of the Levites, and considered ourselves set apart for the work of the Lord? What if we gave up our personal rights in order to give more time and money to the work of the Kingdom, and considered anything we receive as simply a nice bonus, the real reward being God Himself?
Isn’t that the example Christ set too?
Numbers 18:1-7
“But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.” (vs. 7)
A big part of what the Old Testament teaches us today is all that Christ has saved us from. This is one of those things. Under the Old Covenant, only the Levites could serve as priests, and only they could enter the sanctuary. They were the mediators between God and his people. The New Testament teaches us the “priesthood of all believers.” We can all go to God directly because of Jesus. We can minister to each others needs. We are all “priests,” and Jesus is our Great High Priest. What a privilege we have in Christ!Psalm 105:1-23
“Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.” (vs. 4)
Here, seeking the Lord and seeking His strength are stated as though they’re one and the same thing. Worshiping God and receiving the strength we need to serve Him go hand-in-hand. When I am weakest, it is usually a sign that I have not been seeking Him. And as this verse reminds me, I need to seek Him always. Seeking God isn’t just about our private devotional life or public church activities. It’s about our everyday work and play as well. What if, before doing anything, we asked ourselves “Can I seek God through this?” “Can I do this as an act of worship?” “Can I invite God into this?” Maybe then we wouldn’t waste so much time on things that pull our focus away from Him. Lord, please keep reminding me to seek You always.