
Quote for the Day
“Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.”
Today's Prayer
This week, be a thankful prayer warrior. Thank God not only for what He has given you but also for how much He loves you. Pray this week that those traveling will see the joy in their relationship with God, not the distance between them and their loved ones.
Deuteronomy 16:1-17
Deuteronomy 16:1-17 (NIV)1 Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of by night. 2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name. 3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left in haste—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from . 4 Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from . 7 Roast it and eat it at the place the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. 8 For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the LORD your God and do no work.9 Count off seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the LORD your God has given you. 11 And rejoice before the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, the Levites in your towns, and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows living among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in , and follow carefully these decrees.13 Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 Be joyful at your Feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the Feast to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.16 Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed: 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.
Message
The way you view this chapter tells a lot about how you view God. Throughout the passage we see rules and regulations about how to observe certain events. We have the Passover and its many specific ways of observance; the Feast of Weeks where instructions are to bring a freewill offering in line with one’s wealth; and then there is the Feast of Tabernacles where again one must bring a donation to the cause. What a God! He wants something out of us constantly and has rules and regulations for everything.OR, you could read the same passage and see a God who wants you to regularly and reverently slow down and remember the blessings He has given you. As we noted last week it all belongs to God, and this week we see Him telling us to “stop and smell the roses.” God wants us to see His great love for us, and through these events (and many others) He is asking us to simply REST and see that He is in control.How do you take life? Daily and with reverence for God? How do you celebrate vacations and holidays? With a mad dash to the airport (or train, or car, or ?) to “get in” some rest? How about taking some time out and reminding ourselves what a GREAT God we serve, and thank Him for how He has blessed us in so many ways!