When?
Today we look at another passage that explains the duties of the Levites who were appointed to serve the Lord at the temple, offering sacrifices on behalf of the people. One of the specific duties they were given was to give thanks in the morning, in the evening and whenever offerings were presented. Having people specifically giving thanks to God when offerings were being presented piqued my interest... Surely an offering is already an expression of love, devotion and thanks? Why is it necessary to have a group of people that bathe an offering in a shower of thanksgiving?
Maybe the answer lies in something that Paul wrote to the Corinthians - that God loves a cheerful giver. In the denominational setting I am from, we don't take a collection, we take an offering. But sometimes an offering is costly... I remember once seeing a cartoon of a wife, baby and husband at the church door. The baby and husband are crying. The wife says: "I'm sorry that my baby is crying pastor, she's teething." The pastor replies "No problem, but why is your husband crying?" The wife replies "Oh he's tithing."
There are times that we bring our gifts to God and they are an offering - a sacrifice that comes at cost. It's then that we need to bathe our offering in thanks-giving.
But I am also challenged by the idea of formally appointing a group of people to give thanks in the morning and thanks at night. This makes it clear to me that this is important and shouldn't be neglected.
Just imagine the transformative power of bracketing your days with thanksgiving!!
So here's the challenge I've set for myself. For the month of August I am going to consciously start and end each day by thinking of 3 things that I am grateful for. To help me do this I'm going to stick a poster next to my bed to remind me. `Will you take the challenge?` (I will send you the poster by a separate email...)
When should we give thanks? Read the passage below for some good guidance...
| They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening 31 and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on Sabbaths and at New Moon festivals and at appointed feasts. (1Chronicles23:30-31) |
