GOD! I AM A PRIEST!

GOD! I AM A PRIEST!

Suppose you were back in the Old Testament times. Given a choice, which tribe of Israel would you want to belong to? Here's a hint. Of all the twelve tribes, only one is not allowed to own land and properties because it's been set apart and dedicated to only serve God. Born a Levite your career path is already drawn up for you!

While this particular job may or may not be the choice of the majority, the truth of the matter is, the entire welfare of Israel depended on the spiritual welfare of the Israelite. If Israel remains faithful to God and  observe all the ordinances of God, the windows of heaven will remain open and God will continue to pour out His blessings and be their shield. But if they were to turn away from God, then God will turn them over to their enemies. To keep Israel from straying off its path, this is where the tribe of Levi matter.

Coming back to the New Testament and to the present, the apostle Paul wrote; a body is made up of many different parts. Suppose you are to choose, which part of the body would you want to be? The eye? Nose? Right hand? Hair? Ear? How about the little pinky toes? I am sure majority would want to be the eye ... way up there to be seen and admired (ooohh those eyes!) or the hair (ooohh those groovy hair!). I don't remember anyone commenting ... ooohh those gorgeous toes. But truth be told, though way down at the bottom and kept "hidden" most of the day, the toes are a rather important part of the body. Without them we will walk funny. Every member of the body is important and necessary to remain wholesome and healthy.

Back to the Old testament. The role of the Levites are utmost important. But their jobs are not necessarily pleasant. Imagine having to daily slaughter animals for sacrifice, cleaning up the blood after! This is a gruesome and dirty job but someone had to do it. Then there's this packing and unpacking of the Tabernacle on the move and being in the front line of the battle fields. The job may not seem glamorous but it's the life line of Israel. God took care of the Levites. They were God's special possession! In today's context, all of us are Levites. 

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:9).

While we are spared from animal sacrifices, nevertheless our jobs are not easy either. As God's royal priesthood, we have the responsibility of inviting friends and co workers to church, greeting people, praying and encouraging others, helping and serving the next generation in children's ministries. In God's eyes we are His priesthood. Like the Levites, we have a sworn duty towards God and towards the welfare of His church. We have responsibilities. We are called to serve, not to be served. We are called to minister, not seeking to be ministered. Sadly, in today's context, church members seek to be ministered to instead of ministering to others. They come to receive, not to give. They have forgotten they are the royal priesthood of God.

The apostle Paul started his ministry as a tent maker. He worked to support himself in the ministry. You and I, we are the royal priesthood of God. We all are priests. Don't matter if you are an electrician or an accountant, a doctor, a waiter, an engineer, a full time house wife, etc. Like apostle Paul, we work to sustain ourselves in the ministry. You may be a waiter. Serving tables is what you do to sustain your priesthood. As an accountant you crunch the numbers to sustain your priesthood. Everything you do you do to sustain your priesthood. In the eyes of God you are but a priest. What do a priest do? He ministers. The priest don't come to the temple to be blessed. He come into the temple to bless. Over two thousand years ago, Jesus the high Priest came NOT to be ministered to but to minister. He came not to be served but to serve, to do the will of His Father. He has set the example. We are to emulate Him and do our part.

Being born again we (like the Levites) were born into a family of priesthood. That's our identity. That's who we are. May not be what we have asked for but that's our portion, our calling. We must not deny ourselves. We cannot be a fish out of water. God saved us, called us and gave us a purpose. Regardless of who we are or what we aspire to be, we are .. "His chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 

Doing our part and fulfilling our priestly ministry, we are in fact ministering to God. Someday we will be in "Canaan land". Till then, let's keep the church going strong and healthy. The path before us may not be easy. But together as one body we will make the difference. 

A LITTLE LOWER THAN ANGELS

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).

This earth that God created is not meant to last forever. The earth is part of a solar system which in turn is one of the tens of billions of solar systems within the great milky way. And our milky way is just one of the hundreds of billions of milky ways in the universe. The universe is God's "house" and God is preparing His house for us! TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE!!! Yahooo.....

God is perfect. In His perfect nature God created the heavens and the earth and God shaped man's body out of the dust of the earth and breathed His life into the lifeless body. Adam, the very first man on earth, became a living soul. From out of Adam's bones, God created Eve. They were the first of the human race and God created them according to His likeness.  At the end of the sixth day of creation, God looked back and said it was very good. He didn't say it was PERFECT. He said it was very good.

We have this notion that since God is perfect, everything He made therefore must also be made perfect. While He could have made all things to perfection, He chose to man make a little lower than angels. What is good in not necessarily perfect. In fact, nothing in creation is ever perfect. Only God is and only God can be perfect. In His perfection He crafted creation to be "very good". You can see from garden of Eden. Eden wasn't the size of a planet or a country. It's a garden. Outside the garden is the rest of the earth where later Adam and Eve had to tilled the land in order to survive in it. While Eden may seem perfect, the earth was not. It was, in God's own words, "good". And Adam and Eve were made to be "very good", short of perfection. That put a lot of things in perspective. You see, God's got a master plan (wink ... smile).

Everything God made was made according to pattern. Don't just see earth. See universe. See the big picture. It's no wonder they say, "life is bigger than you". We live our lives, build our homes, store our treasures, as if we are going to live here eternally. We make no plans for eternity although we believe in the prophecies of God. We live life routinely with temporary goals but no eternal values. We don't think death until we hear its footsteps coming towards our door. We dwell in self gratification instead of doing right by the Kingdom of God. We know Jesus is returning soon and His second coming is imminent yet we live like He's not due for another hundred years or so. We care more about the earth's environment than the eternal destination of souls. Love for animals matter more than love for souls. We think church is more important that the harvest fields. Made in the image of God? Yes and indeed we are. Still reflecting His image in a darken world today?

Since creation wasn't made to perfection, we need to search the Scriptures and understand what's ahead. Else the things we do is but a chasing after the wind. Take for example ... SAVING THE EARTH. While I agree the earth's health is going south, it's important to do what we can to slow the process (I said slow). Earth too need saving but it won't be by human efforts since we are the ones that's the cause of the problem in the first place. It will take Jesus during the millennium reign to heal the earth. That also will be for just one thousand years before the planet disintegrates. With the advancement in technology, inventions, social media, etc the world had not gotten any better but rather worse. The human race has not improved. I am not being pessimistic here. Jesus forewarned us of the coming tribulation that affect both the physical earth and the human race. Things will not get better. Our refuge is in God and in embracing the signs and the warnings. Take heed and be watchful is what the Bible suggest.

So what do I do in the meantime? Fold my arms and do nothing? Give up? On the contrary. Knowing time is short and Jesus is returning soon, we should be more diligent and strive harder to do things for betterment, be it saving earth or stopping wars. And knowing what's coming, we need to major on that which really matters. And that brings us to THE question. WHAT REALLY MATTERS? Money? Health? Fame? Power? Human rights? Save the sharks? While many things in life matters, eventually we will have to face the only one thing that unavoidably and truly matter. Death. What then? Our lifespan pales in comparison with eternity. Yet we are more caught up with the present than with eternity. What really matter to us (who are saved by the blood of Jesus) is to be greeted by our Master and to hear Him welcome us with utter joy, "Welcome home my good and faithful servant". We may not be made perfect and I think that's God's ingenuity. Our imperfections caused us to explore, to extend, to improve and to discover our Creator and His awesome universe! This itself is a story worth telling. In fact, this is our mission and purpose. Do you honestly believe we still have lots of time to tell the greatest story on earth? Jesus is coming back soon.

Don't see earth. See universe! Don't miss out on what God has prepared for us! The day of perfection will come. Though not perfect, we are to have the attitude of striving for perfection. Jesus is coming soon. We have a story to tell. And people love to hear a good story.

John 14:2-4 NIV

My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you ? [3] And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. [4] You know the way to the place where I am going."