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Weekly Devotional for August 15, 2005
Women in Discipleship (sm)
Weekly Devotionals 2005
Week 32
I can attest to the fact that joy is something that is given by God apart from my own efforts. It seems that today there is very little joy coming from the mouths of Christians. Why?
After reading "joy" defined from the New Bible Dictionary 2nd Edition by Tyndale Publishers copyright 1982 I am once again amazed at the "completeness" of this word to describe the total life nationally and religiously of Israel. We can learn much from what the LORD taught them. When joy was present in Scripture the sound of music (heart music to be sure) permeated their midst.
Scripture to ponder: Deuteronomy 12:6-7 "To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the 1st born of your herds and flocks. There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you." (NKJV)
In this verse the LORD is giving a call to worship. Check out verse 4 in your Bible. God has a way to worship that is "set apart" and filled with joy.
In verse 12 of this same passage we see that "joy" is a direct result of the kind of worship that is a major feature of the Hebrew life in the Old Testament. Blessing is the key and very important for us to recognize.
Two times in verses 6 and 7 the LORD tells the people to gather their tithes and special gifts and bring them to His special place of worship. I see three things that are essential.
- Separation from the world is required and remembering how God blesses is important to share with His people.
- The vows they pledged to give to God were to be kept and given both in the tithe and the special offerings.
- While there they are to rejoice in everything they had possessed because these were the blessings from the LORD and not their own doing.
They were to recognize the LORD'S hand upon them in giving them the blessings they possessed. (More next week)
This week look around you. Does joy permeate your heart in pondering God's blessings upon your life?
Consider His many blessings upon you and share with someone what God has done and is doing in your midst. His blessings are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.
Your friends at Women in Discipleship,
Sandra Davis, Director
Lamentations 3: 22-23
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