Tabernacle of God is Among Us

[S] Revelations 21:3-4 --
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

[O] The tabernacle of God from the Old Testament days is still here in the midst of the people.  Back then it was the physical structure but now it's the presence of God in our hearts so that we may call Him our God.  He will care for us and when He returns there will be no longer any reasons to cry or die.  It will be new world for us to live and enjoy God's presence in.

[A] We we end this year of 2011, this vision from God through John is the hope I can cling on to through another year of 2012.  There are lots of challenges we faced this year and no doubt I will face more in the upcoming year, however, knowing that God's tabernacle will remain with me to dwell in me is a huge encouragement for me to look forward to 2012.

[P] Dear Father, thank You for being with me closely in 2011 and also the promise of Your doing that in 2012 is really the only hope and strength I can claim.  I will do many things in the New Year, but may I not do them with my own intellect and strength but to rely on You at all times through my prayer and devotions in Your word daily.  May Your light shine through this broken life of mine.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

Census Without Levites

[S] Numbers 1:47-54 --
 ⁴⁷The Levites, however, were not numbered among them by their fathers' tribe.
 ⁴⁸For the LORD had spoken to Moses, saying,
 ⁴⁹"Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor shall you take their census among the sons of Israel.
 ⁵⁰"But you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings and over all that belongs to it. They shall carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it; they shall also camp around the tabernacle.
 ⁵¹"So when the tabernacle is to set out, the Levites shall take it down; and when the tabernacle encamps, the Levites shall set it up But the layman who comes near shall be put to death.
 ⁵²"The sons of Israel shall camp, each man by his own camp, and each man by his own standard, according to their armies.
 ⁵³"But the Levites shall camp around the tabernacle of the testimony, so that there will be no wrath on the congregation of the sons of Israel So the Levites shall keep charge of the tabernacle of the testimony."
 ⁵⁴Thus the sons of Israel did; according to all which the LORD had commanded Moses, so they did. 

[O] The reason for not including the Levites in the census is because they were set apart to oversee the tabernacle where God's glory was present.  They were not to get mingled into the every day tasks the rest of the people were responsible for.  They were not to get involved in the wars the rest of the people had to fight.   Another passage outlines how they were not to have any land either.  Their role was to keep complete charge of the tabernacle.  Even though this may be implied, we also see that for forty years wondering the wilderness, the Levites never had any issues of survival because they worked in harmony with the rest of the community.  Who are today's "levites?"  I believe they are those on staff to local churches -- both pastors and other paid staff members.  Their fully dedicated responsibility of keeping charge of the church and also to work in harmony with the rest of the congregation/community is what God designed in the first place.  In many ways, they should not worry too much about the every day chores but to fully dedicate their focus on keeping the church in line with God's leadership.  However, from my observation, we seem to be veering further from this mainstream because more and more pastors and staff members have to worry about financially sustaining for them and their family resulting in less and less coverage of the needs of the church itself.  The thoughts from today's passage may not be a spiritual one but nevertheless a critical one for us to support each other in our community such that we would fully function on the tasks God desires for us to focus on.

[A] I need to pray for pastors serving at our church (adult, youth, children) and to volunteer my hours in the Spring cleaning day.

[P] Dear God, please open our eyes to see Your "business plan" for our ministry so that we would most efficiently and effectively achieve Your purposes designed for our church to carry out.  We, as the congregation, must harmoniously support our paid staff members and their families such that they would not have to distract themselves away from guarding and keeping in charge of Your tabernacle.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Wiping Every Tear

[S] Revelations 7:14-17 --

 ¹⁴I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
 ¹⁵"For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.
 ¹⁶"They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;
 ¹⁷for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

[O] Something about this scene gives me an awesome feeling as it provides a glimpse into the Heavenly surroundings which I'll be seeing when I go there.  Spreading His tabernacle, to me, means getting all wrapped up in His awesome presence because tabernacle is where God dwelled with His people in the wilderness.  Is it correct to say God always wants to tabernacle with His people?  But that's true -- God always wants to tabernacle with me even if when I'm totally ignoring Him.  Verse 17 really supports this because my Shepherd from the center of the throne will guide me to the true source of life and He will also wipe every tear from my eyes.  I knew that partaking in His ministry was no walk in the park, but I didn't anticipate having to cry so much in the process; and it is just amazing to have experienced God personally wiping my tear from my eyes and furthermore He promises to do that continuously.  Just awesome!

[A] Cry to Him.  Let my tears flow at His feet.

[P] Dear God, You know every tear drop falling from me.  And You will wipe them every time.  Thank You! I pray in Your precious name.  Amen.