Old Testament reading: Leviticus 22-23
Leviticus 22 details the care God has for his appointed servants and the responsibility of holiness that must be protected by the same. There are lessons for the churches and the men who serve them. For the church, there is the responsibility to provide for the needs of God’s servant through their offerings. For those who serve, there is the instruction to hold ourselves to the highest standards of holiness. Some preachers take offense when they or their families are held to a higher standard than “ordinary” members. I am not among that number. All Christians should strive to the example of Jesus, but we who serve in a greater capacity should also accept with gravity the responsibility to faithfully represent the faith in every place and situation. When I hold myself to the highest standard, the standard of others is irrelevant. One more point of interest –Just because a man brought an offering of his own free will did not mean he could do as he pleased. Even free will offerings were regulated by God’s word, and failure to observe such brought the penalty of death. (22:17-25, cf 19:5ff). So why do people think they can worship or offer God service in whatever way they please today? All worship is prescribed and regulated by the truth of God’s word (John 4:24).
New Testament reading: John 17-18
Why do so many fight against the prayer of Jesus? John 17 contains the real “Lord’s Prayer.” By that, I mean that here Jesus was actually praying rather than instructing His disciples how to pray as in Matthew 6. In verse 11, Jesus prayed for the eleven to be one, i.e., unified. He also gave the standard by which that unity was to be measured – “as We are.” Jesus and His Father were united in doctrine (John 12:48-50). The apostles were united in doctrine (Acts 2:42). Then in verse 21, Jesus prays for the unity of those who would believe through the apostles’ teaching. That standard of unity was the same as the apostles’ – “that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I in You; that they may be one in Us.” If Jesus and His Father were united in doctrine, and the apostles were united in that same doctrine, and those who later believed had to be united in doctrine (as they were all taught the same thing, cf 2 Tim 2:2), why are there so many differing doctrines today among those who claim to follow Jesus? I wish as many people who can quote the instructional prayer of Matthew 6 were actually practicing the Lord’s prayer found in John 17.
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