Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 6
They performed their service according to their order. (1 Chronicles 6.32)
Devotional Thought: Observe any 2 year old, and you will soon discover that they don't like to be told what to do. Especially what not to do! Testing limits and understanding boundaries is a part of the growth process for children. It doesn't magically disappear on their eighteenth birthday, either! For freedom Christ has set us free, right?
In 1 Chronicles 6, we find that David had assigned responsibilities and order to the Levites who led in worship. When it worked well, the result was a beautiful service with everybody doing their part. It was a situation that people wanted to be part of.
If everybody did exactly as they wanted to do, however, life would be a disaster. Don't like to drive on the right side of the road? That's OK! Move over to the left. Can't open the restaurant at 6 am? Don't worry about it! The customers aren't in a hurry to get to work, anyway! The baby needs changed? Not your problem! Just get to it when you can.
We wouldn't like to live in that kind of world, would we? So, we have order. Why, then do we resist it in church? Paul felt compelled to write to the church in Corinth: "All things should be done decently and in order." I've had to remind people of this myself. Whether in a worship service or in a business meeting, there are those who advocate for a free-for-all, eschewing all order and control. They say that order is unspiritual. They need to read what else Paul wrote: "The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14.32-33).
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the freedom I have in Christ. Help me to exercise that freedom in such a way that I do not hinder your work or hurt others in the process. Amen.
Psalm of the Day: 32.1-7
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
Comentarios