First day of the new month - JUNE!

Summer, no school, relaxation, and most importantly, a gateway to all new opportunities that God may present you for whatever purpose He has ^^ Be excited for it all~

Oh and this month, fasting day is June 13th, a Wednesday! I forgot to mention this in the May section, but every month there will be a fasting day where we can fast, hunger, and wait on the Lord Our God. According to the Editor-in-Chief of this Living Life, Eddie Byun,

"Worship is declaring the great worth of our great God. Fasting becomes a form of worship because through fasting, we are declaring that the value and worth of Jesus is far greater than food. We honor Christ in fasting because we are saying that our need, our want, and our desire is for the Bread from heaven, Jesus, more than any bread or food found on earth. As you fast this month, begin with declaring to Jesus how you want Him more than food. That is one way to honor God through our fast."

You don't have to fast food at first, especially if you're a brand new Christian. In fact, you can even fast k-pop. Just don't watch or listen to it for one day in honor of dedicating your entire day to God. God sacrificed so much more than just 24 hours for us, yet He only asks for 10% of servitude back, while He presents us with the rest of the 90%. We ought to be grateful beyond belief for what He has done for us, and thus take a day off to honor Him in such a way as fasting.

God bless!

-Love, GinniePark

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Memory Verse of the Week:

"Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor." - Exodus 28:2

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Serving a Holy God - Exodus 29:1-18

Preparation for Ordination

1: "This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect."

2: "And from the finest wheat flour make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive ol mixed in, and thin loaves without yeast and brushed with olive oil."

3: "Put them in a basket and present them along with the bull and two rams."

4: "Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water."

5: "Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the piece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband."

6: "Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban."

7: "Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head."

8: "Bring his sons and dress them in tunics,"

9: "and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance. Then you shall ordain Aaron and his sons."

 

Serving with Clean Hands

10: "Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head."

11: "Slaughter it in the LORD's presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting [the Tabernacle]."

12: "Take some of the bull's blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar."

13: "Then take all the fat on the itnernal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar."

14: "But burn the bull's flesh and its hide and its intestines outside the camp. It is a sin of offering."

15: "Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head."

16: "Slaughter it and take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar."

17: "Cut the ram into pieces and wash the internal organs and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces."

18: "Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the LORD."

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Reflection

Preparation for Ordination (29:1-9)

There is much preparation that goes into important ceremonies and milestones in life, and ordination is no exception. This passage describes the process that Aaron and his sons have to go through in order to prepare for their own ordination as priests of God. Most of the steps involve preparing the good and clothes for the priests and the ceremony.

Today, the preparation that goes into the most ordination processes is just as intense as in the days of Moses. Pastors and elders go through classes and interviews to access their knowledge, character, and competency. They take exams and write essays as well. Ordination, today as in the past, is far more than a simple ceremony. It involves sacrifice and commitment and requires much preparation.The preparation period serves to weed out the uncommitted and to remind the devotees of the weight and solemnity of their calling.

 

Serving with Clean Hands (29:10-18)

Those who serve the LORD must do so with clean hands and a pure heart, according to the words of Psalm 24:4. Only the pure and holy can stand before God in His temple. Therefore, it is vital for priests and Levites, who spend more time in God's temple than others, to be in a constamt state of holiness and purity, lest they be stricken down for their sins. That is why it is absolutely necessary for certain sin offerings to be made as part of the consecration process for Aaron and his sons. But atonement is not only to be made for the priests; it is also to be made for the altar (Exod. 29:36), for the whole earth is tainted by sin. That is how thorough the cleansing has to be. Not even a hint of evil is to be on anything associated with the worship of God.

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Application

-As Christians, we are called to be priests and minsters to the world. Whenever we prepare for an important milestone in life, we should do it spiritually, with prayer and dependance on God.

-God is as holy today as He was in Aaron's time. And yet, we do not fo through as much spiritual cleansing and preparation when we go to church on Sundays as Aaron did. We must worship with clean hands.

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"Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness."

-John Wesley

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Clean Worship

Every Sunday we go to church. We sing songs, listen to a sermon, sing a few more songs, pray, and then hang out with friends or family. The next Sunday, we do the same thing, and then the next week, and so on. What's to stop our worship from becoming ritualistic? Are we simply singing songs that we enjoy? Are we only listening to sermons if they "speak to us"?

In the modern church, there is a looming danger in our worship services. Rather than coming before the Almighty God, humbled before the all-powerful King of kings, we think some humble "god" must come before the almighty us and vie for our precious attention.We sing songs that we enjoy, and we complain about the songs that we do not like. This is a problem. Worship was never designed to glorify us; it is meant to bring glory to God.

God desires worship, but it must be meaningful. And that is what the Book of Exodus addresses. As J. Ligon Duncan points out, "The whole of the end of Exodus is about worship, both right and wrong." Duncan goes on to explain that God is making us, "a kingdom of priests and washes us with water so that we might be cleansed for His service. So God directs the priests to be consecrated and ordained via this elaborate ritual that emphasizes their need for cleansing. That's the first thing we learn in Exodus 29." God doesn't want distracted or tainted worship; God doesn't want half-hearted praise. He demands the whole heart.

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A Letter to God

O God, give me clean hands and a pure heart.

May I serve and worship You without a hint of evil or immorality in my soul.

Help me to be prepared for the great works of service You have ordained for me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.