A HOLY PEOPLE
Suggested Reading: Deuteronomy 25-26
(click scripture link to read online)
People praying at the rock in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed all night before he was arrested. The church that now covers it is called the Church of All Nations.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 26:19
…and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.
We are a “holy people.” Believing in Jesus and following Him makes this a fact. Ephesians 2:21 calls us, “a holy temple.” To see how special we are in God’s eyes, read Ephesians 2:11-22.
Two practices stand out in today’s reading. First, the sandal and the kinsman redeemer. Note Deuteronomy 25:9 and then turn to a wonderful love story, Ruth chapter 4. Note verse 7 (click here). Second, paying the tithe, 10% of our increase. To read more about this practice, we may want to read Malachi 3:6-12. This last book in the Hebrew Scriptures has much to say about giving. The Greek Scriptures, our New Testament, speaks of giving in many places. The one that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 16:2, where Paul encourages us to set aside our offerings on the first day of each week. It seems that the early believers in Jesus paid the tithe (they were all Jews) and then did much more in offerings above their tithe. Remember the words of Jesus to the rich young ruler. Jesus was asking for his all (Mark 10:17-22). Our question should not be, “How much should I give?” but, “How much of that which You, Lord, have given me should I use for myself?” Let’s meditate on that thought.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, please give me the grace of disciplined consistency in listening to You as I read Your Word each day, and in faithful fervency as I talk with You in my prayer time. May I see spiritual input in my life to be even more important than physical food and drink. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Because of the practice of giving produce to God, I asked my son, Reynold, for a garden picture. The Garden of Gethsemane was the place where Jesus gave everything back to His Father.
I find it interesting that throughout this present age, the age of the Church, a wide variety of giving practices has been employed. For example, my Father, Rev. Dr. Roy Mainse, in his ordination commitments, was not to own property personally. He was 40 when I was born in 1936, and he wrote that while his brothers received an inheritance, such as the family farm, he would not receive an inheritance. He was in the ministry (Methodist/Holiness Movement) and his needs were provided by the congregations, college, and missionary society which he served. During my time as a boy living at home, the residence, complete with old furniture from the 19th century, was provided. I remember the red-letter day when Dad came home with a new fridge. We actually owned it. Things changed along the way, and Dad and my step-mother owned a home when Dad retired. He passed away 40 years ago next month. I’m older now than he was when God took him home. He was removing the snow from his driveway and steps when his heart simply stopped. My memories of his total dedication to the cause of Christ are a motivation for me in my service to God and people.
Yours for learning how to give back to God that which He has given me,
David
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hate, may I bring love;
Where offence, may I bring pardon;
May I bring union in place of discord;
Truth, replacing error;
Faith, where once there was doubt;
Hope, for despair;
Light, where there was darkness;
Joy to replace sadness.
Make me not to so crave to be loved as to love.
Help me to learn that in giving I may receive;
In forgetting self, I may find life eternal.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Rev. Dr. Roy Mainse. I wish that I’d had such a fine example of a Christian Dad or a Christian family. Growing up, my family was moderately Christian, if that makes sense. Every Sunday you’d dress up, go to the local United Church, learn ‘about’ Jesus (which was a good thing); but were never prompted to take the next step and ‘know’ Jesus personally, that would have been just too radical and over-the-top-religious. Consequently, nobody really talked about Jesus, nobody read the Bible or prayed (except for the ritual dinner prayer), and nobody really set the example of a ‘Christian’ in my home growing up. Unfortunately, I think this has been the standard in Canada for many over the past 50 years … people don’t know Christ personally. As a result we have seen a downgrade in societal moral standards and an increase in the ‘entitlement’ mentality. Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not placing these problems on the shoulders of the United Church of Canada. I am however saying, if the “Church” had acted less ritualistic and religious and had become more active, communicative, relational, significant and ‘alive’ in the lives of it’s members and adherents, then perhaps society would not be what it has become and headed to where it is going. We’ve messed up, we’ve sinned … but thankfully God is in control, and His word will be the last word, this is our faith, this is our hope.
I’m in my 50’s and growing up in Ottawa my family was totally unaware of anything about Jesus. I did not even know Christmas and Easter were about him until I was born again at age 34. The few times I tried to connect with God in my teens and 20’s I would walk into a service in an Anglican Church, and would not hear a thing that made me want to go back. Once when I was a new mother I felt a burning desire to bring my babies to church to learn about God, and the United church I spoke to assigned me a home visitor and all she asked was what my husband did for a living, and she tsk tsk’d when I said I needed to enrol my kids in daycare and go to work. Because of this my dream and prayer is for every church in Ottawa to be alive with the love of Jesus so that future seekers like me can literally walk into any church on any street and find Jesus.
Linda
Thank you, fellow bloggers for your willing and kind prayers. It was a comfort to me when I was out removing the snow here and meeting with the specialist that you were praying for me. I am single and live alone. I did not agree with an operation yet as it is winter and I have no-one to responsibly look after my house. The Lord help me to get through the winter without incident. I am Pentecostal, but Scott and Linda, you ring a bell in my experience. Lord, send a revival in our land. God bless you, David and all my fellow bloggers today.
Will keep praying for you, Ger.
And you have been and continue to be an inspiration to many of us in the same way David. Thanks
Thankyou David,for this blog and for the insights into your great family. We so
appreciate your sharing these things!
Linda, your experience is so similar to mine.I had no idea that God loved me, until
Jesus made Himself known to me, after a near death experience. I was a young
mother at the time (1974) I was radically changed…..had such a hard time accepting that He had DIED for ME…..and for each one who would accept Him.
It seemed too good to be true but Praise God it is true ! His plan is so wonderful
and generous we can hardly grasp it with our finite minds
Father God, I pray your blessing on each blogger this new year, 2013. May
we all share our faith with those who don’t yet know Your Love, at every opportunity .Lord, I pray for a holy boldness to enable me to do this, as the time is short. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Ger, we are wirh you …may strength and healing come upon you . Be encouraged!!
Hi David Wow! When you think of it, some people don’t know that Jesus is our Saviour and came to save us and purposely walked toward the cross where he paid the price with his blood to redeem us. How important it is to reach as many as possible with every technology there is available to us. Thank God for trailblazers like you. We are in!!!!
Your father was an amazing man devoted to God and so are you! Thank you for posting every day. Happy New Year to you and your family! God bless you in 2013!
Hello, I have been receiving the 100 Wrods daily devotional daily since October 2012….But since December 15th I haven’t received one….Is there a problem? and can I fix it? I enjoy it so much and I am missing them….would like to receive them again…
Sorry about that! Check to see if your email program is sending the emails to a “spam” or “junk” folder. If not, try re-subscribing on the home page of http://www.100words.ca. If it still does not work, you can always read the daily blog by going to the website, http://www.100words.ca. God bless!
So happy to say my computer problem has been solved with a special adapter. I felt such strong prayer around me between 4-4:30 am. these past few days.
It is unfortunate we all didn’t grow up in the healthiest church congregation and family to learn about Jesus; I am in the same boat as the rest of you who have commented. So thankful to you, David, and your family, 100 Huntley Street and Crossroads Ministry for guiding us!
You have a wonderful Dad David and you follow in his footsteps. As others have said we appreciate the spiritual input the Lord is giving you to give to us and for sharing your own experiences so readily. That makes this faith walk so real. May the Lord continue to give you strength and inspiration. Thank you Beverlee and Anne. All of your prayers are appreciated. God Bless.
I agree with you Annette David your and your father was a devoted are/were
devoted men . Keep up the good work I appreciate your input
Happy New Year!!!
Lianne Hogg
Thankyou