Duties
Numbers 8:28, “In the numbering of every male from a month old and upward, there were 8,600 , performing the duties of the sanctuary.”
As the Israelites were wandering through the desert after their deliverance from the Egyptians they were assigned specific things to do. They were first commanded by God to build a tabernacle and a sanctuary to honor His name. After they finished this work, they were given assignments on how to maintain this temple.
It kind of reminds me of an old saying that I have learned to be true over the years, “Idle hands are Satan’s workshop”. As human beings when we have nothing to do we get bored, and when we get bored we make up things to do. Sometimes the things we make up go against the will of God; it may not be an intentional breaking of God’s will on our part, but one thing I’ve learned is that bored people do things they would never do otherwise just to break their boredom.
God knew and knows about this human characteristic, so He assigned the Israelites and us jobs to take care of.
In the same way God has assigned each of us work to do, sometimes Christians think to themselves, “I am of no use for the Kingdom”. I know because I used to have some thoughts like that, but then God spoke to me; and He showed me that I and all Christians have jobs to do, just like the Israelites.
We read in I Corinthians 12:4, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (I invite you to read this entire chapter, just click this link.)
God gives each of these gifts with a responsibility, duty, attached to it; all Christians are given gifts by the Lord that we are commanded to use for His glory. There is no excuse for any Christian to ever say God did not give me anything to do, and I got bored. All of us have been given a job to do by God, and He has empowered us to do that job through the work of the Holy Spirit, so if we get bored and disobey God with our behavior we have no excuse!
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Father, I thank You for giving me a job to do, and I ask that You help me to find ways to finish that job for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen
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The image above can be found at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/8047619@N08/2863678002/
Yes, You Can Ministry 