The Feed Mill

Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Chronicles 24-26

Today’s Devotional: 1 Chronicles 24:1-19

What became of those serving in ministry within the Temple after the Babylonian captivity. Was the Lord done with using the tribe of Levi in the Temple ministry and His promise and provision to them null and void?

The Lord answers this that He is not done nor has He cancelled His promises though we may go astray from His instructions for worship and ministry. The Lord’s heart and desire is always for us to be restored back into proper relationship with Him and proper exercise of the calling He has on each of our lives. His desire is for ministry to be orderly, because He is a God of order and of no distractions from who He is. The giftings He has distributed for the purpose of pointing others to who He is, He moves through as He chooses because their His gifts which He’s given.

Serving the Lord isn’t to be burdensome and serving the Lord doesn’t elevate any one individual or any one ministry, but it elevates and points to Jesus as the author and finisher of our trust in Him. By us forcing His gifts as we choose ministry becomes burdensome and in our own strength, because its not being done in His strength and the gifts are not being exercised and moved through by Him and in His timing. Jesus and His Word are spread amongst all areas of His gifts being manifested, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will always point to and magnify Jesus.

This aspect is something that Israel coming out of captivity in Babylon, throughout all of the history of His people, and still true for us today. We need to remember that ministry while we are serving needs to stay focused on Jesus always, and even for those who may be in certain rotations of service that might be experienced currently. We need to keep in mind that there may often times be different seasons to where our service to the Lord may appear more outward active than others, no matter which season our lives may look like to ourselves we should always keep Jesus as the #1 priority of our lives and ready to be used and Him to move through the gifts He has given to each of us. This is something the Israelites returning from Babylon needed to hear, because as we are going to learn in Nehemiah and Ezra, they did not stay ready and usable though there active ministry in certain areas was not present. May we always stand ready to be used by Him and have our hands off of His gifts, so that in the proper time He may use His gifts through us and for His glory.