Shalom,
Psalm 96:1-2:
1 O SING unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing unto the LORD, bless His Name; show forth His salvation from day to day.
Verses 7-8:
7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His Name: bring an offering and come into His courts.
The Hebrew words for "sing" and "give" here are in the imperative sense. Do you know what "imperative" means? The Dictionary definition is: absolutely necessary or required, unavoidable, a command. So this isn't just a nice suggestion to make us "feel" happy! This is a command from God Himself that we are to sing to Him and to give glory (honor) to Him. This MUST be a priority in our lives! Why? Because He is worthy of ALL praise and honor and glory, but, most importantly, because His Word COMMANDS it! AMEN! Here are 2 different songs, one older and one newer!
In Luke 8 we again see Jesus teaching the Parable of the Sower. He tells it to the crowd in verses 4-8 and explains it to His disciples in verses 11-15. We know that the Seed is the Word of God. THAT is unchangeable and vitally important! I have heard it taught many times that we need to spend more time in the Word, to sow the Word in our hearts, to be diligent to meditate the Word. Those are all commands in the Word of God and very important. BUT, the Word will not have the necessary and desired effect on our lives UNTIL we properly prepare the ground, or the soil! If you plant good garden seeds in very poor soil, not many will even come up, let alone produce the desired crop of whatever it is we planted! The FIRST priority is to prepare the soil to receive the Seed! How do we do that? Psalm 96 above is a very good way to start! Begin every day with praise, thanksgiving and worship! That will allow the Holy Spirit to freely work HIS (good) work inside of us! A heart (spirit/soul combination) that has been softened with praise, thanksgiving and worship will be more attune to the voice of the Holy Spirit and His instructions concerning the Seed, or Word, that we sow into it! Everything having to do with God's Kingdom and His way of doing things is very simple, but ALWAYS requires DILIGENCE! AMEN!
Numbers 35 begins with the LORD instructing Moses to command the people concerning the provision of land for the Levites. They were not given a specific area as the other tribes were, but were to be given certain cities within each of the tribal areas. This not only gave the Levites the freedom to serve the LORD as He commanded, but also put the Levites, the priestly tribe, within easy access of each tribe. They could go to the priest or Levite in their own area for counsel and advice on the things of God. Notice that God COMMANDED the Levites to be provided for by the people! That's what the Tithe is for, then and now! It is also what the Word of God commands in Galatians 6:6:
6 Let him who receives instruction in the Word [of God] share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his support].
I love how God takes care of the support for His ministers of the Gospel, and LETS us be a part of it! AWESOME!
Shalom in Him!
