Revelations 22:12-21

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Read Revelations 22:12-21 Verses for meditation: Revelations 22:12-13, 16, 20-21 ESV: 12 "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Reflect How does it feel to be reading the very last few verses of the bible? What do the proclamations, the last few of them, say about Christ? Come, Lord Jesus! Does this really express our desire? How does the greatest book end, and on what note? But is this really the end? Relate With mixed feelings, I'm writing this last devotion based on the final ten verses of the greatest book, the bible. What a journe...
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Exodus 28-29 / Psalm 47 "Clothing Ourselves for His Glory"

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READ: Exodus 28-29 / Psalm 47


Verse chosen for meditation: Exodus 28:2

2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty.


REFLECT

Here, we read of the extensive instructions, from the design of the priests’ garments right down to the offerings for the consecration of the priests to be carried out. Does this matter to us? Is priesthood any of our business? Well, it may concern us a lot more than we think.


Old Testament (OT) priests were chosen by God, and they serve God with their lives and offer up sacrifices. It was not a role people appoint themselves to. Under the New Covenant however, every believer in Jesus Christ is a holy priest. We are a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5-9). Today, we may not offer material sacrifices of sin (Exodus 29:36) like the OT priests, as our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. Instead, we are called to offer up spiritual sacrifices. These can be our praises, prayers, bodies, time, talents, etc. Rather than having a limited view of offerings being linked to finance, we reflect on the significance of our spiritual sacrifices as we ponder the lyrics of this song: “We Bring The Sacrifice of Praise” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-96pbbLeND8).


RELATE

If the OT priests needed to be clothed in a certain way, what do we, as a “royal priesthood” today, need to be clothed in? Colossians 3:12 says that as God’s chosen people, we need to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. For what purpose do priests clothe themselves? Exodus 28:2 is clear: for glory and for beauty. For whose glory though? Whose beauty? There lies the crux. Even in obeying and clothing ourselves as Colossians advised, do we do it to gain recognition and praise for ourselves? In recognising that we are God’s priests, we then have to be aware of not only our clothing, but for what purpose. We clothed ourselves with compassion, kindness… so that people know our God personally and His glory via us. It comes with the desire of saving souls, not to present how good we are.


I wonder how daunting this sounds for some of us. Can we live up to that title of royal priesthood? Can we fulfil the full suite of Godly traits? I don’t think God meant for us to be bogged down and stressed by these high standards. Even the OT priests chosen by God were sinful, evidenced by their need to offer up sacrifices of sin. What He meant for us though is that we do not take our identities as Christians lightly, because God takes our priesthood very seriously.


With this seriousness, do we see the impetus to clothe ourselves well, so that our actions honour God and people know our God accurately? The biggest travesty is when people choose not to believe, not because their hearts are hardened, but they simply saw a version of Christ that is inaccurate. In that sense, they made a correct decision not to believe, because indeed, they should not believe in such a God that lacks compassion, if that is what’s represented in us. It always pains me when I hear things like “many I know from X&Y religions are a lot kinder than Christians”. Just last Saturday, I heard this again while crossing a traffic light on a random street. What are the odds? How many have this same opinion? It pains me not because I’m offended as a Christian, but because I have no way to rebut that statement. Yes, it is a flawed generalisation, yet there are elements of truth in it. So I ask, have I represented Christ in an inaccurate way in some of my dealings with people? Is it due to not treating my priesthood with the same weight it deserves.


REST

Father, what a privilege it is to be your chosen priest. Help me not to be conceited with this title, nor feel stressed by it, but to see the need to mirror your Godly traits with this role, so that others may come to know you. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.


Chris Chong 

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