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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NUMBERS 32-33; PSALM 93

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 TITLE: WE'RE IN IT TOGETHER

READ: NUMBERS 32 - 33; PSALM 93

TEXT TO MEDITATE: NUMBERS 32: 16-18

 Then they came near to him  and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 

REFLECT

The tribes of Reuben and Gad had both found an ideal place to settle in. The place had large grasslands which could accommodate their livestock. The problem was that this area was west of the Jordan river. This meant that while the rest of Israel had to cross the Jordan to the East and fight for their land, Reuben and Gad would not have to do so. They could just stop going to war and settle in the land, while their brothers went on to war without them.

When the chiefs of Gad and Reuben told Moses of their intention to settle East of Jordan, Moses was angry. He told them that if they did that, the rest of the people of Israel would be discouraged. He warned them that God would be very angry if Gad and Reuben caused their brothers to be discouraged. And that God would punish them sternly for that. Gad and Reuben then pledged that if they were allotted the land, they would settle their families and livestock, but their fighting men would join the rest of Israel and continue to fight until each tribe had settled in their allotted lands. They would fight in solidarity with their brothers. This pledge would have encouraged the other Israelites greatly, as the fighters from the tribes of Gad and Reuben would likely be better fighters simply because their families and livestock had already settled in their land and they did not have to worry about their safety.

RELATE

We live in a society that rewards individualism, and have a propensity to look out for our own interests. The popular 'wisdom' is "every man for himself", and "what is mine is mine", and we have little regard for the needs and interests of others. This individualism makes us lonely, each of us having to fend for ourselves. 

God doesn't want us to live this way. He tells us that "each of you must not look only to your own interest, but to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4). This calls for an intentional and very deliberate shift in how we look at our advantages in life. If you are an academically gifted student, you no longer see your good grades simply as a passport to a more 'successful' life. Instead, you see your abilities as God enabling you to help others more effectively. If you have better income than others, then see your greater wealth as God giving you more resources to help those with less. If you have more time than others, see your extra time as God giving you that time to help others. The paradigm shift is to see all that we have not as riches at our disposal, but as resources to help others with. Our 'wisdom' must change from "each man for himself" to "bear one another's burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ".

REST

Father please help me see each day that nothing I have is really mine, but that all that I have are resources that you have given me to share freely with others. Take away my self-centred blindness and help me see also the needs of those around me. Amen.

Chiu Ming Li



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