Daily Offering

Today, all my blogger buddies at the Christian blogger community, The Loft, will be coming to our monthly potluck bringing their special posts as a gift to encourage each other. 

Here is what I'm bringing to the table:

Have you ever thought about blessing God on a daily basis?

More times than I'm willing to admit, I've asked God to bless ME on a daily basis, but I've never really thought about blessing HIM every day!

You may ask, what blesses God? 

The offerings you present as special gifts are a pleasing aroma to me; they are my food. See to it that they are brought at the appointed times and offered according to my instructions. Numbers 28:2 NLT

Did you know that offering your time to praise and worship God is like a gift to Him?

It's true that as New Testament Christians we do not do burnt offerings, or grain or drink offerings anymore like the Children of Israel did, but there are still things we can offer our Savior. For instance, we can give gifts of time sacrificially gleaned from an over-busy schedule. 

What if I gave God a daily offering of my time in the mornings? I'm talking about something in addition to my devotions and prayer time. What if I spent at least 10 minutes before my day begins praising and worshiping God, and listening for His voice, without bringing up one single petition?

I put this idea to the test and let me just say, for someone with a brain like mine, it's tough to shut those thoughts down and try to just LISTEN.

Yet I find somehow I feel more peaceful, even when I'm not successful at turning the thoughts off for the whole 10 minutes. My day seems to go smoother.

Looking at Numbers 28:2 again, I notice a couple things. A daily offering is a special gift, something special I can do for Him who has done everything for me.

And then there is the part about making sure I do it at the appointed time. Once we make a date, He doesn't want to be stood up!

I love how our gifts and offerings to Him are a pleasing aroma to Him, just like when our friends and family do special things for us and it warms our hearts. But the words, "they are my food," really stand out to me. In the context of the whole passage, I realize that the burnt offerings and grain offerings  upon the fire make a pleasing smell to the Lord. (Don't you love the smell of grilling out?) And I know the Lord does not need our food, or anything material that we can provide Him, for that matter.

Should He want for anything, He can speak it into existence!

But just like a good meal is comforting, filling, and delighting the senses, our sacrifice of our time, coming to Him without asking anything in return blesses Him.

What do you think? Would you like to bless the Lord with a daily offering, too?

~~~

These words about a daily offering is just the beginning for me. If you examine the whole passage of which verse 2 of Numbers 28 is just a part, you will see there is an evening offering, also, and of course the weekly offering is Sabbath!

I'd like to give credit where credit is due. A couple months ago, I read a devotion from Krista Williams called "A Divinely Ordered Calendar," seen at First5. All month the theme of devotions was on the book of Numbers which talks a lot about the congregational rules and roles of the priesthood which served the congregation during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Lists of rules can sometimes be ho-hum. I tend to scan the text rather than really absorb it.

However, the title, "A Divinely Ordered Calendar", stopped me in my tracks. I'm all about calendars, planners, etc. Basically, Krista challenged us to schedule our days in such a way as to leave time for offering God times of special praise and worship, daily, weekly, monthly, and during special times. I loved all her ideas and it would be well worth your time to go read her advice.

Along with Shelly Miller's book, Rhythms of Rest, and Ed Cyzewski's blog and book, The Contemplative Writer, there is much food for thought for my 2016 Word of the Year, Rest. Thank you, all!

~~~

I'm also sharing at Arabah Joy's link up, Grace and Truth, Crystal's place, #FreshMarketFriday and also at Word of God Speak.