NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

SANCTIFY YOURSELVES (1 CHRONICLES 15:11-29)

REFLECTION

“Sanctify yourselves” is the theme for our reflection. To sanctify oneself means to be declared holy or consecrated to serve the Lord. We shall reflect on the fact that the Lord is Holy therefore those appointed to serve or play significant roles in worship must always sanctify themselves. Again, it is important for leaders to regularly consult and so that they can make informed decisions.

David discovered the carriage or transportation of Ark of the Lord was the preserve of only the Levites who had been sanctified and that failure to follow the laid down procedure in honouring God or failure to approach the Lord in reverence caused the death of Uzzah and his inability to bring the Ark to Jerusalem in the first instance. It is for this reason David said ““You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.” (1 Chronicles 15:12). It is important to note that there are certain liturgical functions that must be performed by some specific people within the worship service or space. Worship is a serious business because it is all about the glory of God. Worship and liturgical functions be done in reverence by those called or appointed and sanctified. Those appointed to lead the congregation are priests and other liturgical actors. These people must not merely appear before the Lord but must come prepared and sanctified for service. In other words, although we must all come before God is sanctified, those assigned specific roles especially in preaching, leading the liturgy and reading the Scriptures must be intentional about appearing before God with our bodies cleansed for service through the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter admonished us that “… just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16). Dear friends in the Lord, the Lord requires nothing but obedience, faithfulness and reverence from us.

Again it is always important to seek spiritual guidance if we are ignorant about how to serve and please the Lord. David was ignorant yet he failed to consult those who had knowledge in handling the Ark of the Lord. His ignorance led to the death of Uzzah and his inability to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. He finally learnt his lesson and the right thing was done. The fact that you are a leader does not mean you know it all. A good, mature and successful leader is one who always seeks counsel and makes informed decisions. David said, 13 It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of him about how to do it in the prescribed way. ” 14 So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel. 15 And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD.” (1 Chronicles 15:13-15)

In summary, we have discovered that those of us who have been called or appointed to perform special roles within the worship space must always appear before the Lord sanctified and prepared for service because we serve a Holy God. Again, as leaders, we must always seek counsel or guidance from those who have special knowledge regarding a subject matter of interest or course of action. Shalom

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, we humbly pray that you continually sanctify us for service and that You lead us to make informed decisions as leaders to the glory of God. Amen.