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Day 34 or February the 3rd. Support those in

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ministry. Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus

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chapter 7 verse 35. This was the portion of the

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food offerings presented to the Lord that was

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allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they

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were presented to serve the Lord as priests.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. Details

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were given to God's people of how the priests

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were to offer the five sacrifices that are described

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in the early chapters of Leviticus. In a society

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where offering sacrifices to gods was a regular

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event, it was vital that offerings to the living

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God must be distinctive and done correctly and

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with reverence. As the priests were fully employed

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with their tasks at the tabernacle, they were

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allowed to consume part of each sacrifice that

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was offered. In this way, they were able to concentrate

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on their primary call from God, and didn't need

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to raise money to meet their daily living expenses.

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This revealed a God who thinks of everything.

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To make sure that the priests were supported,

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God built it into the whole structure of sacrificing.

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And finally our action step for today. I remember

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gently correcting a lady who thought that church

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ministers stayed behind every Sunday evening

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to share out the collections from the services.

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She thought it was on the basis of a pound for

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you and a pound for me when more than one minister

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was involved, otherwise a lone minister would

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get it all. It's staggering what some people

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think, and she was a local businesswoman, so

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it surprised me that she didn't know better.

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We're reminded here that it was everyone's responsibility

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to financially support the priests, who were

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duly given a percentage of the offering. Sadly,

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There are still folk who believe that, in quotes,

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full -time Christian workers should be paid a

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pittance to confirm their call. I know a church

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that determined its members' incomes by secret

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ballot and then paid its ministers the average.

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Does this reflect poorly with the way you pay

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yours? Is it time to think about change?