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Focus on FamilyBy Paul Chappell
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Friday, Feb 10, 2012
"This is a true saying, if a man desire the
office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop
then must be blameless, the husband of one wife,
vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to
hospitality, apt to teach."
1 Timothy 3:1-2
The story is told of two riverboats that were set to
race down the Mississippi River to see which was faster.
Both started out and when one pulled ahead, the captain
of the losing vessel commanded his first mate to begin
feeding the fire with all the wood they had. The vessel
began gaining ground but soon the first mate informed
the captain the ship was out of fuel. Desperate to win,
he directed his crew to begin tearing off pieces of the
boat to use as fuel. The ship continued to gain ground
and even pulled ahead, but at what cost? At the end of
the course, the ship was ruined.
Many in our day strive to advance their own
interests, but at the cost of hurting their family in
the process. Whether you are a pastor, Sunday school
teacher, choir member, or parent, your first ministry in
life is your family. The church can hire another pastor,
but God only gives you one husband or wife, one family.
Realize the extreme importance of family in your
life. Getting ahead at work means little if you lose
time with your children. Becoming the best in your field
gains nothing if your children turn aside from God's
will. Ask yourself this-is your job, hobby, or desires
worth losing your family?
Being a parent comes with high responsibility. God
desires that you will train your child in His commands
and guide them into a loving relationship with Him. You
can't do that if you aren't actively involved in your
child's life. Your family needs you. Ask the Lord to
help you make family one of your top priorities this
week.
Today's Rooted Principle:
What is it to gain the whole
world and lose the family God's entrusted to you?
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Old Testament
Reading
Leviticus
8 |
CHAPTER 8
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the
garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the
sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened
bread; 3 And gather thou all the congregation
together unto the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation. 4 And Moses did as the LORD
commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together
unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
5 And Moses said unto the congregation, This
is the thing which the LORD commanded to be done.
6 And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and
washed them with water. 7 And he put upon him
the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed
him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he
girded him with the curious girdle of the ephod, and
bound it unto him therewith. 8 And he
put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the
breastplate the Urim and the Thummim. 9 And
he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre,
even upon his forefront, did he put the golden
plate, the holy crown; as the LORD commanded Moses.
10 And Moses took the anointing oil, and
anointed the tabernacle and all that was therein,
and sanctified them. 11 And he sprinkled
thereof upon the altar seven times, and anointed the
altar and all his vessels, both the laver and his foot,
to sanctify them. 12 And he poured of the
anointing oil upon Aaron's head, and anointed him, to
sanctify him. 13 And Moses brought Aaron's
sons, and put coats upon them, and girded them with
girdles, and put bonnets upon them; as the LORD
commanded Moses.
14 And he brought the bullock for the sin
offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon
the head of the bullock for the sin offering.
15 And he slew it; and Moses took the
blood, and put it upon the horns of the altar
round about with his finger, and purified the altar, and
poured the blood at the bottom of the altar, and
sanctified it, to make reconciliation upon it.
16 And he took all the fat that was
upon the inwards, and the caul above the liver,
and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses burned
it upon the altar. 17 But the bullock,
and his hide, his flesh, and his dung, he burnt with
fire without the camp; as the LORD commanded Moses.
18 And he brought the ram for the burnt
offering: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon
the head of the ram. 19 And he killed
it; and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar
round about. 20 And he cut the ram into
pieces; and Moses burnt the head, and the pieces, and
the fat. 21 And he washed the inwards and the
legs in water; and Moses burnt the whole ram upon the
altar: it was a burnt sacrifice for a sweet
savour, and an offering made by fire unto the
LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. 22 And he
brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and
Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the
ram. 23 And he slew it; and Moses took
of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of
Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand,
and upon the great toe of his right foot. 24
And he brought Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood
upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumbs of
their right hands, and upon the great toes of their
right feet: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar
round about. 25 And he took the fat, and the
rump, and all the fat that was upon the inwards,
and the caul above the liver, and the two
kidneys, and their fat, and the right shoulder:
26 And out of the basket of unleavened bread,
that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened
cake, and a cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and put
them on the fat, and upon the right shoulder:
27 And he put all upon Aaron's hands, and
upon his sons' hands, and waved them for a wave
offering before the LORD. 28 And Moses took
them from off their hands, and burnt them on the
altar upon the burnt offering: they were
consecrations for a sweet savour: it is an
offering made by fire unto the LORD. 29 And
Moses took the breast, and waved it for a wave
offering before the LORD: for of the ram of
consecration it was Moses' part; as the LORD commanded
Moses. 30 And Moses took of the anointing
oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar,
and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his
garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments
with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments,
and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
31 And Moses said unto Aaron and to his
sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation: and there eat it with
the bread that is in the basket of consecrations,
as I commanded, saying, Aaron and his sons shall eat it.
32 And that which remaineth of the flesh and
of the bread shall ye burn with fire. 33 And
ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation in seven days, until the days of
your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he
consecrate you. 34 As he hath done this day,
so the LORD hath commanded to do, to make an
atonement for you. 35 Therefore shall ye
abide at the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation day and night seven days, and keep the
charge of the LORD, that ye die not: for so I am
commanded. 36 So Aaron and his sons did all
things which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.
CHAPTER 9
1 And it came to pass on the eighth day,
that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the
elders of Israel; 2 And he said unto Aaron,
Take thee a young calf for a sin offering, and a ram for
a burnt offering, without blemish, and offer them
before the LORD. 3 And unto the children of
Israel thou shalt speak, saying, Take ye a kid of the
goats for a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb,
both of the first year, without blemish, for a
burnt offering; 4 Also a bullock and a ram
for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a
meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will
appear unto you. 5 And they brought
that which Moses commanded before the tabernacle
of the congregation: and all the congregation drew near
and stood before the LORD. 6 And Moses said,
This is the thing which the LORD commanded that
ye should do: and the glory of the LORD shall appear
unto you. 7 And Moses said unto Aaron, Go
unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy
burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and
for the people: and offer the offering of the people,
and make an atonement for them; as the LORD commanded.
8 Aaron therefore went unto the altar, and
slew the calf of the sin offering, which was for
himself. 9 And the sons of Aaron brought the
blood unto him: and he dipped his finger in the blood,
and put it upon the horns of the altar, and
poured out the blood at the bottom of the altar:
10 But the fat, and the kidneys, and the caul
above the liver of the sin offering, he burnt upon the
altar; as the LORD commanded Moses. 11 And
the flesh and the hide he burnt with fire without the
camp. 12 And he slew the burnt offering; and
Aaron's sons presented unto him the blood, which he
sprinkled round about upon the altar. 13 And
they presented the burnt offering unto him, with the
pieces thereof, and the head: and he burnt them
upon the altar. 14 And he did wash the
inwards and the legs, and burnt them upon the
burnt offering on the altar. 15 And he
brought the people's offering, and took the goat, which
was the sin offering for the people, and slew it,
and offered it for sin, as the first. 16 And
he brought the burnt offering, and offered it according
to the manner. 17 And he brought the meat
offering, and took an handful thereof, and burnt
it upon the altar, beside the burnt sacrifice of
the morning. 18 He slew also the bullock and
the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings, which
was for the people: and Aaron's sons presented
unto him the blood, which he sprinkled upon the altar
round about, 19 And the fat of the bullock
and of the ram, the rump, and that which covereth
the inwards, and the kidneys, and the caul
above the liver: 20 And they put the
fat upon the breasts, and he burnt the fat upon the
altar: 21 And the breasts and the right
shoulder Aaron waved for a wave offering before
the LORD; as Moses commanded. 22 And Aaron
lifted up his hand toward the people, and blessed them,
and came down from offering of the sin offering, and the
burnt offering, and peace offerings.
23 And Moses and Aaron went into the
tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and
blessed the people: and the glory of the LORD appeared
unto all the people. 24 And there came a fire
out from before the LORD, and consumed upon the altar
the burnt offering and the fat: which when all
the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.
CHAPTER 10
1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron,
took either of them his censer, and put fire therein,
and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before
the LORD, which he commanded them not. 2 And
there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them,
and they died before the LORD.
3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This
is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will
be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all
the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his
peace. 4 And Moses called Mishael and
Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and
said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from
before the sanctuary out of the camp. 5 So
they went near, and carried them in their coats out of
the camp; as Moses had said. 6 And Moses said
unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons,
Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest
ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let
your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the
burning which the LORD hath kindled. 7 And ye
shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the
LORD is upon you. And they did according to the
word of Moses.
8 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
9 Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou,
nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle
of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall
be a statute for ever throughout your
generations: 10 And that ye may put
difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean
and clean; 11 And that ye may teach the
children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath
spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
12 And Moses spake unto Aaron, and unto
Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons that were left, Take
the meat offering that remaineth of the offerings of the
LORD made by fire, and eat it without leaven beside the
altar: for it is most holy: 13 And ye
shall eat it in the holy place, because it is thy
due, and thy sons' due, of the sacrifices of the LORD
made by fire: for so I am commanded. 14 And
the wave breast and heave shoulder shall ye eat in a
clean place; thou, and thy sons, and thy daughters with
thee: for they be thy due, and thy sons'
due, which are given out of the sacrifices of
peace offerings of the children of Israel. 15
The heave shoulder and the wave breast shall they bring
with the offerings made by fire of the fat, to wave
it for a wave offering before the LORD;
and it shall be thine, and thy sons' with thee, by a
statute for ever; as the LORD hath commanded.
16 And Moses diligently sought the goat of
the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was
angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron
which were left alive, saying,
17 Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin
offering in the holy place, seeing it is most
holy, and God hath given it you to bear the
iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them
before the LORD? 18 Behold, the blood of it
was not brought in within the holy place: ye
should indeed have eaten it in the holy place, as
I commanded. 19 And Aaron said unto Moses,
Behold, this day have they offered their sin offering
and their burnt offering before the LORD; and such
things have befallen me: and if I had eaten the
sin offering to day, should it have been accepted in the
sight of the LORD? 20 And when Moses heard
that, he was content.
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New Testament
Reading
Matthew
25:31 |
31 When the Son of man shall come in his
glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he
sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And
before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth
his sheep from the goats: 33 And he
shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on
the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto
them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye
gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was
a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and
ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in
prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall
the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee
an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave
thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a
stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed
thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or
in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the
King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto
you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto
me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on
the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in:
naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and
ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred,
or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in
prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto
you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal.
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Proverb of the
Day
Proverbs
12 |
1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth
knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
2 A good man obtaineth favour of the
LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
3 A man shall not be established by
wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be
moved. 4 A virtuous woman is a crown
to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as
rottenness in his bones. 5 The thoughts of
the righteous are right: but the counsels
of the wicked are deceit. 6 The words
of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but
the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.
7 The wicked are overthrown, and are
not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
8 A man shall be commended according to his
wisdom: but he that is of a perverse heart shall be
despised. 9 He that is
despised, and hath a servant, is better than he
that honoureth himself, and lacketh bread. 10
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast:
but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
11 He that tilleth his land shall be
satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain
persons is void of understanding.
12 The wicked desireth the net of evil
men: but the root of the righteous yieldeth
fruit. 13 The wicked is snared by the
transgression of his lips: but the just shall
come out of trouble. 14 A man shall be
satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth:
and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered
unto him. 15 The way of a fool is
right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto
counsel is wise. 16 A fool's wrath is
presently known: but a prudent man covereth
shame. 17 He that speaketh
truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness
deceit. 18 There is that speaketh like the
piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise
is health. 19 The lip of truth shall
be established for ever: but a lying tongue is
but for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the
heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors
of peace is joy. 21 There shall no
evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled
with mischief. 22 Lying lips are
abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly
are his delight. 23 A prudent man
concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth
foolishness. 24 The hand of the diligent
shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under
tribute. 25 Heaviness in the heart of man
maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
26 The righteous is more excellent
than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth
them. 27 The slothful man roasteth not
that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a
diligent man is precious. 28 In the
way of righteousness is life; and in the
pathway thereof there is no
death.
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