By Olive

Read: Numbers 28:16-29:40, Luke 3:23-38, Psalm 62:1-12, Proverbs 11:18-19

On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Present to the Lord a food offering consisting of a burnt offering of two young bulls, one ram and seven male lambs a year old, all without defect.
Numbers 28:18-19

Relate:
In these verses, God provides detailed instructions for the Passover, The Festival of Weeks, The Festival of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, and The Festival of the Tabernacles. 

Here, believers are ordered to set aside one or two days exempt from any regular work. This command appears for every sacred event mentioned in this passage. Another explicit instruction given that is repeated again and again is to offer God only the best, making sure the animal sacrifices have no defects. This reminds me of gift giving to someone you deeply love. It was my friend’s 18th birthday recently, and because I love her, I would never give her any present that is flawed or faulty.

React:
I think the passage here should teach Christians to never hold back any part of themselves and what they own from God. This encourages me to willingly give God the best I have to offer. This also makes me remember the importance and necessity of taking a day or two to really think only of Him. As evident from the set of instructions for each sacred event mentioned in this passage, taking a day to save yourself and your time for the Lord and the Lord only is not just important but required. Our hearts should be selfless and free from anything we might want to hold on to. Nothing but the best is good enough for God. Despite our imperfections and our sins, He will help us serve and glorify him as best we can. 

Respond:

Dear Lord,
Please help us to only give you the best we have to offer. Let us be wholehearted and sincere in all of what we do for you. I pray that with your power, we can always be thankful for knowing you and being commanded to serve you, even when times are difficult.
Amen