“Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—
which is your reasonable service.”
(Romans 12:1, NET)
Ninety-eight bulls, 29 rams, and 1037 lambs were to be sacrificed annually according to Num 28:1ff: These verses start with the daily sacrifice requirement: “…This is the offering made by fire which you must offer to the Lord: two unblemished lambs one-year-old each day for a continual burnt offering.” (Numbers 28:3, NET) In addition, each weekly Sabbath required another 2 lambs.
Then on the first of every month two young bulls, one ram, and seven unblemished lambs a year old, (Num 28:11) were sacrificed. For Passover, there was an offering of 2 bulls, 1 ram, and 7 lambs. The fall festivals required another 74 bulls, 16 rams, and 112 lambs. These were daily, monthly, and annual acts of worship, and were to be repeated year after year, and these do not include the sacrifices for the atonement of various sins.
The Apostle Paul was well versed in the sacrificial laws, having both lived in the Jewish culture and had been a student of a teacher of the law and a highly respected rabbi of the time, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). It is easy to imagine Paul visualizing all these sacrifices as he makes a practical point of application after his discussion in Romans regarding the sinfulness of man and the mercy of God. And when viewed through this Old Testament lens of sacrifices, the impact of Paul’s statement is that much more poignant: we are to “… present [our] bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is [our] reasonable service” (Rom 12:1). We have just one life to give, and we have an opportunity to give it each and every day.
We consider it a blessing to be able to serve our Father in whatever way He would have us serve while at the Youth Haven Desert Ranch. It is our way of giving back to our Heavenly Father for the ultimate sacrifice of His Son. For us, we do not feel we are making a living sacrifice as we serve with the SOWER ministry. It is more of a joy than a sacrifice. We hope and pray we can serve for many more years to come.
Last month we were constructing benches from cedar 2”x4”’s, cutting and prepping angle iron and used drill pipe, and then welding it together for the legs. This month Bruce will be the camp “electrician” troubleshooting and repairing GFCI outlets, installing LED light fixtures, pulling in wire and installing lighting, etc. Katie and the other ladies will be restoring several main camp signs, taking down and painting the lettering, power washing the signs and painting, then reinstalling the lettering. Always something different and a joy to use our experience and giftedness in our service to The King. 🤠 🤗
This week’s Blessings, Prayer Requests, and Schedule are here.
