We will take a break from Revelation today and consider Dt. 10:8-9. "At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and to stand before the Lord as his ministers [to serve him], and to pronounce blessings in his name … That is why the Levites have no share of property or possession of land among the other Israelite tribes [no inheritance]. The Lord himself is their special possession [their inheritance], as the Lord your God told them."

All genuine believers are priests (1 Pet. 2:9); so this passage applies not just to church leaders but to all of us.

We are to carry the Ark of the Lord's Covenant. Its solid gold lid was called the mercy seat. Blood was poured out on it to atone for sin. It was the place of encounter between God and the high priest as the peoples' representative; the place of forgiveness. It speaks of conversion; of being cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and beginning a personal relationship with Jesus.

The Ark contained the Law of Moses. We are to carry the Word of God in our hearts and to bring it to bear on each and every situation and circumstance so that we are not led into deception. The Ark also represented the very presence of God. As his priests we carry his presence wherever we go. Amazing!

We are to stand before the Lord. Remember how Elijah stopped doing this when he felt a failure; depressed and fearful (1 Kgs. 19), yet that was the very time he needed Him the most. And the same goes for us.

We are to stand before the Lord to minister to him, which is an awesome and moving thought; that he would desire our company and value our friendship. We minister to him by worshipping and loving him; by listening to him and by receiving our daily instructions. We are told to love Him and others, and that he loves us, 23 times in this book.

We are to pronounce blessings in his name. We are to bless the Lord, others – especially family members – and ourselves; making sure we curse no one, including ourselves in our self-talk.

We are to be satisfied with Him alone. "Whom have I in heaven but you? And having you, I desire nothing else on earth" (Ps. 73:25 NEB). If we are dissatisfied we need to ask ourselves why. Are we looking in the wrong places for satisfaction? Are we looking at others and desiring the things they have?