#1554. PRIESTS LOVE AND ENCOURAGE GOD’S PEOPLE (29/7/26)

Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our series: I Will Dwell Among Them. 

Today, we reflect on the truth:

God’s priests know God’s strength, love and seek His will, and seek to bring others into the same. 

To watch this devotional, please select the link below:

1. Priests know God’s strength and seek to lead others to God’s strength

The priestly garments, we are told, were to carry the names of the sons of Israel in two places; firstly, we see that they were to be carried on the shoulder pieces. The priest, in carrying the names of God’s people into God’s presence show that he represented all of God’s people as he entered and ministered in the Tabernacle. The priest carried the people, on his shoulders, into God’s presence. 

This is a foreshadowing of Christ who carries us, in our weakness and failure, into God’s holy presence where there is power!

Jesus, our great High Priest, carries us into God’s presence. He has the qualification and strength carry us into the very holy of holies. Through His offering, we are justified. In Him - in union with Him by the Spirit - He takes us into God’s true and holy presence; His perfect prayers are being offered for us. 

In Hebrews, we read:

Likewise, as those Old Testament priest carried the people on their shoulders, and as this is fulfilled in Christ for each of us, so we are to carry one another on our shoulders. We are to have deep loving concern for one another and seek to carry one another through prayer, encouragement and in practical ways.

Sometimes in our lives, we feel weak and miserable in our faith - I’m sure that’s not just me! Sometimes, however, we feel strong, full of faith and have a deep sense of purpose. Whilst God, of course, doesn’t change, our experiences and feelings can. I wonder how much these things depend on prayer? I’m pretty sure that those who are secretly praying for us have a massive impact on our spiritual strength and sense of purpose.

2. Priests know the love of God and seek to bring others into His love

Not only were the names of the son’s of Israel to be on the shoulders of the priestly garment, they were also to be on the chest, near the heart:

The design priest’s garments show the worth of God’s people - we are like precious stones over the heart of God. Likewise, we are precious to God, we are on His heart. He knows and loves each of us who are in Christ. 

This is fulfilled in Christ, we are written on Jesus’ heart! 

Additionally, as God’s priests, and in imitation of Christ, we are to carry one another over our hearts, remembering that without love we are nothing!

3. Priests seek God’s will and help others to know God’s will

Finally, we see that the breastpiece is linked to ‘making decisions’. We read: 

The breastpiece is called the "Breastpiece of Judgment" (or ‘Breastpiece for Making Decisions’ in some translations) because it contained the Urim and Thummim, through which God's will was sought.

Urim - means ‘lights’ 

Thummim - means ‘perfection’

We are not sure how these objects worked, but through the design of the priestly garments we see that the priest was to seek God’s will on behalf of the people. 

Likewise God wants each of us to seek His will through His Word, through prayer, by listening to His voice. Churches are to seek God’s will. Leaders of churches - elders - are to seek to lead God’s church in His will. 

Response

God’s priests know God’s strength, love and seek His will, and seek to bring others into the same. 

As those on Jesus’ shoulders, do we trust His ability to carry us and are we seeking to support others?

As those written over Jesus’ heart, are we experiencing God’s love and encouraging others to do the same? 

As His priests are we seeking to hear Jesus’ voice and follow Him, and are we encouraging others to follow God’s ‘good pleasing and perfect will’? 

This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:

Community Group Study

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week, so we’ll be focussing on this during our time together. 

1. Notices

It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News. 

2. Worship together

Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.

3. Study and pray together

(This week is ‘SIV’ (Serve, Invest and inVite) Week)

On Sunday, we concluded our I Will Dwell Among Them series by exploring how the priestly garments described in Exodus 28 point to the calling of God's people today and are to be lived out in our churches and daily lives.

One of the key applications concerns our mission to reach our communities with the gospel. As God's royal priesthood, we are called to stand before Him on behalf of others, praying and interceding for His mercy to be poured out on our families, neighbours, and communities. Prayer is not a secondary part of evangelism—it is one of the primary ways God releases His power. As we faithfully intercede for those around us, we prepare the way for the gospel to be proclaimed with conviction and received with open hearts.

What is SIV? 

SIV stands for Serve, Invest and inVite. This is our very simple strategy to help bring our community to Jesus. We believe that God has placed us in relationships and in specific locations to be 'salt and light.' and to ‘fish for people’.  We can effectively bring people to Jesus by: 

• 'Serving' them - Demonstrating the love of Christ in practical ways; 

• 'Investing' - Investing in the ‘people of peace’ those whom we feel the Spirit is leading us. 

• 'Inviting' - Inviting them into our homes by showing hospitality and inviting them to church events, to Alpha, and ultimately, inviting them to come to Jesus through the gospel. 

In your groups: 

• Share stories – Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing stories of how we’ve seen God at work through simple faithfulness.

• Think about practical next steps – Who might God be placing on your heart at this time? Are there any “people of peace” (see note) in your life—those who seem open, welcoming, or receptive to spiritual conversation?

Pray together:

• New Day: Pray for our young people who are currently at New Day - pray for blessing and salvation.

• Pray for courage, wisdom, and sensitivity to the Holy Spirit in our Serve, Invest, and Invite opportunities.

• Pray specifically for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives - that God would open hearts and deepen relationships.

• Pray for our Alpha ministry and Phil Mash who heads up this team 

• Pray for our mission in Roehampton - that He would lead us in reaching that community with the gospel. 

• General prayer: how do people want prayer at this time?