Thinking of birthdays raises an important question. Some of our most significant events – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, funerals – honor particular people. At those times, how do we demonstrate that God is at the heart of every celebration? Can we honor God appropriately while focusing so much attention on people? How do we keep God at the center? We can answer those questions in various ways. Paul said, “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Ac. 17:18); “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). Through Him we have birth and life and every thing and every person in our lives. So God is the reason we have anything to celebrate. He is the ultimate source of our celebrations. As we read in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” When we realize that the child, spouse, the life, the friends, the family are all gifts from our Father, it makes every celebration a “thanksgiving” day, a time to express our heart of thanks to God. Saint Augustine said something that might help us when we worry that making much of a person might somehow be competition for our love of God. “For he loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.” In other words, as my husband explains, “If created things are seen and handled as gifts of God and as mirrors of His glory, they need not be occasions of idolatry – if our delight in them is always also a delight in their Maker.” Thinking about a few special days might help us see how much this truth can play out.

Noel Piper

Post published:December 20, 2022

Main Index: Maori

Leviticus 1

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]

1:1 ¶ Na ka karanga a Ihowa ki a Mohi, ka korero ki a ia i roto i te tapenakara o te whakaminenga, ka mea,

1:2 Korero ki nga tama a Iharaira, mea atu ki a ratou, Ki te kawea e tetahi tangata o koutou he whakahere ki a Ihowa, me kawe ta koutou whakahere i roto i nga kararehe, ara i roto i nga kau, i roto ranei i nga hipi.

1:3 ¶ Ki te mea he tahunga tinana tana whakahere no nga kau, me tapae e ia he toa, he kohakore: ka tuku ai ki te whatitoka o te tapenakara o te whakaminenga, hei mea e manakohia ai ia i te aroaro o Ihowa.

1:4 A me popoki tona ringa ki te pane o te tahunga tinana; a ka manakohia tana, hei whakamarie mona.

1:5 Na me patu te kau ki te aroaro o Ihowa: a me kawe te toto e nga tohunga, e nga tama a Arona, me tauhiuhi te toto ki te aata a tawhio noa, ki tera i te whatitoka o te tapenakara o te whakaminenga.

1:6 Na me tihore e ia te tahunga tinana, a me tapatapahi tenei wahi ona, tenei wahi ona.

1:7 Na me maka he ahi e nga tama a Arona tohunga ki runga ki te aata, me whakapai hoki nga wahie ki runga ki te ahi:

1:8 Na ka whakararangi ai nga tohunga, nga tama a Arona, i nga pihi, te pane me te ngako, ki nga wahie o te ahi i te aata.

1:9 Ko ona whekau ia, me ona waewae, me horoi ki te wai, ka tahu katoa ai te tohunga ki runga ki te aata hei tahunga tinana, hei whakahere ahi, hei kakara reka ki a Ihowa.

1:10 ¶ Na, no te kahui tana whakahere no nga hipi, no nga koati ranei, hei tahunga tinana; me kawe e ia he toa, he mea kohakore,

1:11 Ka patu ai ki te taha ki te raki o te aata, ki te aroaro o Ihowa: a ma nga tohunga, ma nga tama a Arona, e tauhiuhi ona toto ki te aata a tawhio noa.

1:12 Na ka tapatapahi ai ia he wahi, he wahi, tona pane, tona ngako; a ma te tohunga e whakararangi ki nga wahie o te ahi i runga i te aata:

1:13 Ko nga whekau ia, me nga waewae, me horoi ki te wai: a ka kawe katoa ai te tohunga, ka tahu ai ki te aata: he tahunga tinana hoki, he whakahere ahi, he kakara reka ki a Ihowa.

1:14 Na, mehemea he tahunga tinana no nga manu tana whakahere ki a Ihowa, na me kawe e ia tana whakahere i roto i nga kukupa, i roto ranei i nga pi kukupa.

1:15 A ma te tohunga e kawe ki te aata, e whakawiri atu tona pane, ka tahu ai ki runga ki te aata; a ko ona toto me tuku kia heke ki te taha o te aata:

1:16 A ko tona puku me tona paru me tango, a ka maka ki te taha ki te rawhiti o te aata, ki te wahi o nga pungarehu:

1:17 Na me hahae e ia ma ona parirau, otiia kaua e motuhia rawatia; a ma te tohunga e tahu ki runga ki te aata, ki nga wahie o te ahi: he tahunga tinana tena, he whakahere ahi, he kakara reka ki a Ihowa.

Main Index: Maori

Leviticus 1

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]

[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
[17]
[18]
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26]
[27]