Generous Hearts

Exodus 35:20 24 - So all the people left Moses and went to their tents to prepare their gifts.  If their hearts were stirred and they desired to do so, they brought to the LORD their offerings of materials for the Tabernacle and its furnishings and for the holy garments.  Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing. Some brought to the LORD their offerings of gold -- medallions, earrings, rings from their fingers, and necklaces. They presented gold objects of every kind to the LORD.  Others brought blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, fine linen, or goat hair for cloth. Some gave tanned ram skins or fine goatskin leather.  Others brought silver and bronze objects as their offering to the LORD. And those who had acacia wood brought it. 

Moses had called them all together…to remind them that the 7^th day was to be a day of rest…then he explained that God had told him to tell them about all the materials they would need to build his tabernacle. The Lord said if they wished…if they were willing…if they had generous hearts….they were to go home and prepare God an offering…a specific offering of something they could give to help build the tabernacle. God did not just call them to bring material wealth…he called them to give of their time and talents…to weave the linen cloth…to carve the poles….to shape the gold into the lampstand and tools the priests would need. God called everyone to search their heart…and willingly give of what they had been blessed. 

And those whose hearts were stirred….men and women…they hurried to their tent to prepare and gather….to weave and make cloth…to carve the acacia wood they brought with them from Egypt. They brought their offerings in abundance….and those whom God had given artistic ability sat in or near their tents and made curtains…or embroidered it with cherubs.  Some gathered the gold and other precious jewlry from their homes…even pulled the rings off their fingers…to give it all to God.

Makes me think about just how much I would have to give God…and how fast I would hurry to gather my precious belongings if God sent someone like Moses to give me the same commission. I realize that this was a time ordained by God. ..that he had allowed them to plunder the Egyptians…so that they would have the things they needed to build his special house.  But if I think about it..God has given me everything I have too. Come to think of it…I hear the similar words of Moses every Sunday when my pastor calls the ushers down and prays over the collection of tithes and offerings. Do I really have a generous…willing heart? Am I truly ‘stirred’ to give all that I have …including my time…to help my church…the present house of God…and the place where its ministries can reach all the people God needs to reach?

Many questions are stirring my own heart as I write….thoughts like …Is the tithe from my net income really all I can give?  Maybe I should tithe from my gross amount.  Are the few other ministries I send money to …all that God needs me too?  Maybe I should pray that he give me direction to know if other ministries could benefit by the resources he gave me. Do I give God enough of my time?  Maybe I need to do more..to serve the church with my writing…or singing…or sewing abilities. What else to I have that he can use to build his kingdom?  Is my heart stirred…as these people to rush home every time I am paid and do I really pray for God to show me what he wants me to do with HIS money!

Oh father…help me to search my heart this day and reconsider my attitudes about tithes and offerings.  Give me a willing heart…a generous heart…stir it to search through the belongings I have and bring anything I own….willingly…cheerfully..to your house…for you to use to teach others about your love. Give me direction…and place in my heart and soul a passion to use my time for your purposes…not my own. Amen.

No Compromises

Exodus 34:11-17 - "Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Per'izzites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites.  Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither you go, lest it become a snare in the midst of you.  You shall tear down their altars, and break their pillars, and cut down their Ashe'rim (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they play the harlot after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and one invites you, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters play the harlot after their gods and make your sons play the harlot after their gods."You shall make for yourself no molten gods. 

God was sure to warn Moses…to tell the people that they were not allowed to even be around people who worshiped other Gods. They must become a pure…holy nation… bound to worship just Jehovah. God promised to go before them…and drive out all of the nations that inhabited the land he was giving them.  God told him plain and simple that they could not be mixed with others who did not follow his commands….for they were new believers…and weak…and could be swayed to worship other gods too easily.

A good lesson for all of us…but so frustrating to take at face value. Does God really mean these same directions for all of us who have chosen to believe in him. We live in a world where we are exposed to people who do not believe as we do… are we not called to go to them and preach the gospel…to witness and lead them to believe in Christ? Of course we are…so how do we maintain our purity with God…and worship only him these days…in a world where we are exposed to sin after sin…how to we follow the rule of no compromise these days?

There is a fine line between lovingly pointing out a command of Jesus form the Bible….and hypocritically berated them with their sin. I think of several scriptures that help us with hard task we have been commissioned with. 2 Corinthians 6:1 says, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness” …and I do not believe that God is talking just about marriage partners here! We need to choose who we run with very carefully! And then there is the whole passage in Romans 14: 1-23…but the key is in verse 5… “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” God is talking about confidence here!

Confidence comes from study…from prayer…from fasting!  Confidence means we can be that person that walks up to someone involved in a gay relationship and lovingly tell them that God can change the desire of the human flesh…he hates the immoral act…but loves the person.  Confidence means I can tell my close friend who drinks too much…I don’t want to go to the bar with them to meet guys…that I drank once for the wrong reasons…and I need to stay out of that environment…so I am not tempted to drink again.  And besides that…single is not a bad thing…I do not need to date…or meet men…just because I am single again. Confidence means we have so much of God and his word in our hearts that he gives us the loving verses and thoughts we need…at just the right time…to help the friends we know understand who our God is…and why we have made the choice we have to follow him…no matter what!

Father…I sit here this morning with a thankful heart that you created me with a loving nature. Help me to continue to learn about you by reading your word and praying. Help me to increase my passion to know your will by fasting and seeking you on my knees in prayer. Show me the path you have set out for me…to prosper me…and bless me…so I can be the confident servant you need to tell the world about your love. Embed your word that I read each night into my heart and soul…so when I need you to help me witness to one who has been tricked by Satan…I know just what to say! Amen.

Is God my Best Friend?

Exodus 33:13-17 -  Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy sight, show me now thy ways, that I may know thee and find favor in thy sight. Consider too that this nation is thy people." And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."  And he said to him, "If thy presence will not go with me, do not carry us up from here.  For how shall it be known that I have found favor in thy sight, I and thy people? Is it not in thy going with us, so that we are distinct, I and thy people, from all other people that are upon the face of the earth?"  And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name." 

Moses had to be tired by now…he had spent many days on the holy mountain of God….just watched the sad destruction of thousands of people who refused to love and follow the God that had brought them to this season of instruction on their lives.  Moses had to be more than frustrated and confused with the orders God had given him to lead the people out of Egypt months ago.  And so he found himself in the tabernacle…searching for direction…praying to God to tell him the next steps to take in the task he was commissioned to do. God heard him…and descended on that tabernacle like a ‘pillar of cloud’  ….and just like on the mountain…they spoke face to face.

Moses had more than a casual relationship with God. His time on that mountain… watching God…listening to him…waiting on him…had taught him the value of a real relationship. Moses realized that God was more than just a deity to worship….God had become his best friend.  A person to talk to when he needed support and direction…a person to trust with his deepest desires and needs…a person that shared a common goal….to make God the center of everything he did…so he could complete the job he gave him to do.

Most of us have an earthly friend …one we hang out with…depend on…trust…talk to about everything.  We wouldn’t let anything or anyone drive a wedge between us ….we guard their love and respect them like no other in our lives.  Some of us are even lucky enough to have more than one of these true friends. We laugh together…cry together…watch movies… eat dinners….talk and text each other all day.

Made me wonder if I have built that same kind of friendship with God. Can I truly call him my best friend if I limit my time with him to a few minutes in the morning… a 20 minute reading of his word every day…a couple of church services on Sunday…a mid week bible study on Wednesday…a Celebrate Recovery meeting on Thursday…and a monthly bible study with my small group?  Sounds like a lot as I list it on paper….but my heart knows that it barely meets my needs.  My heart keeps thinking about how many times I have hit the snooze button in the last week…and that I spent more time reading Nick Sparks than God this week. My heart knows how I hurried to say I had been obedient to read my chapter…so I could finish my other book.  My heart remembers the thoughts I had that maybe my ESL student would not come Wednesday night…so I could go home early.  My head is reeling with all the other selfish thoughts I have had this week….instead of spending time on my knees….begging for God to show me his glory…instead of begging him to reveal his clear direction to me for the next few days of the life he might grant past this moment.

Oh father..once again you show up just when I need you…and reveal to me that selfish nature is trying to creep up in my heart and dominate my thoughts and actions.  Help me to be strong…do not let Satan drive a wedge between us…instead…show me enough of your glory to make me strong…to wash away more of my selfishness …and replace it with the thoughts you would have me have.  Give me clear directions this morning…and equip me with all that I need to keep my thoughts about you all day.  Show me how to run to you…and sit at your feet…so you can teach me how to be who you need me to be. Amen.

Making gods for Yourself

Exodus 32:1-6 -  When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, "Up, make us gods, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."  And Aaron said to them, "Take off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me."  So all the people took off the rings of gold which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.  And he received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made a molten calf; and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!"  When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD."  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

A mixture of the people’s impatience…and Aaron’s need to placate them quickly …brought about a very dangerous …and eventually deadly situation.  The people had been waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain for about 40 days….around 6 weeks.  They believed something had happened to him…and they needed new leadership….so Aaron was sought out to make for them a physical god…one they could pray to…and ask for help.

As soon as I read it I saw myself mirrored in the both the heart of the Israelites and the heart of Aaron. It is so very hard to wait…to trust that God has some situations under his control. And sometimes…I get impatient…just like these people…and the leader they asked for help…and I step out a little too much on my own. The people allowed fear to grip their newly dedicated hearts….and they reverted back to the worship practices they had known in Egypt. Aaron saw the fear in their eyes…and he too allowed them to sway him into believing that a golden image….whatever it may be…would allow them some happiness while he awaited his brother…and the directions of the true God that had brought them to this point.

I believe that they thought they were worshiping Jehovah… they really had no clue the grave danger they had put themselves in…at first. It was not until Moses came back…because God saw the craziness in the camp….that they understood they were not worshiping Yahweh at all.  Their worship had gone a bit too liberal…it had become a twisted version of a god they created for themselves…to justify the immoral practices the wine and merriment had tempted them to become involved in.

God must look down at our world every morning and call out to someone to go down from their mountain…like Moses…to go and try to correct the craziness…to warn the people that they have drifted way too far from the true way we should honor and worship God. We have become a nation of people who allow everyone to do their own thing…demand an image be made for us that fits exactly what we want to do…instead of what God told us in the bible was right and holy.

So sad that only the Levites chose to come to Moses when he asked who wanted to be on the Lord’s side…and repent…and leave the wicked…immoral worship practices they had allowed to substitute for what God had told them to do.  Even sadder the cost of their choice to return to God…for they had to slay around 3,000 men… family…. friends… strangers…that chose to stay in their wickedness. But very sweet of Moses…who prayed to God on their behalf…and reminded God of his promise to Abram…and asked God to please reconsider.  This first of many intercessory prayers of Moses …decreased the punishment of the ones who chose to return to God. They got off with a plague…and some additional wandering in the wilderness….so God could teach them justice.

Father…help me to grasp this lesson this morning.  Help me to really understand that your book has specific rules that you gave me to follow…to keep me in a right relationship with you. Show me how to follow those rules…without tainting them…or twisting them into what makes me happy...what makes my selfish nature become a little to in control.  Reveal to me the idols I have built…and show me how to destroy them…and move closer to you …and your sweet love. Amen.

Called of God

Exodus 31:1-6 - The LORD said to Moses, "See, I have called by name Bez'alel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:  and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,  to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every craft.  And behold, I have appointed with him Oho'liab, the son of Ahis'amach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 

The Lord called two men to read his blueprints and build all the ornate things that were required to worship the Lord. He didn’t just appoint them…he filled them with the ‘Spirit of God’…so they would  have all that they needed to interpret and craft the tabernacle and al its contents. God gave them intelligence…knowledge…and all the abilities they would need to complete the blueprint that he had given Moses for the place where he would live.

Just ordinary people before God called them…I think not! Genesis 1:27 says that God made each of us in his own image…so why are we so surprised that we have been made with intelligence and creativity. Maybe I am the only one who sells herself short of what God is able to do through me…but I don’t think that is the case either…for one of the tasks God gave me allows me to work in a classroom of middle school children every day. I watch hundred’s of kids sell themselves short every day. I guess I am just one of those middle schoolers who never outgrew the self-esteem issues we allow Satan to bind us with when we are young.

This passage tells me to let go of that crazy notion that I am limited by my human weaknesses…and allow God to fill me up with his confidence and power. I have been created with ‘ability and intelligence’…just like Bezalel and Oholiab….and God can equip me with the same ‘Spirit of God’ he did them…to follow whatever blueprint he created me for in the first place. My models are not just these two that were called in this moment to craft the tabernacle…I need to remember the great ones before them.  Consider what God did with Adam….who named every other creature God made…or Noah…who built an amazing boat….or Moses’ mother…who built a simple basket and floated it in the reeds….and made a way for God to fill him with his spirit and become the greatest leader ever known.

Father…help me to let go of the past failures that tell me I am nothing and keep me from being used of you for any good…and help me to grasp the spirit you desire to fill me with…to empower me to do the work you have called me to do. Take what you created in me…and empower my mind and soul and heart with your Holy Spirit to see the vision you have for me…to know in my heart that I am following the blueprint you gave me when I was born….to craft exactly what you placed me on Earth to accomplish for you. Amen.

Counted for God

Exodus 30:12-16 -  "When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.  Each who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD.  Every one who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD's offering.  The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD's offering to make atonement for yourselves. And you shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tent of meeting; that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for yourselves." 

Each year they were to count themselves…and each man that was 20 years or older was to make an atonement offering to the Lord. A half shekel…rich or poor the offering was the same…for we are all the same in the eyes of the Lord. They were to bring their offering once a year to give ransom for themselves to the Lord…a token…a one time payment …to atone for the life…the existence that God had provided for that year….and to prevent any plague from harming them that year. The money would be used to provide for the ‘tent of meeting’….to provide a way to sustain the needs of the tabernacle.

This was an extra offering…not connected to the other offerings they would have brought to pay for individual sins. God simply wanted the people counted each year…and for them to know that they belonged to him.  He wanted them counted…he  wanted them to recognize who had provided to them for their life…for their health….he wanted them to be counted each year as one of ‘his’ children….and bring the small token of a half shekel…for the priest to use to sustain the needs of the temple.

God probably watched them as they filed past the priest that day… he searched their heart…to see if they truly loved him…or if they simple brought their half shekel out of duty. Makes me wonder if I would have risen early….ran toward the tabernacle..to be the first in line to give my offering…to make sure God knew I loved him ..and ‘wanted’ to be counted as one of ‘his’ children. 

Father…I thank you for counting me as one of your children. I gladly line up and proudly stand in line with my half shekel.  Help me to always feel the need to be counted as one of your children…and show me how to be thankful that you offered your son as the ultimate offering of atonement that day on the cross. Amen.

Consecrate Yourself to God

Exodus 29:42-46 - It shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak there to you.  There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory;  I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate, to serve me as priests.  And I will dwell among the people of Israel, and will be their God.  And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them forth out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.

Aaron and his sons had to clean themselves before the Lord and dress in their new clothes….the ones that set them apart as ‘holy’ before the Lord…the ones that held the names of all the people so they could represent all of Israel when they went before God. Then they had to lay their hands on the sacrifices that would atone for their sins….to sanctify themselves…to consecrate themselves to his service.  The instructions were very detailed…making the worship ritual of Yahweh very different from the pagan gods they would encounter as they traveled toward the promised land of Canaan.

I will be very honest with you this morning…I had a hard time reading about all that killing and blood. These blood sacrifices seemed so cruel to me…but then so was the killing of Jesus on the cross. Just as they offered the perfect lamb morning and evening to atone for their sins…Jesus offered his perfect body as a sacrifice for all….to anyone that will accept him and believe in his great love for them.  I am reminded of how very thankful I am that Jesus did away with the need for me to kill and sacrifice an animal…and will probably never understand the scope of what he did to save me and bring about a way for me to worship him any time I want.

God is serious about his people…he wants us all to be consecrated…sanctified to worship him.  He wants us to be serious about our worship of him…to clean ourselves up…to dress ourselves in our finest…and come to him and confess our sins each morning and evening.  He wants us to sacrifice our time …and energy…the resources he has blessed us with…and offer them back to him…to use to build his kingdom.

Father…I fall so short each day of who you planned me to be.  I thank you that I can wake each morning and ask your precious forgiveness…and  begin a new day of trying to walk in your perfect will for me.  I thank you that I can visit with you each evening and let you reveal the wisdom and help you hid in the bible for me to find.  Forgive me for my many sins…and help me this day to depend more on you to help me become who you need me to be. Amen.