“Perspective..?”

I’m reading in the OT book of Exodus this morning:

¹ Then the LORD said to Moses, ² ”See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts– ⁴ to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, ⁵ to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. ⁶ Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you… Ex 31:1-11 (NIV) (my emphasis!)

There were some very explicit directions and some very specific details about how the Israelites were to make the Tabernacle furnishings, tools, and garments.  But God provided the resources, filled them with His Spirit, and gave them the skill to do it.

God gives us our abilities.  He gives us what we need to accomplish what He is asking us to do, whether it be ability, opportunity, or the resources that we need…He also fills us with His Holy Spirit..!

Check out this passage in Deuteronomy, chapter 8 though:

¹⁰ When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹² Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³ and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God… 

¹⁷ You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability...

Lord, help me to keep things in the proper perspective today.  Help me to see Your priorities for me as I set out to do Your will today.  Help me to be thankful for the abilities, opportunities, and resources You have given me…You are an awesome God!

kt

Through the Bible in a Year?

Okay.  So I have vowed to do it before, and probably so have you..!  I’ve never accomplished it in a year.  I probably won’t make it this time either; I’m already behind schedule… but I am enjoying what I am finding this time through… I am also enjoying the group that is reading with me…

I will try to post some impressions as we go along… some random verses that have “stuck out” to me.  I won’t bore you with the personal significance of every one…

Genesis 3:8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Wow! God walked with them in the garden; face to face! 

Yeah, right!  Like you can hide from God behind a bunch of trees?  What am I hiding behind when I come to my devotional time, or to a corporate worship service..?

Can you feel the pain in God’s question; “Where are you?”.  I don’t want to read too much into the text, but just taking a few minutes to reflect on the severity of that situation, both in the moment of immediate separation and the effect it would ultimately have on the rest of humanity… and eternity… thinking about it from my experience as a father also adds impact…

Heavenly Father, please help me to be real with You today.  Work in me a sensitivity to what pleases You and what offends You in my life.  Give me the grace to change what needs to be changed.  Amen.

kt

“My Life” – Series Application (from Proverbs 31 devotion)

This is a devotion that I get every day from Proverbs 31 Ministries and I wanted to share this one since it goes so well with the Sermon Series that we are currently in “My Life.”  I hope that you are being nudged to spend quality time with our Creator and will continue to be transformed into the likeness of Christ!
God Bless!!

By Lysa TerKeurst

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 (NIV)

What if someone followed me around with a video camera all day documenting my every move? Catching on camera all of my words, facial expressions, actions, and reactions. And then what if someone packaged it all together and played it on some sort of reality TV show for all the world to see? What would be the glaring message of my life?

I am convicted thinking about this.

You see, if someone were to ask me, what are you all about? I would have some nice sounding answers. But what actually happens during the strains of everyday life can sometim es betray my best intentions.

I want to be a loving wife. Yet I can sometimes be found in a grumpy, selfish mood and view my husband as a business partner that better hold up his end of helping out.

I want to be a wise and patient mom. But my kids know the exact buttons to push that send me into a tailspin of emotion and exhaustion.

I want to be a strong witness for Christ. So why is it that I can read my Bible first thing in the morning and then find myself honking at the person that cuts me off in traffic just an hour later?

I realize there is a place for God’s tender mercies for me in all this. But I also know that while no TV cameras are following me around, my life is speaking a message about what I really believe and I want that message to honor Jesus. I once heard, “Great sermons are not preached, they are lived.” Oh how I long to live a message that speaks loud and clear, “Jesus is true and the principles found in His teachings work!”

L et’s just be honest, it’s tough being a sold out soul for Christ stuck in a body that is so tempted to sin. That’s why it’s essential I view my time with God each morning as a preparation and an invitation.

• Preparation: Every verse, devotion and prayer is all part of God’s preparation for me that day. Instead of just rushing to check off my to do list that I spent a few minutes with God, I must allow His teachings to seep into my heart and mind. Then I must ask God to interrupt my natural flesh response and remind me throughout the day the truths He taught me that morning. That’s the preparation part.

• Invitation: The next essential view of my quiet time each morning is recognizing I’ve just invited Jesus to do life with me today, so I need to look for His activity throughout my day. My minute by minute theme then becomes, “Not my will God, but Yours be done.” So if my husband forgets to do something he promised, or my kids push my buttons, or a person cuts me off in traffic, or one of the other one million things happens that causes my flesh to want to rear up and act ugly… I can say, “Not my will God, but Yours be done.” This slight pause and acknowledgement of God redirects my frustration and replaces it with grace. And most wonderful of all, it helps me connect my time with Jesus to everyday life choices. Making that connection is how we personally hear from and experience God!

I know, sometimes it’s hard to spend time with Jesus first thing in the morning. And I’m certainly not trying to make this just another demand on our time. But, why not spend just a few minutes… even if it is just a few… letting Jesus prepare us for whatever we’ll be facing that day and invite Him to intervene before our natural reactions to things betray our best intentions. Then and only then will my life speak to the fact that I have spent time with Jesus… and without saying a word, my imperfect life will be a God-honoring sermon.

Dear Lord, please teach me how to reveal more and more of You through the way I live my life. I want to tell the whole world about You using words only when necessary. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

How He Loves Us

So today I struggle.
I struggle with trying not to figure things out.  I want to know…why….now.
I try and stand back and wrap my mind around what God is doing.  In my life.  In my friend’s lives.  In my church.  All over the world.
I struggle with wanting something other than what I have.  Being somewhere other than where I am.
I sit here wanting to know the big picture of my life.  If what I am doing right now is what God wants me to be doing…what I am made to be doing.

Today I found out that I have a new niece…a new life, a beautiful, God-breathed life.
And today my friend found out his mother has cancer.  A disease that could take her life.

All of these things…questions, fear, worry…all of these things are so hard to bring to the Lord sometimes.  And easier to sit and think about….churn over in your mind…what if.

I am reminded that it is in these times of wonder, excitement and even heartbreak, that the Father can build his virtue into our lives.  It’s when we can be reminded of His unfailing love that He has for us.  I read today in someone’s blog “We will walk this road in faith – a fully-sighted faith that produces confidence in us because the Father has been faithful to others in the past. It doesn’t make it easy, but it does make it bearable”

I just had it on my heart to encourage those of us who are struggling…with who we are, with where we are, what we want for our lives, with loss, with gain….that He Loves Us!  Oh How He Loves Us….He loves us regardless.

I know that I have shared this song with some of you…but this David Crowder version is just so awesome.  May it bless you and remind you that you are loved by the Our Maker.

ms

Here, There, and Everywhere…

…is a cool song,

by a prolific songwriting team,

in a great band,

at an interesting time in pop history…

It also describes

an awesome God: 

the ultimate Creator,

trancending time and space…

And… yes!  It’s kinda the way I think most of the time…

“all over the map”, as they say…

you’ll see…

Come by once in a while and check it out…