Exodus 36:1 - 38:31


Once again we see the children of Israel in a moment of greatness.  They are being obedient and doing the will of God from their heart.  This brings them great fulfillment and joy as well as reward from God.  This is how God intends for us to live our lives; in submission to His will and with the joy of knowing that we are walking with Him and living according to His plan.  When we rebel against God and seek to do our own thing and follow our own agenda we bring heartache, stress, pain, frustration and hardship upon ourselves.  The path to peace and joy is marked by service and obedience.  The path to pain is marked by rebellion and selfishness.
ISRAEL EXPERIENCES THE JOY OF GIVING: Moses called the people to give and they truly gave with joy from their hearts.  When the workmen started to use the materials for their intended purpose it became obvious to them that they had too much already and the gifts were still coming in.  The people were thrilled with the opportunity to contribute to the work of the Lord.  They longed to worship Him in this way.  All of our giving should be done with this same attitude.  It is an honor to be able to contribute to the work that the Lord is doing in the world.  God has provided all the resources that are necessary for accomplishing His work in the world.  If we are on board with what He is doing, it will be our greatest joy to contribute to that work.  Just as the children of Israel ended up having to be restrained from giving more because of their generosity; we should experience a great abundance in the work that the Lord is dong in the world today.
ISRAEL EXCELLS IN THE JOY OF SERVING: Not only did the people give in abundance; they also served with excellence.  Moses gave them the plans that God had revealed and they began to execute that plan in the exact way that God intended them to do.  They followed God’s instructions and they gave of themselves to do the work to the exact specification that God desired.  This brought them a great sense of accomplishment and joy is doing that which God had equipped them to do.  There is no greater joy than being able to be active in the work that God is doing in the world.  It is an honor and pleasure to be able to serve Him with our skills and the gifts with which we have been equipped.  Too often we use our abilities to accomplish our own projects and fulfill our own agendas.  When we use our skills for the purpose of building our own kingdoms; our work becomes drudgery.  When we use our gifts for the purpose of expanding the kingdom of God our work become delight.

Comments

  1. Cristina Thompson SmithMay 5, 2012 at 8:36 AM

    I was so blessed by this post; just thinking about our church family...gives me much to ponder. Thanks for this series! And for sharing your thoughts.

    ReplyDelete

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