Your Temple

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 25:1-11, 17-18, 23-24, 31-32; 26:1-2, 7-8; 27:1-2; 29:43-46 (day two) 

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19

Such detail. From the dimensions to the colors and fabrics there is an excruciating amount of detail contained in these passages. All of these elements that were designed to honor the Lord must have been exquisite. Nothing was left to chance, and only the best would do to honor the Lord.

We no longer have a tabernacle or arc, but we have the Holy Spirit which has decided to take up residence in us. So how does all those details from Exodus apply to this “new” tabernacle? Everything matters! Our speech, our thoughts, and actions all reflect our character which should show the character of Christ. Our lives should honor the Lord in every aspect. If the Lord took such care with a physical structure, how much more will he care for an eternal being? For we are created to follow the Lord through eternity. Let us maintain beautiful temples for him while we are here.

God with us

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 25:1-11, 17-18, 23-24, 31-32; 26:1-2, 7-8; 27:1-2; 29:43-46 (day one) 

After the Passover, after the Red Sea Crossing, after the 10 Commandments, after the Covenant was ratified, God commanded Moses to build a sanctuary.  Hebrew=miqdash, “holy or sacred place”.  The sanctuary (Tabernacle) was to stand in the center of the camp signifying worship as the center of this new society.  The sanctuary was to be made exactly after the pattern God gave Moses–v 25:9.  It was for the purpose of worship and God promised to meet the people in this holy place.  “And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them.”–v 29:46.  What a lofty, beautiful vision of human life!  God with us!  Immanuel.  May the symbol of the sanctuary drive our hearts to hunger for this promised unbroken fellowship with the Living God.  May we dream of the safety and profit and joy that comes when He is near.

Come up to the Lord

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 24 (day seven) 

“Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and the seventy elders of Israel.”–v 1.

The Bible speaks of “the upward call of God in Jesus Christ”.  Believers are told, in Colossians, “the keep seeking the things above, where Christ is”.  So, what does it mean when God invites us to “come up”?  It means the great mistake in life is to never let it be great.  We stay stuck, either by distraction or anxiety, in insignificant things that will not matter in 2 months, much less 20 years. It means being too busy to pray, too absorbed with self to reflect on God, too lazy to study and let Holy words call us higher.  Eventually, all of us either attempt to pull God into our affairs, or we hear God’s call to “come up” and get involved in His affairs.  It is grace that invites us.  It is faith that answers His command.

Trust and Obey

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 24 (day five) 

Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!”

Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”

As the Israelites enter into covenant relationship with God in Exodus, their response is a sincere and bold confession of understanding, trust, and dedication.

The new covenant through Christ requires similar understanding, trust, and dedication.  If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Rewind to the confession made in Exodus 20.  Are we just as determined to trust and obey?

God’s Glory

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 24 (day four)  God is initiating a covenant with Israel.  It is a covenant based on all of the words of the Law that He delivered to Moses.  Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and seventy elders of Israel saw the God of Israel.  What an awesome sight!  Yet, He did not stretch out His hand against them.  When Isaiah received his commission (Isaiah 6), he too saw the Lord.  He was afraid for his life.  It pleased God to give these leaders a glimpse of His glory to inspire them to lead.  What will it take for us to lead?  We have the written Word of God…thousands of years of His working to redeem mankind.  We have the Gospel message…Jesus died for our sins and rose from the grave…paying the full price for our sin.  When we obey the Gospel, we have the Holy Spirit, living within us to give us understanding and power.  We may not have seen the Lord physically, but we have seen His hand at work.  Are we going to lead?

Who Will You Follow?

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 24 (day two)

When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” vs. 3

When was the last time that you believed so strongly about something that you were willing to make a statement like that? Whatever _____ asks of me, I will happily do it. That requires much trust on our part. Consider the reasons someone would make a statement like that. Perhaps a track record of honesty and integrity engendered that kind of devotion. Personal connection always makes a difference too, doesn’t it? If you know the individual or organization intimately you are more likely to follow without reservation. Perhaps it has more to do with a strong belief in where they are going that develops trust. While some of us trust more easily than others, making a claim to obey every word or command is a bold one.

Now look back over that list and put Jesus’ name. Above any other organization or individual Jesus will fulfill every requirement of trust. His track record, his desire to have a close relationship with him, and his future is a bright as they come. If you are looking to follow anyone or anything…consider Jesus.

Twice Mine

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 20:1-17 (day seven) 

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.  You shall have no other gods before me.”–v 2-3.  Old story.  Boy builds a toy boat.  Loves “sailing” it in a pond near his house.  Loses it one day.  Sees it later in a pawn shop window.  Buys it back.  Says, “you are twice mine, I made you and I bought you.”

God owns us the same way.  He made us in creation.  He purchased us through our redemption in Christ.  We are “twice His”.   A clear claim in this week’s text.  “I AM the Lord your God (creator), who brought you out of Egypt (savior).  YOU SHALL worship only Me!   Who can dispute that God DESERVES our obedience?  We are twice His.

I will look for you in worship in a few hours.  We will think together on what we owe Him.  I love you guys!

Remember, Remember

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 20:1-17 (day five)

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

What a splendid thought and picture…  The Creator of the Universe commanding us to intentionally and regularly pause, rest, look, listen and worship!!  As we remember and set apart the Sabbath, through His creation, we gain understanding and appreciation for God’s power, wisdom, and divine nature (Romans 1:20).

As Moses reminds the Israelites later of God’s Commandments (Deut. 5:15), he challenges them to remember in the Sabbath observance, another facet of God’s work and character (provider and rescuer).  You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.”

God not only created them (us) but saved them (us) as well.  The focus (our remembering) is on God as both creator and deliverer.  A humbling lesson learned and celebrated by keeping the Sabbath Holy:  We did not create ourselves and we could not save ourselves.  Makes a heart turn to God in wonder and gratitude!!

Score

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 20:1-17 (day three)

“And God spoke all these words.”  These Ten Commandments call us to a whole life; they cannot be separated from one another and mean the same thing that they mean together.  The man who will not observe the Sabbath will surely believe that the world will not function without him, and therefore will place himself as a god before the Lord.  The one who refuses to honor his parents will desecrate family ties and is therefore only a step away from destroying another family through adultery.  God spoke “all these words” not some of these words.  Separated, they just become an occasion for measuring our lives up against others, and when we do that, we covet everything our neighbor has.  God calls us to a life, not to a score.

Merciful and mighty

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 19:1-12, 16-22 (day seven)

“Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. . . the whole mountain trembled violently.”–v. 18.  The true God is both tender and terrifying.  Believers know both sides of our Great God.  His first words to us are grace.  See v. 4.  He offers a life of peculiar blessing/opportunity.  See v. 5.  None of this, however, must be interpreted as weakness. He is fearful, holy, and dangerous!  Just as a child first experiences his mother’s tenderness (first stages of life) only later to experience her firm discipline,  learns to love her and then fear her, so, God is tender with us in salvation and tough on us as we begin to grow into maturity.  “Therefore, knowing the FEAR of the Lord, we persuade men”, said Paul in 2 Corinthians 5.  The God we serve is both tender and terrifying, grace and government, merciful and mighty.  May the Lord restore this balance in every Christian heart.