For this weeks In the Word Wednesday I wanted to share something
that’s been rattling around in my head for quite some time now.
This year I’ve been reading through the bible
from Genesis to Revelation and as I’ve been reading through the Old Testament
(which I am not at all as familiar with) something has struck me OVER and OVER.
Those Old Testament Jews sure went above and beyond to make sure God
was happy. Have you read how they set up
the tent of meeting (church/temple/house of worship)?
A quick glance at the detail is shown in Exodus 36: 8&9.
“And all the craftsmen among the workmen made the tabernacle with
ten curtains. They were made of fine
twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and cherubim skillfully
worked. The length of each curtain was
twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains were the same size.”
 |
| source |
Also see Exodus 36: 20-24.
“Then he made the upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia
wood. Ten cubits was the length of the
frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame. Each frame had two tenons for fitting
together. He did this for all the frames
of the tabernacle. The frames for the
tabernacle he made thus: twenty frames for the south side. And he made forty bases of silver under the
twenty frames, two bases under the next frame for its two tenons.”
Can you say “PHEW!!!” Is this
why you might skim over the Old Testament preferring instead to hear more “Jesus
stories”? I can’t blame you one
bit. Some of it can seem boring, or long
winded, or redundant.
BUT, here’s the deal (as I see it).
Reading how much CARE the Jews took to prepare God’s house for Him makes
me take a look at my own life and evaluate how much care I am taking to serve
him in mine.
What do I see? Let me just
say, “OUCH! Ouch, ouch, ouch…OUCH!”
I’ve been discovering that I have some work to do. How do I glorify God? My ministry is my home. How am I doing? Am I short with my kids? Yep.
Do I just PLAY with them as much as I should? Nope.
Do I have a bad attitude about NOTHING?
Sometimes. Do I listen to my
husband with ALL my ears? Well…
What I’ve found is that I strayed away from being intentional with
my time. I’ve let the chaos of 4 little
people and the potty training, diapers, spills, tantrums and crayon eating that
goes with them throw me off my game. The
result: stress, mess and well…like I said BIG chaos.
In order to serve their God they simply listened to what he told
them to do. They followed the parameters
for building the tabernacle for example, specifically and correctly WITH
INTENTION.
I’ve been thinking a LOT about if and how I am following God’s
parameters for my life and there are some things on my heart that will be
changing with me. As I type this I feel
a sense of peace about it. I feel like
this is what God wants me to do. I don’t
do it because he says to and I’m following directions although I am. I do it because I have seen SUCH a turn in my
heart and my life since I began…REALLY began this journey with Him. I do it out of LOVE just as he does
everything he does for us out of His love for us.
 |
| source |
How specific are YOU when it comes to following His direction for
your life? Do you just pick out the parts
that are easy?
--
What have you been learning in the Bible? Please join myself and these fantastic ladies for this encouraging linkup!
Becky at Tales of Beauty of Ashes
Into the Word Wednesday Blog Hop Rules:
1. Write a post about what God is teaching you this week.
2. Follow the host and hostess.
3. Grab a button to put on your blog - the more the merrier!
4. Check out (and comment) other people's blogs and be blessed by all the sisters and brothers around the world!
Amen! This is a awesome post Kelly, has me really thinking. I to was letting the everyday craziness take over my life, so I started getting up early before anyone does to have my quirt time with the Lord, I noticed that when I did that, I was more stress free during the day, was able to sit down and just be still for a couple moments. I know that God wants us to be faithful doers of his word! Thanks for this!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post. I so have been feeling the same way as I get caught up in little worldly things that are just adding up. Thanks for the reminder. Out of love for my Lord, I truly desire to serve as He wishes and take time to listen! Hugs, Sarah
ReplyDeleteI can't say I always succeed in this, especially with my hubby. The Bible calls me to respect him, but sometimes my own selfishness wins out. Thanks for sharing, sweet friend!
ReplyDeleteever since having kids it has been a huge struggle for me to respect David the way that I should. it's not that I DON'T respect him, it's that there are times that I do a horrible job of showing it... argh, I really want to be linking up here every week... I hope I can get caught up again so I can!
ReplyDeleteI am just starting to trust Him with my entire life. I've been a Christian for a long time but have tried to do it on my own. Hold everything together... Great post. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteouch ouch and ouch is what I was thinking while reading your whole post, miss :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post! And I had a similar, "ouch" feeling reading it!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great link up--I just joined for the first time! :)
~Tiffany
http://tiffanyd22.blogspot.com
Love this post and thanks so much for linking up to {Since It's} Sunday! It's so important that we put God first in our lives and I'm so glad that you felt inspired to post this little reminder :)
ReplyDeleteKelly, this post is just great! It helped me to really evaluate my life, and to focus on the areas that aren't as strong as they should or could be. I try to serve the Lord in my day-to-day life, but sometimes I just get so caught up in me. The scriptures are such great examples of people who served God, and people who didn't, and the consequences of each side.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking up! :)