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Too Generous

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Too Generous

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 36

I often wonder what the world would look like if the Government stopped taking care of people and they empowered our churches to do it? I dream of our churches being the primary respite in times of need – from natural disasters to loss of jobs, homeless and hunger, to orphans and widows. Impossible I know, but imagine!

I think of this as I read Exodus 36, specifically verse 6, “Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more,”. Can you imagine if people of today were so generous that we had to be restrained from giving?! My idea of a church empowered model could do exceedingly more than any government could possibly collect enough taxes.

When people have a relationship with God they realize that nothing is their own and as a result, Generosity. Why? Because it’s material and everything in this world will perish so if we have it – give it! It’s not ours to begin with. (Matthew 6:19) Everything is from God and for God, so if it’s not ours to begin with we don’t need to grow emotionally attached to it. It’s only ‘stuff’ and you can’t take it with you.

For this reason I am not a fan of rummage sales. They take a lot of time to prepare and it is such a defeating attempt to recover a meager ROI. Then, I am stuck sitting all day watching people rummage through my ‘rejects’ and barter over mere cents. It’s embarrassing honestly. Instead, each time I pull up to a donation box, I pray that my stuff that God would use it to bless someone in need; that he would see my heart to give it up and desire to provide to those less fortunate. It is so fulfilling to give with this point of view and sincerity of heart.

The message I gleaned from Exodus 36 is to keep that heart for giving and we can give in tangible and intangible ways. Sure, the obvious is money, but there is time and talent as well. Time, to serve in a food pantry, homeless shelter or volunteer at church and then there is talent, using our own respective gifts that God has uniquely given to all of us. Leadership, finance, coordination, organization, teaching, manufacturing, hospitality, etc.

Wouldn’t it be an entire different world if God had to ask us to stop giving these things?

Jealous Of Me?

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I'm jealous

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 34

I looked up the meaning of the word Jealous. Sometimes we know what something means, but when chapter 14 says, “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,” I had to question its meaning. According to Dictionary.com the word jealous means inclined to or troubled by suspicions or fears of rivalry, unfaithfulness, etc., as in love or aims; solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something.

Does that make you feel better? It does me. For some reason the word jealous conjures up negative feelings. I struggle with this concept, because there is a fine line between jealously and covetousness and the Lord tells us not to covet. Granted, God may make the Law, but He’s not subject to them and a Holy God doesn’t need to covet after anything – He’s God!

So what would make our God, the creator of the entire universe, jealous of me and you? In this context, God is saying that He does not want to compete with any other gods. He wants to be our one and only God, our true source of happiness & fulfillment, and He doesn’t want to share us. Sounds like a jealous boyfriend, possessive and selfish.

Think about that for a second. We, (you and me) have a God who is unwilling to let us give our time and attention to anything or anyone except Him. You could say that feels suffocating or you can say that that feels safe. I vote for safe.

My takeaway from Exodus chapter 34 is to be devoted to God. Let nothing stand between your relationship with Him. He desires our full attention, time, love, and focus. There is such a strong pull to please the world, fit in, excel, achieve, compete, succeed and impress. God says, “No! All you need is me!”

As we begin our week, let us pray that our hearts remain pure in our desire to be all consumed by a loving, jealous God.

Sin Stinks!

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Stinky

Today’s Devotional: Exodus 30

Once again this chapter of Exodus is packed with incredible insights into God’s holiness which exposes our human inadequacies. In the past two chapters we have read about two altars. The burnt altar is where God deals with a sinner and sin of man and the altar of incense which speaks of heaven and holiness. The burnt altar speaks of what Christ did for us on earth while the incense altar speaks of what Christ is doing for us in heaven today.

Have you ever been around someone who is wearing too much perfume? Your eyes water, nose burns, and makes it very difficult to hold a conversation. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that they are well intended when they applied it; they want to smell good. Chances are, it makes THEM feel better, meanwhile it repels those who come into close contact with them. After all, perfume is supposed to stimulate our senses in a positive way and the person wearing it can be oblivious to its offensiveness. In other words, when applied wrong – it stinks!

This is our sin. Our sin stinks to God. We can’t smell it, we actually think that we’re “not that bad.” God goes to great lengths to make sure Aaron wears a heavenly aroma of a certain Godly formula so Aaron is acceptable to God when entering in to His presence. A formula that God says cannot be duplicated.

So how do we enter the presence of God today? Worship! What is worship? If you’re a Christian, your life is worship. That being said, we cannot make worship pleasing to man, we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. We don’t worship for the show of man so that others think our sin doesn’t stink. We go right to God and pour ourselves out as an offering and confess that we are not worthy of his mercy and grace. We have to be genuine, authentic, and pure.

So the moral of my Exodus story is that we need to stop trying to cover up our sin. If we try to do it on your own, we stink. God covers our sin through His son Jesus so when we come to Him, as we are, He can purity us and give us the opportunity to walk righteously with His heavenly covering. It can’t be duplicated and there is no substitute – just as God did for Aaron at the tabernacle.

As my Godly Girlfriend, I hope you will tell me if my perfume is too strong, and moreover, that my sin stinks!

Dress For The Best

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Fashion Model

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 28.

When I was younger, my Mom used to tell me to wear my “Sunday best”. I had a couple of dresses that were very special and I only wore them to church on Sundays or dress up events like funerals, weddings, school pictures or concerts. As I read Exodus chapter 28, I thought of my Sunday best.

God was very specific about this certain outfit because it is the attire that Aaron would need in order to enter into the presence of God. It appears that Aaron was promoted in this chapter so God is making sure that Aaron was appropriately suited to represent the position of high priest.

Have you ever heard the quote, “Dress for the position you want, not the position you have?” After reading Exodus 28 and the criteria of this Godly dress code, I believe that statement applies here – Dress the Best for God. What does that say about our choices for our wardrobe? As it has been in the past four chapters of Exodus, God has every intricate detail covered and in this one, He is a bit more personal. This one describes our own physical presence in relation to a perfect God.

It causes me to think about what a Christian woman should wear to represent Christ. I know we are not supposed to dress immodestly because we don’t want to draw negative attention to ourselves. If we want people to see us as followers of Christ, as I tell my daughters, in words, actions, thoughts and deeds – what does that look like? I think the way we dress can say a lot about who we are and how we desire to honor God.

This chapter is a call out to me on what dressing for God looks like. It certainly leaves us with much to think as it relates to our choice for dress. We don’t just turn our Christianity on or off whether its a Sunday or any other day of the week, so the question I will take to my closet this morning is, “How can I dress for Godly Success?”