Old testament
1. More instructions regarding the Ark of the Testimony and the Tabernacle. And, if you read carefully, it sounds as thogh eveyone contributed either in mateials or deed.
2. God has gifted certain craftsmen with the skills they need to perform their tasks. We will cover it in more detail later in the New Testament, but God gives us all specific skills or gifts. The Lord, I think, is generous in His gifting, but none of us has all gifts and talents at our disposal!
3. If you are interested in reading about spiritual gifts, see 1 Corithians 12 (in the New Teastament). It clearly says that we are given these gifts for the common good. Not our own good or our own knowledge, or so we can show off...but for the common good.
Read the whole chapter, it gives a wonderful illustration using bodily senses.
Examples of spiritual gifts:
- utterance of wisdom
- utterance of knowledge
- faith
- gifts of healing
- working of miracles
- prophecy
- discernment
- tongues
And all of these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses! ...as the Spirit chooses!
In plain English, some of us can lead, or preach, or sing, or prophecy, or even
discern...but I don't think there is anyone who can do all of these things exceptionally well. Now, being human, many of us think we can do it all...but we are commanded to do as the Lord has gifted.
3. The people give and give, and it's too much for the craftsmen to use. Moses must restrain the people from bringing things.
- When is the last time you heard that from your church or your favorite TV ministry...stop bringing / giving / sending in money, we have too much?
- This leads me to a random thought about tithing. Tithe in it's purest sense means 1/10th, or 10%. Tithes are to be given, I believe, as thanks to God, for what He has given us. For all He does for us. For all we take for granted. And what do we have that has not come from God?
- I think many people misunderstand tithing and give out of a place of fear. The fear is that God won't keep giving them what they want, won't keep giving what they have asked for, or take something away from them. The fear that people wround them will think less of them.
- Or worse, they confuse it with a membership fee.
- We tithe as thanks, not as obligation or duty. As a covenant with God...not with other men. We strive to help those places and organizations which feed us spiritually. And that is why we go to service, isn't it. To be fed and replenished, so that we can go back out and help feed a hungry world?
- How many of you know people who go to church every Sunday, pay their tithes or dues, and get back to everyday life as soon as the service is over. Sunday worship is just a bump in the road of a very busy life...well, it shouldn't be.
- I am not saying that you should or shouldn't tithe. You should know what it is and understand why you do it. Anyway, back to today's text.
4. Instructions for the Tent of the Meeting.
New testament
5. Simon of Cyrene was the person compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion at Golgotha.
6. The soldiers give Him gall to drink. Actually some of the other gospels much more clearly say that on arrival at Golgotha, Jesus was offered wine laced with myrrh to lessen the pain, but he refused it.
7. Jesus is crucified...His crime,"King of the Jews"
8. Two theives were crucified also.
9. Look carefully at the passage, verse 43. When the leading priests say, " He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ... These are the chief priests talking, the leaders of the people. His crime, in their minds does not seem that He proclaimed that He was King of the Jews...but that He trusted God, and God did not act in a way the priests deemed appropriate.
10. The prayer that Jesus says can be found in Psalm 22:1. We talked about this particular Psalm briefly in January.
11. As Jesus dies, the veil is torn.
- Looking back at Exodus, this is the veil outside "The holiest of holy" place. Here only the high priest can go to offer atonement for the sins of the people. He can only go once a year, and has to waer a bell and rope, so God doesn't carry him away.
12. The soldiers belive that this was the Son of God.
13. Joseph of Arimethea claims the body and puts it in his tomb.
14. The Pharisees obtain a Roman guard so that the disciples don't steal the body to try to fool everyone about the resurrection. Who is the fool?
Psalm
15. "I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises." That wouldn't leave a lot of room for what uasually comes out of our mouths. Hmmm....
16. "I will boast only in the Lord"...Only in the Lord, from which comes all my help and hope.
17. "I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears."
- There's a lyric by Selah, that says, " God will take away all your pain, IF you choose to let them go."
Proverbs
18. "But correct the wise, and they will love you."
- Perhaps we should check our reaction when someone tries to correct us. Or when we do it to others. Is our correction factual? Is it in love?
See you next post...
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