Offerings and Dwellings~

May 2, 2020 - Debbie Graham

Offerings and Dwellings

Focus Verses

Exodus 25:2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.”

Exodus 26:30 “And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.”

After Moses had spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai with the Lord, we read in chapter 25 that God speaks again to him and tells him to speak to the children of Israel.  He was to tell them to bring the Lord an offering.  God told him to take the offering to the Lord from whoever gave willingly from his heart.  The Lord told Moses to receive specific offerings from the children of Israel to build His temple.  God had laid out the pattern for the building of the temple where the Lord would dwell. 

We are to give willingly from our hearts to the Lord and worship Him with our gifts.  Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”  It is such an honor to get to sow bountifully to the Lord both financially and in serving with what He has bountifully given. 

We read three times in Exodus 25–27 that Moses was told by the Lord to make the items for the temple according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain.  God wanted to dwell with His people and gave specific instructions in the building of the sanctuary so He could dwell with them there.  God was specific with every detail of the building of His temple.  He requested the best materials to be used for His place of worship.  Only the best for Him, and only His best for us. 

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Just as God instructed Moses how to build the temple, He has also instructed us on how to build and maintain our temple where He dwells.  We have been shown how the Lord wants us to live to honor Him.  We read in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” 

We read in Exodus 27: 20 that the Lord told Moses, “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.”  As we live our lives as a temple of the Holy Spirit, may we always use pure oil in our lamps that we may burn continually and so that others might see Him in us. 

How am I giving?  How am I caring for His temple?  What am I bringing to Him to honor Him?  Am I doing justly?  Am I loving mercy?  Am I walking humbly? 

Prayer

Father God, thank You for showing me what You require of me.  Help me to remember that You want to dwell with me, and that I am a temple in which You choose to dwell.  Help me to prepare and preserve my temple for You with only what is pure.  May I always give to You willingly from my heart.  In Jesus Name, Amen.  

Reaching Forward~

April 20, 2020 - Debbie Graham
Reaching Forward
Focus Verse
Genesis 41: 51 “Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: ‘For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.’ And the name of the second he called Ephraim: ‘For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.’”

As we have read in Genesis 37 – 40, we see that Joseph was sold into slavery, bought by an officer of Pharaoh, unjustly thrown into prison, interpreted dreams of a couple of prisoners, had asked the chief butler to remember him, and forgotten about for two full years.  In Genesis 41, Pharaoh had dreams and called for all the magicians and wise men to come and interpret them.  None were successful.  It was at this time that the chief butler remembered Joseph.  He told Pharaoh that while in prison, Joseph who was also in prison, had interpreted his, and the chief baker’ dreams. Things happened just as Joseph had interpreted.  Pharaoh sent for Joseph.

I don’t know about you, but if my life looked like that, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have handled it as well as Joseph did.  After 13 years of being a slave and prisoner, he was going to be free.  13 years of remembering what his brothers did to him. 13 years of missing his father.  13 years of living with unjust treatment and punishment… and he’s about to forget it all.
Joseph had two sons.  The first born he named him Manasseh, “for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house”.  He forgot all his toil and his father’s house.  It is not an easy thing to do, but it is good for us to forget our toil and the past that has hurt us.  It can weigh us down and prevent us from being successful.  It is important to note that God made him to forget.  Paul tells us in Philippians 3:13 to “forget those things which are behind and reach forward to those things which are ahead”.  It is in the reaching forward, that we are able to forget what was.

Joseph’s second son was named Ephraim “for God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction”.  He credits God for the successes he had during his affliction.  We see throughout the passages in Genesis that Joseph was favored.  He was his father’s favorite, Potiphar made him overseer of his house, the keeper of the prison put him in charge of all the prisoners, and Pharaoh put him over all of his house, and all of the land of Egypt.  Matthew 5:16 says “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”.  Joseph lived his life in a way that others saw that the Lord was with him.

Joseph’s life is inspiring… not that I want to experience all that he did, but in how he handled everything.  May we live life reaching forward to the things ahead, and always giving credit to God for what He does through us.  The people Joseph encountered saw that the Lord was with him.  May we live in such a way that when we are around people, they see that the Spirit of God is in us. As we go through times of uncertainty, unfair treatment, and suffer at the hands of others, may we remember all He has done, wait patiently on Him, and trust that He has great purpose for our lives!

Prayer
Father God, help me to be patient and trust that You have great purpose and plans.  Help me to remember that ALL things work together for good, and that the trials in my life are shaping me for Your glory.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Seen and Loved~

April 11, 2020 - Debbie Graham
Seen and Loved 

Focus Verse
“So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me” (Gen: 16:13).

Hagar was the maid servant of Abram’s wife Sarai.  Sarai had not given Abram offspring that the Lord told him He would (Genesis 15:4), and so Sarai gave her maid servant to her husband in marriage so that through her, Sarai and Abram would have a child heir.
Sarai decided to “help” God, and in doing so, ended up hurting herself and others.  If she had simply waited on God and not tried to “help” Him, she would have avoided the hurt and the pain she inflicted on herself and others.  The consequences of her actions affected many, including an unborn child and the descendants for generations.

Like Hagar, if you have ever had to pay the consequences for the actions of someone else, then you know it is not a place that you want to be.  That is what happened to Hagar when she did what she was told.  She fled… ran away from what was troubling her.  While she was fleeing, she was visited by an angel of the Lord who comforted her.  She felt lost and unseen, but God saw her.  He saw her, and He loved her where she was (Genesis 16:13).  I have been on the end of the consequences of someone else’s bad decisions.

I didn’t physically run away, but in my darkest times when I felt unseen and alone, I was comforted by God letting me know that He saw, He was with me, and I was not alone.  God meets us where we are.  In the times of uncertainty we are currently facing, we can trust that God sees.

While Sarai took matters into her own hands and harmed others, I find it encouraging that we go on to read in chapter 17 that God changed her name to Sarah and blessed her.  We often make some of the same choices that Sarai did, and God can, and will still bless us.

God doesn’t need our help.  If He speaks and says He will do something, He will!  He has been doing it, well, forever!  If He tells us to go and do, then we must submit to Him and be obedient.  We need to believe, have faith, and wait on Him.

Prayer
Father God, please help me to wait on You.  Help me to be still and listen, and trust that You will do what You say.  Allow my past to remind me to trust You more.  Thank you for loving me and being the God who sees me.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Check On Them~

Check on them~

Do you have single friends who are not working or are working from home?  Check on them.

Do you have single parent friends who are not working or are working from home?  Check on them.

Do you have widowed friends who are not working or are working from home?  Check on them. 

Do you have single parent friends with adult children living at home who are not working or are working from home?  Check on them.  Maybe any of the prior mentioned are still working in an office.  Check on them.

You may look at their Facebook pages, read emails, or see them in a Zoom meeting and think they are just fine because they laugh, smile, and are cheerful.  Some are, but there is still deep pain and concern inside that they don’t want you to see.

 

People who seem to be fine can be battling a whole slew of things.  They don’t have anyone to help them make the critical decisions that need to be made.  They don’t have anyone to help with groceries.  They don’t have a 2^nd income to pay the bills.  They don’t have anyone to co-teach the kids who are doing virtual schooling.  They may have lost their jobs or have taken significant pay cuts.  Some don’t have any way of getting groceries.  Some can’t afford groceries.  Some can’t risk going out in public because of a compromised immune system. 

All of them go to bed alone at night.  No one to comfort them and reassure them.  No one to talk to.  Of course God is always with us, but the tangible being. 

We will say we are fine, we will smile, we will joke, but we still need to be checked on.  The suicide rate has increased significantly since this crisis began (this is not a cry for help, though I cannot lie and say that my Covid mind has not wandered).  We are on an emotional roller coaster and want it to stop.  I fit into several of the categories above and can tell you without a doubt… we need you.  Please do not read this and think that I am only concerned with singles, single parents, and widows.  I know that we are all on the same emotional roller coaster, and all need the comfort, reassurance, support, etc. etc. etc. during this crisis.  I am just sharing from my heart where I am, and know others like me, are with no other adult in the house to share this burden with.  I am sharing so that someone might reach out to someone who is contemplating something none of us want to hear about.

Context~

March 23, 2020

During this time of crisis in our world I hear many people saying, while joined on the internet or social media, “wherever two or three are gathered in His name, there He is in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20).  As all scripture, we must look at context.  This scripture is preceded by going to your brother when he sins against you. I see verse 20 as a result of following what is instructed in going to your brother for reconciliation.  While I don’t disagree that God is in the midst of two or three, the idea that He is only there when there are two or three is not sound.  The Bible tells us “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).  Go into your closet… alone.  God is with us, and God hears us if we are alone talking to Him, and when we are gathered talking to Him.  Jesus Himself went off by Himself to pray (Matthew 14:23). 

Hebrews 13: 5 says God will never leave you nor forsake you.  I think it is important for everyone to know during this time that what Jesus did on the cross gives us access to the Father, and that He wants to hear from us whether we are alone or gathered in a group.  Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2)!  Let us cling to the hope we have in Him during this time and share with others so that they can be freed and have access to the Father!  

Our daily time with the Lord is just for Him and us.  Let us share the hope we have and the encouragement that it is found in the awesome privilege it is to be able to go to our Lord in prayer.  Always… but especially in the days like we are currently experiencing.  

Father God, I ask You to continue to reveal Yourself to each of us, and to fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we may know you more.  Teach us to pray, and to share our hope with those around us.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

Let Go~

Branches with the little leaves hanging on, just let go.  Don’t hold on to what needs to drop.  Release that which has sustained damage done by insects and weather.  What awaits you in just a few short months is so much better than allowing the damaged leaves to stay longer than necessary. Release them and feed on to the nourishment that is within you that will sustain you until new life comes forth.  Just let go.  Allow the decay to fall away so that you are prepared for the fresh new life to come.

Outlook~

February 24, 2020

I drove 885 miles to Florida last week.  When I got out of the car in the driveway of the home I was staying at, I saw 3 areas of concern on my front driver side tire.  I called a friend and asked if he would look at it.  He thought upon looking at it that I needed a new tire.  I was headed to visit family and plans fell through.  On my way back, I saw a Tire Kingdom and a few guys in the shop.  I drove in to ask them their opinion about the tire.  They all said that the tire needed to be replaced.  That tire is much newer than the other three and I was mad.  I thought to myself that I shouldn’t have gone to Florida at all and should have stayed home.  I asked the guys if I was ok to drive on it and they said yes that it would only lose air, but I should be ok.  I went to church on Sunday morning and to visit some friends right after.  I had plans to visit my brother and drove to his house in the late afternoon.  He looked at my tire and asked me if I wanted him to plug it.  I said no, and that I would take it to a garage.  After only a little encouraging, I let him do it.  To both of our surprises, the “nails” that were in my tire were actually only one that had gone in one part and out another.  When he used his pliers to pull them out, they hadn’t gone deep enough to puncture the tire.  We both said it was a good thing that they were in that tire and not one of the others.  I drove for a week in Florida, and another 885 miles back home with absolutely no issues.

I love how God uses things like this to help me see how He sometimes works.   Things happen that I think “That is my best tire, why did it have to be that one?!” but God knows that is exactly the one that needed to take whatever it is.  Perhaps the strongest part is able to take the trial without it hurting too deeply.  God is able to remove the thing that appeared to harm us leaving only minor damage. 

Thank You Lord God for protecting me and using something like this to show me more of who You are.  Thank You for reminding me that while what I see as the worst possible case is actually the best thing that could happen overall.  Thank You for Your sovereignty.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.