Overview of: ExodusToday's Reading:
Ex. 34:1 – 35:29
"Tablets and Tabernacle"
Focus Verses: Ex. 35:29
29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.
Insight:
With the plans for the Tabernacle in hand, it was time to collect all the needed materials for construction. God's people gave generously of their own free will. For the gold that was needed, the people gave jewelry of all kinds. The finest linens and animal skins were given for the curtains and coverings that would be made. Fine fabrics were spun, stones and gems were gathered, and fine oils and spices were collected. The generosity of God's people made the very act of constructing the Tabernacle an act of worship.
Response and Action:
Giving and sacrifice are spiritual acts of worship. More than the giving a things or money or even time, the highest act of worship I have to offer God is to give myself. I want to offer my body--my very being--for God's good, pleasing, and perfect purposes.
O God, help me to give myself fully to you. Help me to honor and worship you through full surrender of my heart, my mind, my body, my possessions, and my actions. Transform me, renew my mind, and help me to walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Through Christ Jesus, my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
New Testament for Today: Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
In Context: Romans 12
Proverb for Today: Prov.7:2
"Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye."
Resources:
Giving to God: The Bible's Good News about Living a Generous Life
by Mark Allan Powell
