Day55 Exodus 35 The Willing and Able, more than enough

V 5 Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of ......
v10 All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the LORD has commanded
v 30-35 "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers.

Ch36 v5-7 The people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Matthew 9:38 & Luke 10:2
He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.

do you think that we are struggling with the "willing" category? or maybe we are fixed in our views of what christian service/ministry is....
What are some "acts of service" that you can think off that are not seen as regular/customary church work?

Siobhan

Day 49 Exodus 22 23,ff No lawyers!

When YHWH set up the court system of the Israelites, I thought it interesting that there were judges and the principals involved in a law suit but no one else, we have surely complicated matters by including others in our quarrels.

Risk mitigation was addressed by keeping what you control under your control. But we have insurance companies (a third party) to take the place of common sense and looking out for our neighbor, oh I forgot, its LOVE thy neighbor by not putting them at risk and making good when accidents occur.
Accidents in those days came at a high cost; eye for eye, tooth for tooth, life for life... I wonder that as we took the pain out of recompense and retribution we got sloppy on preventative and proactive measures.

Like medicine is available and cheap in comparison to many countries but with all the information and therapies available we don't pay sufficient attention to preventing the problems in the first place.

It seems that problems arise when we put our pleasure before the pain of others. Siobhan

Day 43 From Servitude to Service Exodus 11

It took a generation to get out of a mind-set of slavery to a god-king and into a life of service to the God who is King.
It was the night before the exodus from one stage in the life of a nation and into the transition to a new life and awareness of YHWH as King. The preparations took some time to organize. Food was central to the preparation, the passover lamb and bread served as visual aids for generations to come.

When we look at our families, can we identify the struggles of faith and fortune that our family had as they came to terms with the change in our lives?

I am sure we have our own "visual aids" that engrave conversations and events in our minds. Siobhan