Isaiah and Sara

I was reading through the story of the Israelites as they built the Tabernacle in Exodus, and I came upon this passage.

Exodus 35:2-7
² Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. ³ They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. ⁴ So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work ⁵ and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.“ 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,⁷ because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

The Israelites just kept giving and giving and giving… They gave until the craftsman actually said, “Stop!”

What about us?

Are we giving to God, to our Churches, to others like that?

Just a thought…

in Christ,

Isaiah

What a day!  Wow… since lunch where I began spilling everything all over myself it has been a rough day.  I’m not going to relate here all that happened because that would be petty, unprofessional and definitely not Christ-like.  Lets just say it was a frustrating day…

Then I read this:

Isaiah 40:28, 29 (ESV)

²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. ²⁹ He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Apparently I forget how good and awesome and mighty God is.  Instead of praying for power and strength while I was being frustrated, I let frustration boil.  So I guess I need to ask myself:

Have you not known?  Have you not heard?

God is good, and everlasting!

Frustration is neither.

As I read that, and as I write this, I can feel the frustration peeling off of me.  God is in control… he is good and mighty, everlasting and never failing.

Focus on Him in frustrating times…

in Christ,

Isaiah

Today was Monday… I usually loathe Mondays.  They are my least favorite day, least creative day, and the hardest day for me to get up.  This morning that was compounded on by a massive headache that has slowly disappeared as the day has gone by.

Now that I’ve gone on a rant about Mondays, I want to figure out how I can change my perception about Monday.  Today I started realizing that since I’m not as creative on Mondays, I should move creative tasks to another day (duh!).

So that’s what I’ve done, I moved some creative tasks to another day and moved the organizing tasks to today.  I have to say… this Monday has been enjoyable, aside from the headache.

What do you do to tackle Mondays?

in Christ,

Isaiah

This evening I departed for Alliance to visit Gabriel Tyce Bruton and his youth group at the Alliance Christian Church.  I left Scottsbluff, confident of the route to the church, and excited for the opportunity to speak.  Upon entering Alliance, I realized that though I knew the address, I didn’t know where this certain street was in Alliance.  I texted Gabe, swallowing my pride, and found that I had passed the street… oops.

Once I arrived and Gabe introduced me, we began a lesson on Doubt… discussing our own doubts and how God can use the doubts in our lives to draw us closer to him.  I then was able to share about Summit Christian College, and a little of my story.

The lesson finished, we played a game that you may or may not be familiar with.  Though known by a few names, tonight it was called, “Honey if you love me, would you please please smile”.  One person, stuck in the middle of a circle, must say the previous phrase, “Honey, if you love me, would you please please smile?” to one certain person in the circle.  That person must then respond, “Honey I love you, but I just can’t smile” without smiling, of course.  The game with the Alliance youth was quite fun, and we all shared some hearty laughter.

While I was driving home, I realized that I had been re-energized.  I have had several weeks since I visited youth, and have been mostly in a planning/paperwork/phone call stage of my job.  It was invigorating to get back to doing what I love, sharing God’s love and promoting a college that I think is making a difference for the Kingdom.

What energizes you?

in Christ,

Isaiah

You may notice the redesign of my blog, if only to note the new ability to comment thanks to Disqus.  Mostly it is simply a different template, a change of the outer shell.

One thing you’ll find about me is that I like to change things… that isn’t to say that I like change.  Change that I don’t control scares me, and I usually don’t like it.

This got me thinking about how God changes us.  When we become Christians, God’s love and His Spirit should be changing us.  Our priorities should change to God’s priorities.

That’s where I realized that we all need a re-design that only God can give.  He can change us from that selfish person to an un-selfish man/woman of God.  As we follow God, we need to be continually changing into the person that God wants us to be.

What needs to be redesigned in your life?

in Christ,

Isaiah

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. – G.K. Chesterton

Matthew 18:23-35

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

For some reason this passage never clicked like it did when I read it last night…

The servant is forgiven an extreme debt, by a merciful master.  Then the same servant is a wicked master to the one who owes him so much less.  That’s when I realized I am that man…  when I don’t forgive others who sin against me.

Its funny because we automatically think how much of a jerk that wicked servant must have been, without realizing how much like that man we are.

Holding a grudge?  Mad about someone’s sin against you?  Are you forgiven much?  Then return the favor to those who sin against you.

in Christ,

Isaiah