A Ready, Willing and Able Heart Requires A Building Up In Christ First- Exodus 35:5

Exodus 35:5 (KJV)~ Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass,

As I read this chapter, it occurred to me once more how the heart plays a big factor in decision making to do for the Lord as a Believer. I try to echo this in all my SheSpeaks4U Seminars 4 the Heart and Mind. Thank you Holy Spirit for giving me an additional understanding found specifically in this one verse about having a willing heart. I get it! Yeah!

Can I share something with you? Sure. I made a decision last November to try one of those Read the Bible In A Year plans received from a church that I visited. I never thought much of those plans because I felt it wasn’t spirit led. However, God proved otherwise and I am doing well with it. He is speaking to me through verses I’d never given a second thought to over the years. I do miss picking out what I want to read over and over. My four older bibles have been marked up pretty good and I hate typing notes on my IPAD using that bible app, it’s just not paper. I have a love for writing on paper.

So my daughter-in-law asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year, I told her that I wanted a medium size KJV bible, because I did not want to start writing in the 20 pound bible I inherited from my pawpaw. Lo and behold, she bought me one with a matching bible tote and faith diary to write in. In the bible she wrote “To my real mother…” Aww that made me shed tears. Not many DIL’s consider their mother-in-law much, other than a babysitter.  As I was following the yearly plan in Exodus, she came to mind and the many who are trying to build bigger churches with unwilling and unable people came to mind.  Thank you for your reading patience.

And now, let us move along to a heavy message that should heave the heart of those that claim to love God, but their heart is not stirred with the Spirit of God. You may get angry about this message, and that’s ok, just don’t wake up tomorrow with the anger still in your heart. (Ephesians 4:26 message coming soon to a WP blog near you) I assure you the message is neither from me nor the evil one.

The text in Exodus 35-36 and the Holy Spirit showed me several things about having A Ready, Willing and Able Heart:

1. A willing heart does not give sacrificially nor give according to legalistic issues. (It’s all SPIRITUAL)
2. A willing heart does not have to involve pecuniary giving. (Everyone is not financially able to give, irrespective of what is preached)
3. A willing heart is flawed when one gives after receiving a brash call (usually from the pulpit) to do so.
4. A willing heart automatically produces an overflow (clothing, food, and appliance donations to homeless shelters is a great example; when storms hits, people give what they have with a willing heart to rebuild and help others)
5. A willing offering occurs when a person gives of their knowledge, time, understanding, wisdom, on-hand items, and their gifted abilities when their “heart is stirred up” to do something for the Lord. (These abilities show that one is filled with the Spirit of God.)

To sum it all up, the following verses should explain what the Holy Spirit led me to understand about giving to and doing for the Lord (You should read Exodus 35- 40, to get to the nucleus of it all):

Exodus 35:10-And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lord hath commanded;

Exodus 35:21– And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

Exodus 35:29– The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

Exodus 35:31– And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

The Outcome of A Ready, Willing, And Able Heart is here: Exodus 36:5-7- And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

Another thing beloved…The Holy Spirit just reminded me of this and the scripture. The glory of the Lord will fill those that have such a heart. I’m not saying you’ll be walking around with a shiny face like Moses had, but someone will notice His glory in you. Let us not forget that our bodies are also the Lord’s tabernacle. (TYHS) Exodus 40:34-Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

I was in the midst of a sermon preached that made my heart sick a while ago. The glory of the Lord was nowhere in the midst of that tabernacle. I love it when the Lord shows me when people are emitting twisted words while making demands on the body of Christ. There is a falsehood floating around in many small and even large churches about the “need” to build buildings costing millions upon millions of dollar to “house the people of God.” Quite a few people that I have come in contact with through my seminars believe this to be an ongoing negative issue within small churches. Lo, the Lord will handle the building of a building, whatever the cost, in His time. The focus does not need to be on a building; it needs to be on the heart and souls of those Believers who have lost their heart for Christ and for those who do not know Christ.

Why do people think a “new building will” automatically “change” a person into having a ready, willing, and able heart for God? Wisdom Speaks- A new atmosphere will not change the people of God that are dead set in their non-Christ-like behaviors and attitudes; those that have a return to Egypt lifestyle mindset, a stiff necked people. Remember the Israelites that were led by Moses?  I know of one church with about 150 members that sold their three million dollar building in order to purchase or build  a six million dollar building. Needless to say, that church lost quite a few members because of “greed from within and a relocation that caused life long family members to leave…” The church was “not experiencing any growth”… so I asked why would they sell and relocate. Their response blew me  away-“…pastors and leaders are always trying to build new churches and compete when they get tired of being in an older building….and then the prosperity sermons started…” This is a message to those that believe a “bigger and newer eye pleasing church will allow us to do more ministries to bring in more members.”  Strike 1, Strike 2, Strike 3 – You’re out.

God is watching every behavior and hearing every word that does not glorify Him concerning His tabernacle, i.e. your body. It’s not about doing more ministries, nor is it about “eye pleasing” others.  It’s about preparing those bodies inside the church to go outside of the church to spread the Gospel of Christ. It’s about preaching and teaching those in the body of Christ how to become a more ready, willing, and able member led by the heart that God has instilled His Spirit within.  Isn’t that what Jesus did with his disciples and other followers? We’re always running around here like a chicken with his neck broke claiming “Jesus is the head of my life” with an unrented, unwilling, and non-penitent heart toward others in the body of Christ. Negative behaviors of and toward those already in the body of Christ does not glorify God. That’s a sure sign of a heart attack taking  place in the body of Christ.

The Spirit of God has been beating me down for the last year (February 14, 2015) about getting this message out. Actually today is the anniversary date for me to share the entire message. Believers of Christ just can’t build a church on a rock when its members have not truthfully and wholly consecrated their heart to the Lord. You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, unless it is the Lord’s will. It’s not always about building a structure made of steel, wood, plastic, and bricks. Again, our call is to build up one another first in Christ and by sharing the message of the Gospel of Christ outside of church walls. We are also called to work with the gifts the Lord imparted to our hearts for His church. No brash demand, eye pleasing service nor new building can glorify God with a people lacking a willing and stirred heart.(Missing in Action)

Let us ask ourselves as shepherds and sheep, did God ever abandon those that He gave a willing heart to build something for Him? Again, buildings (old or new) do not help people to come to Christ, nor does it improve the heart’s status. It is those members in the body of Christ that worship Him in spirit and truth filled with a willing heart from the Spirit of God that will lead people to Christ to do for Him. Remember the cleaning of the cup from the inside is what makes it clean?  

Peradventure, the outcome that took place in Exodus 35:7 will happen, then a new building may be built because of the spiritual overflow.  We must start believing what Jesus said in John 4:23-24- But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

Message Finale– You as a shepherd and/ or a sheep must spiritually have A Ready, Willing and Able Heart to build up and out for the Lord.  A stressed out congregation can not comprehend what it is to have a willing spirit. When the building up in Christ comes first, then comes the “stuff” you have will be “sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”  (TYHS) Peace 2 you beloved.

 

I Love You

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins

 

 

 

If You Knew-My Thoughts On Learning From Others In The Bible

Good Great Saturday Morning/Afternoon to you beloved.  I’ve been in deep study and thought again with the OT(Old Testament), which was one of my resolutions for this New Year, to complete a book for my grandkids about what grandma thinks and believes about God, as my papaw did for I without him knowing it. I inherited a lot of his books and writings after his death.  I hope to share with you a series about people of the OT and lessons I learned from their behavioral actions. I hope you enjoy it, and as I always say, you may not agree,and that is fine. I just ask that you keep in mind that these are my thoughts revealed to me by none other than the Holy Spirit, Himself, for my understanding of the Lord. Thank you Jesus!

If You Knew

If you knew the exact time you were going to die, what would you change in your life during that additional period(s) guaranteed to you? This is something I was thinking about concerning wasted time that we have all experienced and thoughts of how to somewhat correct past behaviors, thoughts, and actions thereof. I have learned these past three weeks and know from my experience that “silence is golden” when you put yourself in the Lord’s presence and see yourself through His eyes. Just sit quietly to self and He will reveal. There are some things you may not like or can’t believe about self.  Unveiling is a powerful thing!

So anywho! I was reading in the OT again searching for something really deep about being given a 2^nd chance to live life differently up to a certain day of guaranteed death told to you.  Here is where the remembrance of King Hezekiah kicked in.  After reading about him again, I also pondered, why was it that Adam was not given another chance to live perfectly again? That’s another blog and thought I suppose.

First I’ll share what I took from my Comprehensive Analysis of the Bible by Montgomery F. Essig, 1922 Edition about Hezekiah. Lord, I wish this edition was online so I could have just copied and pasted. Here we go!

Hezekiah – a form of a Hebrew word meaning “strength of Jehovah.”  Hezekiah was the twelfth king of Judah and one of the best of Judah’s kingly line, although he was the son of the idolater Ahaz.  He was born about 726 B.C., ascended the throne when about twenty-five years old, and reigned twenty-nine years.  One of the first acts of his reign was to do away with the idol-worship that had grown under his father and restore the true faith. He then turned his attention to win back the cities captured by the Philistines.  His success in these military operations led him to refuse tribute to Assyria, which nation had already destroyed the kingdom of Israel and led away the ten tribes captive.  This act brought to his doors an Assyrian army, and Hezekiah was forced to make terms by despoiling the Temple of gold to give to the Assyrians, who promptly broke faith, and were just as promptly punished by God, who in a night destroyed 180,000 of them by plague.  Hezekiah fell ill, and, after earnest prayer, was told by the prophet Isaiah that God would spare his life for fifteen years.  The remainder of his reign appears to have been peaceful and prosperous. References 2 Kings 16;18;19;20.

I shall add a bit more here about Hezekiah.  His mother, Abijah, was the daughter of King Zechariah. You do know that King David was Hezekiah’s grandfather, right?  And that because of Ahaz’s reign of not doing right in the eyes of the Lord, Israel was once again exiled because of Sin to Assyria?  In 2 Kings 17:18-19 the bible tells us that –So the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed them from His presence. Only the tribe of Judah was left, and even Judah did not keep the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel has introduced. 

His wife’s name was Hephzibah of which Manasseh was seeded.  It occurred to me that during the reign of kings throughout the families, that one generation would do good; then the next generation would do bad in the eyes of the Lord, and so on and so on. In other words, it seemed generations took turns between doing good and bad in the eyes of the Lord. I see that happening in my family and many others of which I am aware of their family history. There appears to be some type of skip a generational curse existing thingy. (Read the books of Judges – 2 Chronicles for specifics)

In 2 Kings 18:5-8, it tells us that- Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.  And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.  From watchtower to fortified city, he defeated the Philistines, as far as Gaza and its territory.

Did you know that it was Hezekiah who broke “into pieces” the bronze snake Moses made that was used to cure the Israelites from snake bites back in Moses’ day? Here’s the story about Moses’ snake.

Numbers 21:4-9 (NIV) The Bronze Snake

 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way;they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”  Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.  The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.”  So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

So now back to Hezekiah….please open your bible or do a net search and read 2 Kings 20. It is a powerful chapter and a lesson in there to be learned for all. I am to close this out some time soon.

If the Lord sent a messenger, or told you Himself, “Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”…. I ask again….If you knew….what would you change in your life? At that given moment Hezekiah only had a moment’s notice.  To most, if given that message, there would be nothing they could think of to do, but to lie there and die, call an ambulance, or try to write out a quick will via a phone call to a lawyer.  😛   But ah ha! here lies the strongest link in a weakest moment encountered….Watch out! Here it comes! When Hezekiah was told this, he did WHAT?  He prayed to the Lord, and this my loves, is how the 15 years was added to his life. Ask Him in faith and ye shall receive according to His will, huh? I think he was about 54 or close to it when he died.

Hezekiah really did prove to those of us, me included, in reading this; that the verses above (2 Kings 18:5-8) were kept until his death. Not only that, whatever the Lord said to Hezekiah, he accepted, whether good or bad. It made me think again about the simplicity of trusting in the Lord. We don’t have a quarter of the incidents happen in our lives that Hez had and most can’t find it in ourselves to put and keep that trust in to him until our death. We surely don’t want bad news from the Lord and we would not be as accepting of it as Hezekiah was. It is hard for us to come to grips with accepting our fate. Right? What I find even more amazing is that the bible tells us there was never another king like Hezekiah, neither before him nor after him. Thank you Holy Spirit! Brain power kick……There was never one like Jesus before Him or after Him either, nor to come.

What lesson(s) did you learn from reading about Hezekiah?

More on Hezekiah can be found in the Books of 2 Chronicles 29-32 and Isaiah 36-39. Another thing I found powerful in reading about Hezekiah is that he “thought” that……. “There will be peace and security in my lifetime.”  Is that a thought of yours? If you were seconds away from your death, would you be able to utter those words?

2 Kings 20:7-11 (NIV)

Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.  Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?”  Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”  “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.”  Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

My prayer and wish for you and self….Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,and he will make your paths straight.

I LOVE YOU

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

Related articles

• The God Of Hezekiah (savedbygraceblogdotcom.wordpress.com)
• Isaiah 39. Babylonian captivity of Judah foretold. Messengers from Babylonia (KJV) (bummyla.wordpress.com)

Countenance-Your Appearance In God’s Eyes-My Thoughts

As I opened by bible today for a brief break earlier while at work, the pages fell open to Genesis 4. I began reading and boing! I was reading something I really had paid little attention to in the past.
Chapter 4 discusses the seeding of Cain and Abel, and momentous events in their lives. Later on in the chapter it mentions the seeding of Seth. We know the story, Abel became a keeper of flocks and Cain worked the soil. They both brought offerings to the Lord. Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil and Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The story goes on to state that the Lord looked with favor upon Abel and his offering, but had no favor upon Cain and his offering. Why? I asked self as I have done many times before when reading this chapter. I arrived at a conclusion  a while back, that my answer and God’s favor hid in the wording that I have bolded above.
Ages ago, I use to catch an attitude about God’s actions when reading this because I was thinking, how could God not show favor to Cain ?..…he gave an offering from things he grew in the soil, but most importantly he gave to God. We all know gardening is not a simple task and most of us put our heart into it. However……..Thank you Holy Spirit for providing the understanding through the years.

Cain just brought some and appeared to have given little thought about whether it was the FIRST fruit or last to give to God. Abel gave some of his FIRST born flock.  Non acceptance from God of Cain’s offering led Cain to become angry and his face became downcast. I thought his behavior normal, because as humans that is our behavioral  pattern when rejected, misled, disappointed and shown no favor when we think ,(not taking into account what the receiver may think )we’ve done well by our actions.
Before I go any further, let’s scan over the words below.

• Angry- cross, annoyed, irritated, irate, mad, livid
• Downcast- sad, depressed, disappointed, discouraged, disheartened
• Countenance-n- appearance, especially the look or expression of the face 
• Sin-n- transgression of divine law; any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense

The new lighting I found after removing the lamp shade is in the verses below:

Genesis 4:6-7
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
There’s my “boing”!  Did you see it? I have always loved how God asks a question and then gives an answer. How did I ever miss that God said “sin is crouching at your door”? Pull out your bibles and read the rest of the story in Genesis 4. We will discover within this chapter that Cain eventually, did not rule over that “crouching” sin, he was cursed by God and became a “restless wanderer”.
The other thing I want to make note of is how our countenance gives away what is truly on the mind and heart. I’m a great expressions watcher. It’s almost like a natural second job to me, but doesn’t pay the bills, (but God) allows me to own that gracious gift. Some of us probably wish that we could walk around with a face eraser to erase most of the expressions that show. Not happening! even with a mask on.  The eyes can still be read along with body positioning.
How many times folks have we done something half-heartedly? How many times have we been shamed because we saw others giving someone else a gift, and we didn’t give…. then run out to buy a gift because you saw someone else give?

Besides, we are told in Ephesians 5:11- Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
So back to Cain’s countenance we go. The lessons I learned from verses 6-7 are:
1. Doing right in the eyes of God is acceptable and that we should give to God from the heart.
2. Doing wrong in the eyes of God is not acceptable and has consequences. (Have you ever watched the Truth or Consequences game show? For those who are younger than I, here’s a tidbit about the show- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Consequences )
3. Sin is right at your door waiting for the right opening moment to jump in. The longer sin crouches, the more cramps it gets and can’t jump as quickly. This will allow you more time to practice taking control of the “crouching” sin.  🙂
4. Sin’s desire and Satan’s ultimate goal is to rule over the children of God.
5. We as children of God, heirs of His promise, “MUST rule over” sin in order to be in line with His will.
6. Sin is a thing. Don’t let THINGS rule over you that are not good for the Body of Christ.

Visualize This As Being Sin’s Position

Here’s one of my favorite reminders to self when sin tries to rule over me and change my countenance from being joyful in the Lord. I like sharing these verses with people whose countenance becomes downtrodden for whatever reason sometimes unbeknownst to me. It’s a great pick me upper and it pays to remember who you are in Christ.

Ephesians 5:8-10 – For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. 

Sticky Note—When you appear before the Lord while living on this earth, make sure you have your countenance in check. Remember that He is watching us at all times. Henceforth, whatever you do, make sure that it is from the heart, that it is right, and that it is pleasing to God, to recieve His favor.

 

Love Covers A Multitude of Sins