Mews from Meowmix

Today has been a good day!  Some of my smiles for today are as follows:

• There was communication with someone very close to my heart.
• I was able to spend some time with family and friends who are also very dear to me, and this time was filled with a lot of laughter.
• Doris had a good day with no nausea!
• We had thunderstorms this morning and some whopping winds this afternoon and tonight, and now it’s turning colder again.  However, I’m inside my warm, comfortable home, snug as a bug in a rug!

My Bible reading today was Exodus 36-38.  Although, admittedly, in most of these readings this week (as I shared yesterday), my eyes glaze over, something encouraging struck me in today’s readings.  (……….as always, let me qualify that I realize the glazing over is due to some flaw in me and not in the inspired Word!).    Let me share the encouragement I gleaned from part of chapter 35 and 36 of Exodus.  This has to do with building the tabernacle.  In chapter 35:29, it states, “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.”  That statement in itself is encouragement.  Those who were willing brought FREEWILL offerings.  But the real light bulb came on for me in chapter 36:2-7.  To put in my own words, the people brought so much that it was TOO much, more than was needed, and Moses had to put out the word and restrain them from any more offerings!

Often, and deservedly, these children of Israel are used as examples of how NOT to act toward the Lord and each other.  But this is a time when they stepped up to the plate and overwhelmingly and unbelievably actually gave too much.  What an example of willing love and generosity.

I wonder if any of our churches of today have ever had to say, “Uh, we won’t be passing the collection plates today because we have too much money in the bank.”  How many of our churches today have deficits in the weekly, monthly, and yearly budgets?  How many times do those in charge have to take from one budget item to cover a need in another budget line or, worse, cut back on various endeavors because the money just isn’t there?  How many of us ever truly give to the Lord for the work He has instructed us to do as willingly and generously as these Israelites did on this occasion?  I wonder how differently missionaries who are home “on leave” would be able to spend their time if they didn’t need to spend most of it traveling around pleading for continued financial support, as I’ve known some to have to do.

I’ll be the first to toss my hat in the ring and say I haven’t given according to how I’ve been prospered; yet, He just keeps on blessing me when I so richly do NOT deserve it.

And beyond monetary contributions, what of our time and our hearts and our love, our caring for each other and those around us?  There are many ways of giving besides putting money in the collection plate, but there have been times I, personally, did not even do that which didn’t cost me a dime.  After all, there were all kinds of skilled craftsmen working on the tabernacle who gave their time and talent in order to put to USE what was freely being offered.

It humbles me to know how far short I have often fallen of this beautiful example of a time when the Israelites DID act like they needed to…………………and how many times God extends His great mercy and love.

Now, I like to think if I had crossed over that sea on dry ground with a wall of water on each side that I wouldn’t have asked for a golden calf in the next few days!  But who knows?  I might have.  One reason I love the Old Testament is to read about the utter human-ness of those characters and how they were continually used by God and blessed by Him, in spite of themselves…………………..and how every little while, they got it right (as in this story), but most of the time didn’t. 

Kind of reminds me of me! 

Just some thoughts from my heart to yours.  Hope you are having a good week.

God’s blessings to you all.