Exodus 35: ³⁰ Then Moses told the people of Israel, “The Lord has specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³¹ The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. ³² He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. ³³ He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft. ³⁴ And the Lord has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others. ³⁵ The Lord has given them special skills as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet thread on fine linen cloth, and weavers. They excel as craftsmen and as designers.

 

people often say that no one received the Holy Spirit until after Jesus died... that is not true... this is a regular man... a blue collar worker that is a craftsman.. and God filled him with the spirit in order to be able to do what his purpose was for the kingdom of God...

 

each of us has a purpose in the kingdom.. and God has or will fill each of us with the spirit for us to be able to complete our mission... our purpose... we have to believe in it and listen to Him and walk it out... we all have special skills given to us to perform exactly what we need to do for Him...

Psalms 57: ² I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.

I think most people wonder from time to time... what if I mess things up... do I ruin God's purpose for my life? what if I am disobedient.. what if I am unwilling for part of the time...what if.. what if.. what if...

 

I think God knew before we ever even knew we had a purpose in the kingdom of God or value to him... exactly what we would do.. exactly how long it would take to work it all out.. exactly what it would take to change us and make us ready and willing to put God before our own desires...

 

I believe God is very capable of bringing His will to pass regardless of me and my issues and mistakes.. and for that I am oh so thankful!!

 

⁷ My heart is confident in you, O God; my heart is confident. No wonder I can sing your praises! ⁸ Wake up, my heart! Wake up, O lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. ⁹ I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. ¹⁰ For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

¹¹ Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth.

Ezekiel 34: ²⁵ “I will make a covenant of peace with my people and drive away the dangerous animals from the land. Then they will be able to camp safely in the wildest places and sleep in the woods without fear. ²⁶ I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing. ²⁷ The orchards and fields of my people will yield bumper crops, and everyone will live in safety. When I have broken their chains of slavery and rescued them from those who enslaved them, then they will know that I am the Lord. ²⁸ They will no longer be prey for other nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will frighten them.

²⁹ “And I will make their land famous for its crops, so my people will never again suffer from famines or the insults of foreign nations. ³⁰ In this way, they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them. And they will know that they, the people of Israel, are my people, says the Sovereign Lord. ³¹ You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

 

I feel like I live in a covenant of peace with God... when I was in the world.. it seemed like troubles after troubles would surround me.. I used to say I could sit in a corner and trouble would come and find me.. I don't feel like that anymore... the only trouble I would say that I ever have is financial.. and that is self imposed by bad spending habits...

 

I don't think this is the truth of everyone though.. I think that some people come to God and continue to have problems in their lives... I don't know what it is that makes the difference.. what would make someone to be chosen to have troubles after troubles.. does it have to do with someone having a lack of trust.. I don't think it can be that as I don't know that I trust as I should...  or someone being surrounded by unsaved people.. or someone needing to learn something that wouldn't be taught any other way... I don't know what it is..

 

I am VERY THANKFUL for this covenant of peace...

I wish everyone was living in one..

Matthew 5: ⁴³ “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴ But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

 

I was thinking...

I don't know if when we pray for the people who do us wrong is for them.. I think it is really for us... I think it is so that we don't harden our hearts.. so that they don't have power over us... because when we become bitter and angry with someone.. that really doesn't hurt them.. it hurts us...

 

so if we continue to pray for people who continuously treat us unfairly... we may never see their change.. they may never become saved.. but we will have done right for them and for us both.. and we will have kept our heart from becoming hard... I think when Jesus tells us to do this.. He is protecting us.. His children.. not the others people...

 

I find it hard to really be serious in praying for people who have hurt me or intentionally mis-used me.. but I find as time goes on.. I begin to feel sorry for them.. because really... what type of life do you have if you are thinking up ways to hurt others? what is the value of your life? who are you worth anything to? so really.. you are pitiful... and how can we feel anything but sorry for you?

 

I am thankful for the protection of Jesus over my heart.. helping me to not become bitter and angry by the mean people of this world...

1 Peter 1: ⁶ So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

⁸ You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.

 

I don't know about you.. but I do not see myself getting stronger and stronger.. I think that trials and tests make me weaker and weaker... that is how my mind thinks...

 

 

but if I look back over my life.. how many times have I not been strong enough to stay on God's path but instead have fallen to the side.. and I look at myself now and I think I could not go back to the way things used to be.. to the person I used to be... surely the thought arises from time to time but is no longer seriously considered...

 

 

so I would guess that I have become stronger and stronger... the focus has stopped being on how I feel about things.. but more about how God feels about things... less about getting what I want.. more about being who God has called me to be...

 

 

would I say my faith is genuine? I am not sure about that... there are days that I hold on just because where else is there to go? other days I hold on because of wanting to be close to God... I don't care if my faith ever brings me much praise and glory and honor... but I would like to be someone who brings glory to God...

Psalms 51: 7“O my people, listen as I speak. Here are my charges against you, O Israel: I am God, your God! 8I have no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer. 9But I do not need the bulls from your barns or the goats from your pens. 10For all the animals of the forest are mine, and I own the cattle on a thousand hills. 11I know every bird on the mountains, and all the animals of the field are mine. 12If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. 13Do I eat the meat of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats?

14Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. 15Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”

 

16But God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant? 17For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash.

 

how often do we live by the rituals of God and think that is what He wants from us... I wonder if that wasn't part of why He ended the continual sacrificing and gave Jesus as the sacrifice...

 

do we really show our thankfulness?

do we pretend? do we treat His word like trash?

 

18When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers. 19Your mouth is filled with wickedness, and your tongue is full of lies. 20You sit around and slander your brother—your own mother’s son. 21While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn’t care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. 22Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you. 23But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”

 

how many times have we thought we have gotten away with something because God did not do anything about it... I wonder how often the world falls apart and we are wondering what in the world happened? and it is from something like slander and adultery and lies... and we thought we got away with it....

 

and the answer to all of it is repentance and thanks! giving thanks is really what God is looking for from us.. yet how often do we thank Him for our job.. or our car.. or our house.. or our kids... or our friends.. or our church... or our mobility...

 

we tend to give thanks when something is new and then forget all about being thankful... even in relationships we do this... I intend to be changing that in my own life.. I am starting today to be a thankful person.. at ALL times...

Psalms 73: ²³ Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. ²⁶ My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.

²⁷ Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. ²⁸ But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

I would say this is one of my favorite scriptures for this time of my life... it has been for about a year or so...

no matter what else happens in this world.. God is for me and I am for Him...

I can't think of anything that really means more to me these days... sure.. there are some circumstances that I would like to see changed.. some understanding I would like to have where I have confusion... but really... when it comes time to lay my head down and rest... this is all that matters... God is for me and I am for Him...