Right Is Right

^“Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them.” Exodus 39:43

There’s something good about doing something well, but there’s something even better about doing something right.  The two are often one and the same but not always.  A few days ago, I overheard a student proudly say, “I just told a pretty lie.”  Obviously, what she did she had done well, but what she did could not be considered right.

When the Israelites built the Tabernacle, they did it well and did it right—and the combination brought big blessing.  ^“Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded. So Moses blessed them”(Ex 39:43).  God’s instructions had been specific and tedious.  Just reading all the details listed in Exodus is almost laborious, and the actual construction was even more so.  (When’s the last time any of us “hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen”?(Ex 39:3)  Doing the work “just as the Lord had commanded” demanded careful attention, hard work, and extra time, but the result was worth the effort.  

A thumbs up from Moses was followed up by a blessing, and God showed His approval by showing up big-time in a bright way.  “The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle”(Ex 40:35).  God’s glorious presence was a confirmation that brought delight and satisfaction to all involved—families who contributed materials, carpenters who sawed crossbeams, tailors who sewed curtains, blacksmiths who forged altar utensils, and the list goes on and on.  So many had done so much so well and had done it the right way—God’s way.

In a time when doing things your own way seems to be the culturally norm, this word speaks loud and large.  Regardless of opinions, pleas, petitions, and even passed laws, the only right way to do life—and all of which it consists—is God’s way.   There is no arena outside His jurisdiction.  There is no situation exempt from His regulation.  The “world and everything in it” are included in His domain, and all are subject to His sovereignty.  His words on worship, work, relationships, and recreation are the final authority and should shape our actions and attitudes toward each every day.  There is no other way to do life well and to do life right.

Few will agree, and most will argue that morals and standards should change with the times, but as God’s people we should gladly “hammer out thin sheets of gold” and be willing to weave the beauty of His purity into the tapestry of our daily choices.  Doing so is often tedious and tiring and requires careful attention, hard work, and extra time, but the result is worth the effort.  The glory of God will shine through our lives and the blessings that come only from obedience will be poured out—some here on earth and many in eternity. 

There is only one right way, and it’s God’s way.

Do life well.  Do life right.  And be richly blessed.

Extreme Generosity

“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.’”   Exodus 36:6

 

When was the last time your pastor stood up on Sunday and said, “We’re not going to pass the plate today because last week’s offering was more than enough!”??  I haven’t heard that one either and most likely won’t because ministry expenses are ongoing, but it has been neat to see several times where a specific project has been fully funded very fast due to the extreme generosity of God’s people. 

Our country is obsessed with extremes.  We have extreme sports, extreme reality TV, and extreme flavors of food(coffee potato chips—really??), but we rarely hear of extreme giving, extreme sharing, or extreme sacrifice—especially when it comes to God-stuff.  However, since God is the one who “so loved that He gave” and since He sacrificed acutely beyond what we can imagine, extreme generosity is the appropriate response.

After the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt and restored following their unfaithfulness at Mt. Sinai, they responded to Moses’ request for tabernacle building supplies with tremendously big hearts.  They brought so much stuff—gold, silver, bronze, leather, fine linens, wood, oil, and jewels—and “continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning” until the carpenters “left what they were doing and said to Moses, ‘The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done’”(Ex 36:4-5).  The offering was so awesome that Moses gave an instruction to stop giving!!  “And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work”(Ex 36:7).

 

Don’t miss the word “restrained.”  The people were so willing to share that it took effort for them to stop.  We should pray for a heart that finds it hard not to give—not one that struggles to share. And when it comes to us today, this topic touches way more than money. Yes, we should give generously to God’s work in our churches and to various missions and ministries and to do this we should live lifestyles that enable us to give back to God first before paying necessary bills and fulfilling not-so-necessary desires, but sometimes writing a check is the easy way out.   When it comes to extreme generosity, I’m not just talking about our stuff but also about ourselves.  I’m not only meddling with our treasures but also with our time, our talents, and how willing we are to share the truth of the gospel.

We are so blessed with so much.  Everything we have materially and spiritually is a result of God’s grace.  We are His, and it’s all His.  He has just handed us some of “His stuff” to employ and enjoy for our few years here on earth.  Use it well.  Invest it wisely (i.e. eternally).  And give it away with extreme generosity.

Hold on loosely and do let go. 

Since it’s not really our stuff to start with, we should be happy to share it easily and often. 

The Moment

“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’”  Exodus 33:17-18

At some time in our lives we all need a moment—not a mere time-out to catch our breath but a monumental encounter with God that changes us for good—a glimpse of God’s glory.  It’s an experience we always treasure and ever remember. 

There came a time in the midst of the desert when Moses needed a moment, and, by God’s grace, he got it.  

The golden calf debacle made God mad and Moses sad, and the people faced consequences of death, plague, and drinking water mixed with powdered idol.  When all this was over, God said, “Get a move on, but I’m not going,” and Moses responded with, “If your Presence isn’t leading, I’m not leaving.”  The crisis led to a fascinating conversation in which God agreed to go, and Moses asked to see God’s glory.  “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.’ Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory’”(Ex 33:17-18).

Moses had seen God’s might.  He had experienced God’s power.  He had just been promised God’s presence so why did he ask for more?  Moses didn’t doubt that God was real, so he wasn’t looking for evidence; he simply desired a glimpse of God’s glory—an intimate, personal, monumental encounter to always treasure and ever remember, and, by God’s grace, he got it.

Safe in the cleft of a rock, covered by the very hand of Holiness, Moses trembled in thrilled terror as the glorious goodness of the Lord passed by and God proclaimed His precious name.  “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished”(Ex 34:6-7).  Then God removed His hand, and Moses saw the beautiful, brilliant back of our holy God.  Wow!

God knows there are times in the midst of our days when we need those moments, and by His grace, we get them too.

I’m not saying I’m like Moses, but my moment was also on a mountain.  I was seventeen—a recently graduated high-school senior about to head to college and start a new chapter.  Through the blessing of Godly parents, I had heard of Jesus early and received Christ as a child, but God knew I needed an intimate encounter to move my focus fully to Him and to make a memory that would always bring me back to the basic of life—His glory.  

I stood at dawn by the flower-boxed window of a charming chalet high in the Swiss Alps.  In the twilight coolness, I heard the clop of hooves on cobbles as milk was delivered to a nearby cottage. I heard the muffled clang of cow bells as lumbering beasts grazed the dewy hillside, and I heard the still, small voice of a very big God speaking softly to my heart through the scenery and His Spirit, “Be completely mine.”  Awed and amazed, all I could say was, “Okay,” and watch in utter and absolute astonishment as, at that exact moment, brilliant rays of gilded light soared from behind the high peak in front of me, streaking toward heaven with a golden glow more celestial than I had ever seen.  In splendid triumph, the sun burst over the summit, streaming brightness and beauty into the valley below and straight into my softened soul.  Without doubt, it was a moment where God in His grace gave me a glimpse of His glory, and I’ve never been the same.

Eventually Moses came down the mountain back into the everyday of life, but he was different because he had been changed for good by a glimpse of God’s glory.

In the face of Christ, we’ve been given way more than a glimpse, but God still sends those moments, when we need them, to soften our hearts and show us His beauty and brilliance in such a special way that we simply can’t stay the same.

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God!”