IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DETAILS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you."

THE ARK

"Have them make a chest of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. Then put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you.”

"Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all My commands for the Israelites."

THE TABLE

"Make a table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding around it. Also make around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. Make four gold rings for the table and fasten them to the four corners, where the four legs are. The rings are to be close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. Make the poles of acacia wood, overlay them with gold and carry the table with them. And make its plates and dishes of pure gold, as well as its pitchers and bowls for the pouring out of offerings. Put the bread of the Presence on this table to be before Me at all times."

THE LAMPSTAND

"Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms shall be of one piece with it. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, three on the next branch, and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. And on the lampstand there are to be four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. One bud shall be under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. The buds and branches shall all be of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.”

"Then make its seven lamps and set them up on it so that they light the space in front of it. Its wick trimmers and trays are to be of pure gold. A talent of pure gold is to be used for the lampstand and all these accessories. See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

THE TABERNACLE

"Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. All the curtains are to be the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.”

"Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. All eleven curtains are to be the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit. As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle. The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it. Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.”

"Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle and make forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames and forty silver bases—two under each frame. Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, and make two frames for the corners at the far end. At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top, and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that. So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.”

"Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames. Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold. Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.”

"Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.”

"For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them."

THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING

"Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain."

THE COURTYARD

"Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.”

"The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.”

"For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer—with four posts and four bases. All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases. The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze."

OIL FOR THE LAMPSTANDS

"Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. In the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain that is in front of the Testimony, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come."

PRIESTLY GARMENTS

"Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor. Tell all the skilled men to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his consecration, so he may serve Me as priest. These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve Me as priests. Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen."

THE EPHOD

"Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of a skilled craftsman. It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.”

"Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. Make gold filigree settings and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings."

THE BREASTPIECE

"Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It is to be square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double. Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.”

"For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.’

"Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord."

OTHER PRIESTLY GARMENTS

"Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.”

"Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron's forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron's forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.”

"Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. Make tunics, sashes and headbands for Aaron's sons, to give them dignity and honor. After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve Me as priests.”

"Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.”

"This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants."

Exodus 25:9-40 through Chapter 28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the opening verses of Exodus, chapter 25, we saw God command Moses, the leader of the Israelites, to collect an offering of materials that would be used to construct the tabernacle, the portable worship center they would carry on their journey to Canaan. As we see in today’s lengthy scripture passage, Moses begins to receive instructions from the Lord on building the tabernacle as well as guidelines to appoint and ordain priests.

As we see, this guidance spans four entire chapters as God discusses the following parts of the tabernacle and their respective purposes:

1. The Ark would house the "ark of the Testimony” which would contain the stone tablets inscribed by God’s finger with the Ten Commandments.

2. The Table would serve as a platform for "the bread of the Presence" which would always “be before” the Lord.

3. The Lampstand would be used to "keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening until morning", using the oil the Israelites were expected to provide.

4. The Tabernacle itself would be used to hold the "ark of the Testimony" and provide a place of worship.

5. The Altar would provide a place for the people to bring their offerings to God.

6. The Courtyard was designed to provide separation between the Israelites and the holy presence of God.

7. The Priestly Garments, including the ephod and breastpiece, would ensure that God’s chosen spiritual leader, the priest, would be adorned in splendor and honor as he provided spiritual leadership to God’s people and directly represented them before Him.

After reading through all these guidelines, I believe there are five key points we should remember when it comes to our Lord. They are as follows:

1. God expects attention to detail.

Notice how His instructions are very concise and precise. There is little left to interpretation and the people of Israel were expected to build exactly per His specifications.

This is God’s expectation for us in all matters, especially as it applies to His will and Word. He expects us to pay attention to the details of how we live and strictly carry out His instructions without compromise with the leading of the Holy Spirit.

2. God gives everything a purpose.

We should see that each individual item that Israel was to build had its own specific function but when combined, they came together to form a holy place of worship.

Likewise, each of us has our own special purpose as well. We each function within the body of Christ using the unique gifts He has given us but we are a part of a greater whole, a whole comprised of all believers who through their collective gifts are used for a greater good.

In other words, we’re far stronger, powerful, and effective for the cause of Christ when we’re together instead of acting alone.

3. When God gives guidance, He doesn’t expect anyone to cut corners or make modifications.

God gave the following direction to the Israelites:

"See that you make them (i.e. everything He commanded) according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

The same applies to us as we live our lives in obedience to God. We’re expected to conform our lives to His standards and we only get in trouble when we modify God’s word to fit our desires.

Consider these words from Deuteronomy:

"So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." Deuteronomy 5:32-33

Jesus said that the way to life was narrow (Matthew 7:14) and if we follow Him and live as He did we’ll stay on it. Conversely, sinning will only lead us astray as we “turn aside to the right or to the left”. We can’t afford not to “walk in the way that the Lord” has “commanded”. Our spiritual prosperity depends on it.

4. God wants us to ensure that we use the right materials.

Throughout this passage, God gave clear instruction about the materials the Israelites were supposed to use and how they were to use them. As we saw in yesterday’s message, these materials were to be of the highest possible quality so to construct the Lord’s worship place.

God gives us His best and we are to do the same in return.

5. Use your talent and ability to carry out God’s will and glorify Him.

One can have all the materials and blueprints in the world but they would be pretty useless without skilled workers to take them and make them into something worthwhile. As we see in this passage, God’s glorious place of worship would involve the work of many people with a variety of skill specialties. No one person would get it done by themselves.

As briefly mentioned before, God has blessed every believer with skills, skills they are to use for His glory. No one is without something they can use for the Lord’s service and what’s amazing about this is that He has purposed each and every one of us to use His gifts in a certain way.

How do we find ourselves to that way?

By seeking Him daily in prayer, reading and meditating over His Word, and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us. In all these ways, we can allow the Lord to reveal His purposes for our life and how we should use our talents to achieve them.

Given all this, some questions to ponder:

Have you realized what God’s purpose is for your life?

Have you identified the gifts He has placed within you?

How well are you carrying out God’s guidance?

and

How acutely sensitive are you to attention to detail when it comes to obedience to the Lord’s word and way?

Friends, you need to know and trust that God has a specific plan for your life and He wants to use you in powerful ways within His kingdom here on earth. All you need to do is to surrender yourself to His will, word and way and submit to the direction of His Holy Spirit, not allowing yourself to be corrupted by the ways of the world that might lead you to compromise.

For when it comes to our God, it’s all about the details and He expects that we follow them without deviation.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A HEART FOR GIVING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for Me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.”

"Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you."

Exodus 25:1-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message from the closing verses of Exodus, chapter 24, we saw where Moses entered a cloud that covered the top of Mount Sinai, and in doing so, entered into the presence of God where he would stay for 40 days and 40 nights.

Today, in the opening verses of chapter 25, we see where Moses begins to receive further instruction from the Lord. Look again at those verses here:

The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for Me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.”

"Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you."  Exodus 25:1-9

Now, you’ll remember that during the time the Israelites had encamped at Mount Sinai on their way to the Promised Land, the Lord had given them a multitude of commandments and directives which dictated the way they were to relate to Him and one another as His people. Here, we see Him giving guidance to Moses regarding the place where He and the Israelites would worship Him, instructions for a holy tabernacle which would serve as a portable sanctuary during the remainder of the exodus.

This tabernacle was to be built by the people of Israel and would house the blessed Ark of the Covenant once completed. It would continue being the place of worship for Israel, the place where God would “dwell among His people, all the way up to the time of Solomon, the king who God would task to build a more permanent temple in 960 BC.

As we will see in the future, more is to come on the tabernacle construction but before it could be built, materials were needed. We see in today’s passage where the Lord expected the Israelites to provide the necessary items as a part of their offering to Him, an offering that was to come from "each man whose heart prompts him to give." It’s this command and stipulation that serves as the central theme for today’s message because I believe there are three key things God is trying to tell us, just as He was trying to tell the people of Israel through Moses.

First, God wants is to give.

Our Lord expects us to be a people who give generously to Him and others and this spirit of giving is really a spirit of sacrifice. It allows us to turn away from our self centeredness, focusing instead on making a difference in the lives of God’s people, the essence of how Jesus lived. For He, Jesus, God’s only Son was the epitome of giving. He never hesitated to give His love, give His teaching and wisdom, give His healing power to those in need, and give up His very life so to give new everlasting life from death.

Indeed, Jesus didn’t just give some things. He gave up everything and God expects all Christian believers to willingly do likewise. He wants us to be givers.

Secondly, God wants us to give willingly and from the heart.

In our scripture passage for today, we see God telling Moses to "receive the offering for Me from each man whose heart prompts him to give." He could have just said this in a way where every man wouldn’t have the option to give but He didn’t. God wanted His people to give to Him because they wanted to, because in their heart they cherished Him and were willing to give to Him as He had given to them. They would give because they wanted to, not because they had to.

This made me wonder how we treat the matter of giving today.

Do we give from the heart because it’s our desire to honor and glorify the Lord through freely offering to others what He has first given to us?

Or, do we give grudgingly, because we feel we have to even when we don’t really desire to?

You see, God knew that those who were faithful to Him would never resent giving to Him because they realized that everything they had was a result of His blessing and providence. They were only giving back a portion of what God had given to them in the first place.

In further support of this, we find Paul writing these powerful words in 2 Corinthians:

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 9:6-8

Friends, God wants us to give, to give willfully and cheerfully. And if we truly believe His promise to more than provide for our needs as we give, then we can always be charitable from a willing heart and an attitude of good cheer.

Finally, God expects that we not just give but give our best.

Up to this point in the scriptures, we have seen clearly that He honors those who bring Him their best, their first fruits, and His expectations in today’s scripture passage are no different.

For look at His demands.

The metals God asks for (gold, silver and bronze) represent the finest metals available to the Israelites at that time.

Colored yarns were made that way by dyes that were extremely expensive.

The finest linen was representative of what the royal Egyptians would wear.

The goat hair was extremely valuable and would be used to weave tents.

Dyed leather from ram skins and the hides of sea cows were also of great worth.

The acacia wood was no ordinary wood because it was especially resistant to wood-eating insects that might plague the people of Israel during their journey.

Olive oil would ensure the people had light in their sanctuary while the anointing oils and incense would transform the tabernacle interior into a fragrant place of worship as the people entered into God’s presence.

Precious stones would adorn the ephod or robe of the high priest.

Truly, God expected everything offered to be of the best quality. He gave the people of Israel His best and He expected the best back in return.

So what about us today?

When we give to God, do we give Him our best or just some token offering?

It’s a question we all need to reflect on from the heart, first taking into account all that God has given to us. For it’s only when we do this, when we step back and really think about how good the Lord has been to us, that we can how richly blessed we are, especially when we consider that He willingly gave up His one and only Son, Jesus to bring us salvation and the opportunity for eternal life.

If we’re honest, we can never truly pay God back for all He has already given us but He doesn’t expect us to try to do something this impossible. Rather, He just wants us to have a heart for giving, a heart willing to offer Him and others our best to His honor and glory.

In my life, I have found the most joy when I give to others rather than keep what God has given for myself. I pray that you will discover the same.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE GLORY OF GOD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under His feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise His hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.

The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction."

Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. He said to the elders, "Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."

When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Exodus 24:9-18

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After sealing the covenant between God and the people of Israel with the sprinkling of blood from the sacrifices, Moses leaves the Israelites who were ordered by God to "not come up with him" (Exodus 24:2b) and begins to climb Mount Sinai with "Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel". As they went up the mountain, the scriptures tell us that they "saw the God of Israel" who had "something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself" under His feet. It’s believed the pavement wasn’t sapphire but lapus lazuli, a precious blue stone laced with golden pyrite. This stone was used to adorn royal chambers and thrones so it was fitting that the Sovereign King of Kings would be standing on pavement made of it.

Now, it’s important to note that later in this book, we learn that seeing God wasn’t a good thing. He says so Himself in the thirty-third chapter:

And the Lord said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But, He said, you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live." Vv.19-20

Here, we find God inviting Moses and the other leaders of Israel to enter His presence and actually see Him. We need to keep in mind that it was God who summoned these men to Him and once there, He “did not raise his hand” against them. Instead, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel were allowed to share a covenant meal in the presence of the Lord Almighty.

What an awesome experience that must have been!

Well, after the meal we read where God calls on Moses to "come up to” Him “on the mountain” where he was to stay. There, the Lord promised He would give Moses “tablets of stone, with the law and commands” He had “written for their instruction." We see where Moses complies, setting out “with Joshua his aide”, but not before he gives the following guidance to the elders who were with him:

"Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."

We sense that Moses knew he could be gone for a while and indeed this was true for in our passage, we read where he entered the cloud representing the glory of the Lord and remained there for “forty days and forty nights”, more than a month! Given this, we see where Moses appoints Aaron and Hur to serve as mediators should any disputes break out amongst the people while he was away. They were also to make sure the people of Israel stayed obedient to the promises they made with God, a task that we will see they failed miserably in carrying out.

Back to the scriptures where Moses “went up on the mountain of God" and as he ascended, a “cloud covered it” as “the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai." The cloud would remain there, covering “the mountain" for “six days”. Then, "on the seventh day”, we read where “the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud",  a summoning that led Israel’s leader to enter and stay on the mountain for the aforementioned “forty days and forty nights".

And so we know that Moses, his fellow Israelite leaders, and all the people of Israel saw the "glory of the Lord".

What did it look like?

Well, Moses may have seen a cloud but from the vantage point of the Israelites, the glory of the Lord “looked like a consuming fire".

All this led me to wonder about these questions:

How does the glory of God look to believers like us today?

Do we open our eyes with intent to catch a glimpse of His evident glory each and every day?

The truth of the matter is that the Lord is always putting His glory on display through His creation. It’s inescapable for every created thing.

Consider these words from the nineteenth Psalm:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night, they reveal knowledge.

They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them.

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Vv.1-4

Indeed, God’s glory is in play each and every day. Whether it’s a cloudless, moonlit, star-filled sky or a blazing sunset or a miraculous work of healing or a newborn baby, all are clear reminders of God’s remarkable, wondrous glory. It was the same glory that shone around the shepherds who were tending their fields by night as a Savior named Jesus was born unto them in a tiny town called Bethlehem (Luke 2:8-20), the same glory that saw this Savior rise from the tomb, resurrected after dying from crucifixion just three days earlier (Luke 24:1-8).

Friends, today we are blessed to have God’s glory all around us for all that we know, all that we have, and all that we are is because of Him. We are immersed in Him and He in us and indeed, we are a part of His glorious handiwork (Ephesians 2:10).

So how are we to respond to a Lord who is ever revealing Himself to us?

We are to give Him all the glory He deserves. In other words, any glory that might try to come to us needs to be deflected and placed on the One who is glory. Our every though, word, and deed needs to be devoted to the Lord who has devoted all of Himself to those He loves and cherishes, the One who didn’t wish for us to perish in our sins but rather be saved and given eternal life through His Son Jesus (John 3:16).

Brothers and sisters, let us glory in our great and almighty God, today and every day, making sure we don’t allow a moment to pass when we have the opportunity to testify about Him and His glory to others, like I get to do in this message today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

He (Moses) got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey."

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words."

Exodus 24:4b-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s message, we saw Moses briefing the Israelites on the guidance God had given him to share before writing down “everything the Lord had said". In today’s scripture passage, we see where he followed this up with specific acts meant to honor the Lord and seal the covenant with His people. Look again at these words from Exodus, chapter 24:

He (Moses) got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel.

Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.

Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey."

Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words." Vv. 4b-8

After resting overnight, we read that Moses “got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain”, setting up “twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel". His actions were actually a part of the standard preparations that took place when a covenant making ceremony was about to occur and in this instance, Moses and the people of Israel were about to seal their covenant with God at Mount Sinai. The twelve stone pillars erected around the altar represented the “twelve tribes of Israel".

Once the altar was constructed, the second part of the covenant ceremony began. This involved young bulls sacrificed as fellowship offerings to God and the scriptures tell us that Moses took half of the bull’s blood and sprinkled it on the altar, an act meant to serve as a sin offering to establish or restore the relationship between the Israelites and God.

After this, the ceremony then turned toward a renewing of the covenant and as we see in our passage, this started with Moses taking “the Book of the Covenant” and reading “it to the people."

What was in this Book of the Covenant?

It included the words of God from Exodus 19, the Ten Commandments of Chapter 20 (also referred to as the Decalogue), and the case laws listed in Exodus 20:22 to 23:33. After Moses read this book to the people, we find them replying just as they did at the beginning of this chapter, saying:

"We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey."

This reaffirmation of their vow to be completely obedient to what God wanted was followed by an act that perhaps was unexpected by the Israelite people. For we read where Moses took half of the sacrificed bulls’ blood and sprinkled it on the people proclaiming:

"This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words."

In other words, the blood of the sacrifice served to seal the covenant between God and His people.

Now, you may remember that this wasn’t the first time that blood played a role in the lives of the Israelites. For when we go back to the twelfth chapter of Exodus, you’ll find that the Lord commanded His people to spread the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of their homes in Egypt so that the angel of death would pass over them and spare the firstborn of Israel. In other words, the blood of the lamb brought salvation to Israel’s future generation.

With this let’s fast forward to the days of Jesus and these words from John as he introduced the Messiah as He started His earthly ministry saying:

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29

Indeed, Jesus was to be the unblemished Lamb of God who would offer Himself up as a sin sacrifice for all mankind. Paul would go onto say that Jesus was the “Passover Lamb” who had been sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7).

And as He hung from the cross - broken, battered and bruised - Jesus shed His blood as a sign of His Father’s covenant with His children. The blood of Jesus had brought salvation to all of creation’s future generations who would simply place their belief in Him, a fulfillment of these words spoken by Jesus Himself:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

As for the atoning power found in the blood of Jesus, we find Paul writing this in his letter to the Hebrews:

“...the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” 9:22

All mankind has been afflicted with sin and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) ever since Adam and Eve committed the first transgression in Eden’s garden, sin that keeps them separated from God without saving intercession. That saving intercession only comes through Jesus and it’s His shed blood that washes the sinner so to appear blameless before God, justified through the blood of the Lamb who indeed did take away the sin of the world and make the way for death to pass over His disciples.

Friends, as Christians, it’s this truth that seals our covenant with God today as we stand as believers who have been washed white as snow by the blood of Jesus (Ephesians 1:3, 7-8) and we get the opportunity to remember what Jesus did every time we observe the sacrament of Communion in worship. It’s during that remembrance that we hear these words from our Savior echoing in our hearts and minds:

“This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:28

Here, we find the emphasis is still on the blood of the covenant as it was shed to bring forgiveness of sins but this blood no longer came from any animal sacrifice but instead from Jesus Himself bringing the end of separation from God and the gift of eternal life to all who would just believe in Him.

Today and every day, let us not forget to give thanks to God for the covenant He had made with us through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Passover Lamb and Savior of the world.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

PUT IT IN WRITING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then He said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him."

When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the Lord has said we will do."

Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.

Exodus 24:1-4a

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As we enter Exodus, chapter 24, we find God ready to seal His covenant with the people of Israel. At Mount Sinai, He had provided the people with a lot of guidance and direction through Moses which included the Ten Commandments and other directives. In response, the people of Israel were expected to follow His instructions and statutes with complete obedience.

In these opening four verses, we find the Lord telling Moses to "come up to" Him but not by himself. Rather, he was to bring his older brother Aaron as well as Aaron’s two sons, Nadab and Abihu, along with seventy elders of Israel. Nadab and Abihu were the next two high priests in line after their father and the elders were summoned to represent the twelve tribes as God ratified His deal with them.

Interestingly enough, this is what elders do in the church today. They represent their respective congregations in spiritual leadership. The elders being there was to be representative of God’s covenant being made with all the tribes’ people.

Now, we need to notice that Aaron, his sons, and the elders were only allowed to go so far with Moses and then were to "worship at a distance" for only Moses was allowed to have the special honor and privilege to approach the Lord. As for the people of Israel, they were required to stay behind all together.

So with God’s guidance in hand, we find Moses first addressing the Israelites, telling them "all the Lord's words and laws" and as we have read since chapter 20 of this book, there were a lot of them so this must have taken awhile. Then, after Moses finishes, we read a remarkable response by the people who say the following "with one voice":

“Everything the Lord has said we will do."

It was a bold declaration, one given without a single question asked or any inquiry for clarification of any one requirement. It’s as if they perfectly understood everything the very first time they heard it but I’m left to wonder if the people of Israel truly understood everything that was expected of them for the Lord was asking them to do a lot and had given them a ton of commandments and laws that they were to adhere to.

This leads me to wonder as well if believers today really understand fully all that the Lord expects from them. I’m in this place because I suspect there is a large percentage of Christians who only have a very surface knowledge of the Bible and that’s not going to cut it in regard to knowing everything that God expects from them as they live life daily.

For inside the wonderful sixty-six books of the Bible, we find God’s instruction manual for living, now and in the eternal life yet to come, and we only have the blessing of these scriptures because people in biblical times wrote down what God expected. Ultimately, He is the Author of the Bible but He worked through faithful writers who ensured His words would be read and studied for as long as there was life on the earth He created.

With this, we should note the very last words in our passage today because it’s there that we read how Moses “wrote down everything the Lord had said”.

You know, the Lord still speaks to His believers through His Word today and He wants us to remember what He says. And while His Word will never change as it’s found from Genesis through Revelation, He still builds on the scriptures to bring us understanding and life application tips. When He does this, either through our Bible study or prayer, we need to follow the lead of Moses and write down everything the Lord says to us. A journal book or notebook should always be handy when we engage with God in any way, every day.

I can tell you from personal testimony that God is ready to speak to your heart, mind and soul daily if you would just turn your life’s focus toward His Word, will, and way for you. Day after day, I sit here with my laptop with a blank Microsoft Word document and a scripture passage, ready to compose a message that I pray holds meaning to the reader and the Lord always delivers in answering that prayer. For by way of the Holy Spirit, He provides me the words to share and when it’s all said and done with, I end up with an end product of great spiritual substance that blesses anyone who reads it.

None of this would be possible if I wasn’t willing to write down everything the Lord was speaking into my heart and mind through His Spirit and I’m so grateful that He uses me as a vessel to share spiritual truths that help His believers gain a greater understanding of Him and His expectations for Christian living.

My hope today is that you will start to put into writing everything the Lord shares with you. For when He speaks, it’s always important and we need to know that He often wants us to share His words with others, just as Moses did with the Israelite people.

So in response to this message, won’t you devote yourself to daily communion with the Lord and His Word, carefully listening for His voice and writing down what He speaks into your heart and mind. If you do this, I think you’ll find a deep richness injected into your spiritual life as you receive the Word of God that is illuminated by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I assure you, it will be the best time that you spend every single day.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

IF OBEDIENCE, THEN BLESSING

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.”

“If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.”

“Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.”

"I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”

"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against Me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." Exodus 23:20-33

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

The people of Israel had made it as far as Mount Sinai in their exodus toward the Promised Land. There, they had received guidance from God as to how He expected them to live through the issuance of many commandments. Now, as we see in today’s passage, God was finally ready to send them off to inherit the land He had "prepared" for them but before they left, He had some additional words of instruction that fits the classic "if, then" statement. Let’s take a look again at what God said here:

"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.”

“If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.”

“Worship the Lord your God, and His blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.”

"I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”

"I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you. Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. Do not let them live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against Me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." Exodus 23:20-33

Here, we see God assuring the Israelites that He would "hand over to” them “the people who live in the land" and in turn, they were to "drive them out." Within these fourteen verses, we find God saying a lot and making many promises but as stated prior, it was all part of the "then" part of the "if, then" statement.

So what was the “if” part?

It’s found in these very specific requirements that God expected the people of Israel to fulfill.

First, they were to obey the angel He sent.

God told the Israelites to “pay attention” and “listen to” what He was saying.

Why?

Because the angel was a spokesperson and representative for God Himself and therefore any disobedience toward the angel was akin to disobedience to the Lord who sent him.

Here’s the “if” statement:

"If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, (then) I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you."

In other words, God is essentially saying, "If you do this, then I will do this."

Or conversely, "If you don’t do this, then I won’t do this."

Second, they weren’t to rebel against Him .

God warned His people to “not rebel against him (the angel) because if they did, then the Lord wouldn’t “forgive” their “rebellion” because His “Name is in him” (speaking about the angel).

Once again, God is making it clear that the angel was representing Him and so any rebellion against the angel was also rebelling against the Lord, an act that was obviously unacceptable and, by God’s own words, unforgivable.

Finally, they were to keep His commandments.

God had clearly told the people of Israel that they were to have no other gods before Him and to worship no idols or graven images. You’ll remember He added that He was a jealous God.

Well, in the passage here in Exodus, chapter 23, we find Him reinforcing that command, demanding that His people “not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices”. Instead, they were to “demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces”. Further, God told them to “not make a covenant with them (the pagan nations and their people) or with their gods”. The Israelites were to not even allow these godless people to “live in” their land because they would “cause” the Israelites to sin against Him “because the worship of their gods” would end up being a “snare to” them. If they were obedient to what God commanded, then He would in turn defend them against all these enemies.

We should note that God knew well in advance that this matter of worshipping false gods would be the perpetual stumbling block for Israel, especially since they were about to integrate with so many polytheistic societies such as "the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites." Unfortunately, we know the people of Israel failed in this area more than any other. They just couldn’t seem to resist the temptations presented by the cultures they were about to encounter.

So in sum, if the people of Israel listened to the angel of God, obeyed him as they would the Lord, and resisted worshipping false gods, then God would make sure they were protected and cared for as they inhabited the land He had promised to their forefather Abraham, the land of Canaan.

This "if, then" arrangement was also commonly referred to as a covenant agreement between God and His people, and soon the Israelites were about to break it and break it badly. In turn, God, as He promised, would then remove His protection over Israel and they would be taken from their blessed land. Indeed, the Assyrians and Babylonian empires would loom large in their future.

Now let’s fast forward to today.

I wonder how God feels about us?

For how often do we fall into the temptations of this world, failing to be obedient to the Lord’s Word, will, and way?

How often does He find us worshipping other "gods" outside of Him?

How often do we fail to listen to Him, feeling we can conveniently violate His commands?

How often do we willingly choose to rebel against Him?

And what’s in store for us for failing in any or all of these areas? Do we underestimate the power of the Maker of all Creation, the One who is the Master over all of us?

Do we see our very lives as anything less than an awesome privilege granted by the Lord God Almighty?

Friends, if we’re honest, we are really no better than the Old Testament Israelites, receiving the Word of God regarding the life He expects us to live and then willfully sinning against Him, snubbing our noses to Him in disrespect and irreverence. We all need to simply bow down and repent, to clear the air and confess our sins, and then give our all for the Lord who has given us everything.

For if we do, if we commit and devote ourselves to live in full obedience to Him, then we can expect that He will bless our lives and do so abundantly all the way to the eternal life He promises all; those who choose to believe in His Son Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.