The Golden Thread

Exodus 39:2-3
Bezalel made the ephod of finely woven linen and embroidered it with gold and blue, purple, and scarlet thread. He made gold thread by hammering out thin sheets of gold and cutting it into fine strands. With great skill and care, he worked it into the fine linen with the blue, purple, and scarlet thread.

Lord, with great skill and care, you work that same golden thread into my life. Even yesterday, my best friend and I discovered that you had spoken the same thing to both of us. We had not discussed this before hand, yet you put it in both our minds. That is a sort of golden thread, but I believe there is another.

Gold stands for the glory and deity of Jesus. You are infusing my life with an understanding of your deity and glory. I get constant glimpses of your majesty which sustain me until I get to see you face to face and place my crown at your feet.

Lord, please continue to give me peeks at your majesty, glory and deity everyday. These give me reassurance that you are in control and everything will work out for my very best good, even if the process is painful. In Jesus' name, amen.

MEMORY VERSE

Christ Paid the Penalty

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

Christ Paid the Penalty

Do What it Says

Exodus 38:8
Then Bezalel made the bronze washbasin and it's bronze stand from bronze mirrors donated by the women who served at the entrance of the tabernacle.

The priests were commanded to wash in this washbasin. This is akin to the way spending time in the word can wash us clean of the filth we've acquired by living in the world.

This washbasin was made from mirrors which was no coincidence. This reminds us that it is not enough to just read the Bible, we must do what it says.

James 1:22:25
But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Lord, please help me to remember the things you teach me from your word so that I can obey. Holy Spirit, please remind me of the things I am learning and give me strength to oppose my sinful nature and obey. In Jesus' name, amen.

MEMORY VERSE

Salvation Not By Works

Titus 3:5

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

Salvation Not By Works

Our Prayers Reach God

Exodus 37:25a
Then Bezalel made the incense altar of acacia wood.

Hebrews 9:2-4a
There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides.

Hebrews 9:7-8
But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

For some reason, I didn't realize until today that the incense altar was in the Most Holy Place. I guess it makes sense. The incense represents prayer. Prayer is the way we enter God's presence. Under the old system, only the high priest could enter God's presence only once a year and only after blood was shed.

Under the new system Jesus is now our High Priest who offered his own blood. With his own blood - not the blood of goats and calves - he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Hebrews 9:12. Now we are free to enter God's presence with our prayers anytime day or night. And as God revealed to my best friend a few days ago, our prayers cover more ground than we realize!

I praise you, Lord God! I'm so glad that you hear my prayers!! They are all collected and kept in your presence. I love you so very much!! In Jesus' name, amen.

Hebrews 4:16

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 10:19-22

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

MEMORY VERSE

Salvation Not By Works

Titus 3:5

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

Salvation Not By Works

The Way is Open!

Exodus 36:35
For the inside of the Tabernacle, Bezalel made a special curtain of finely woven linen. He decorated it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim.

This was the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The blue, purple and scarlet represent different aspects of Christ's character. Blue - the Heavenly One, Purple - the Royal One, Scarlet - the Suffering Servant.

It also had cherubim skillfully embroidered onto it. These were not fat babies with wings. They were mighty warrior angels. Cherubim are tasked with guarding God's holiness. Not that God cannot stay holy without them, but to keep anything that is unholy out of God's presence. 

This curtain symbolized our separation from God because of our sin. The moment Jesus Christ died, the curtain hanging in Herod's Temple was torn from the top down showing that the way is now open through Christ's death. We can now enter God's presence because Jesus' blood makes us holy. The cherubim no longer block our way! Praise God!!

Hebrews 4:16

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Hebrews 10:19-22

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God's house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

MEMORY VERSE

Salvation Not By Works

Titus 3:5

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

Salvation Not By Works

They Gave Freely

Exodus 35:29
So the people of Israel - every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the LORD had given them through Moses - brought their gifts and gave them freely to the LORD.

Lord, help me to be this free with my stuff. I don't want to hold tightly to anything I have. I don't want things to have me instead. There is nothing I have that you haven't given me anyway. You give me the very breath in my lungs.

Lord, you have blessed me so abundantly and extravagantly. No, my family is not wealthy in the way most people think of wealth. But we have all that we truly need and more. Sure there are things I would LIKE to have, but I live comfortably and so I am content.

Lord, I would love to go to that Leader's Retreat. Right now we don't have the money. Would you please provide so that I can go? Help me to be content with whatever you decide. Whether I get to go or not. I love you and praise you, Lord Jesus. It's in your name I pray.

MEMORY VERSE

Salvation Not By Works

Titus 3:5

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

Salvation Not By Works

Who Is God?

Exodus 34:6-7
The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,
"Yahweh! The LORD!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellions and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.
I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren;
the entire family is affected -
even children in the third and fourth generations."

In Exodus 33:13 Moses asked You, Lord, to let him know your ways. You gave him a description of who you are and your character. You are the God of compassion and mercy. You are slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. You do forgive iniquity, rebellion and sin. Yet you do not excuse the guilty. They still must suffer the consequences of their sin. It doesn't just affect them, but also their entire family for generations.

Thank you, Lord, for this snapshot of who you are. I'm so thankful that you are not only a loving God, but you are also a Holy God. You demand holiness from your kids not because you are a tyrant, but because you know it's best for us and will bring us eternal life. Jesus, it's only by your blood that we are made holy. It's only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we are able to live a life that pleases God. I praise your holy name! In Jesus' name, amen.

MEMORY VERSE

Salvation Not By Works

Titus 3:5

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

Salvation Not By Works

The Golden Calf

Exodus 32:3-4
All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, "O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!"

Lord, I wonder if the gold came from their ears because they were listening to the wrong voices. Rather than listening to the voice of truth, they were paying attention to voices that were saying things like, "Where is this fellow Moses?" and "We need gods that we can see!" If we allow our selves to listen to those other voices too often, then they can become the object of our worship.

Romans 6:16

Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval.

Lord, please help me to be aware of what voice I am listening to. I only want to obey you! I don't want to fashion any false gods for myself. You are the only one worthy of all my worship and adoration! In Jesus' name, amen.

MEMORY VERSE

Salvation Not By Works

Titus 3:5

He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Titus 3:5

Salvation Not By Works