Tag: Following Jesus

Morning Musing: Exodus 28:1-5

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“Have your brother Aaron, with his sons, come to you from the ISraelites to serve me as priests – Aaron, his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for glory and beauty. You are to instruct all the skilled artisans, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make Aaron’s garments for consecrating him to serve me as priest. These are the garments that they must make: a breast piece, an ephod, a robe, a specially woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve me as priests. They should use gold; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; and fine linen.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Mark Twain is famous for all sorts of literary things. His books, of course, are the most widely known, but he’s also famous for all kinds of witticisms. He was like the Benjamin Franklin of his era. One of his aphorisms was the observation that clothes make a man. I never liked that idea very much growing up because I wasn’t ever a big fan of having to dress up for anything (much to my parents’ regular frustration…something my own kids are paying me back for now.) And yet, as I’ve grown and gained a little bit more wisdom, I understand better just how right he was. This next part of the tabernacle instructions doesn’t tell us anything about what it looks like. It’s all about what the people leading worship in it were supposed to wear. Let’s take a look at the introduction to this next section as we prepare to examine all the priestly garments in the coming days.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 25:8-9

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“They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them. You must make it according to all that I show you – the pattern of the Tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is God’s plan for His world? That’s an awfully big question for which there are more answers than we could hope to address in a single blog post. But when we begin to take stock of some big patterns we find in the Scriptures, we find ourselves able to say some things with a little more clarity and confidence than others. What we see here as God prepares to start giving Israel instructions for constructing a place for them to worship gives us a clue as to what at least one of God’s big goals is. Let’s explore what’s going on here together.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 11:14-16

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“Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place — a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (CSB – Read the chapter)‬‬

I’ve spent the last week away from home. Today we’re traveling back. I’m looking forward to that. It’ll be good getting back to my own bed and my own stuff and the people with whom I spend the most time other than my immediate family. Yet in being away from home, I’ve gotten to spend a week in the place and with the people who were my home for what was still most of my life (although I’m close to crossing the line where that won’t be the case any longer). It’s all got me thinking about what home means and where exactly home is. Let’s talk about it for a bit.

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Morning Musing: Hebrews 12:1-2

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“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

So far this week we have talked about freedom, bees, and the good old days. This has given us the chance to reflect on honoring those who have sacrificed to give us what we enjoy, evidence for God’s existence, and gratitude. Today, let’s see if we can put all of those together into a single idea. This all comes compliments of a visit to what I think is the only World War I Memorial and Museum in the world. It’s at the very least the largest and the best. Let’s reflect for just a few minutes today on the gift of those who came before us.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 23:29-31

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“I will not drive them out ahead of you in a single year; otherwise, the land would become desolate, and wild animal would multiply against you. I will drive them out little by little ahead of you until you have become numerous and take possession of the land. I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

My oldest is learning how to drive. As his most regular passenger, I can say with authority that he is doing great. He’s a very comfortable driver. There are a few situations, though, where he has not yet driven. He’ll get there just fine, but before he does, we’ll get him some experience under our watchful eyes. One of these experiences is driving downtown. Downtown driving, especially when you are used to small town driving, is different from driving around where we live. It’s more crowded, more stressful, has less room for error, and so on. If I were to throw him right into that kind of a situation before he’s ready for it, things would likely not go well. First, we’ll get him very comfortable driving in general, and then we’ll start exposing him to more. This is all kind of like what God told the Israelites He was going to do with them when it came to their entrance into the Promised Land. Let’s explore what’s going on here.

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