Thursday 8 December 2022
Finding one’s way past all obstacles, or walking through in all with God at one’s side?
Exodus 35:29
All the Israelite men and women whose hearts made them willing to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a freewill-offering to the Lord.
1 Peter 2:5
… like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Words of Grace For Today
It is one thing to offer up what one has, and then again another thing to offer up everything one has.
But is it a whole other kind of life to offer up oneself along with everything one has and is and can be.
That’s the offering we get to make in response to Jesus work for us.
So we are spiritual sacrifices, living sacrifices, all so that others may know that God is gracious with us and with them.
Not that it is exciting, necessarily, to be stones, even if living stones. For what the world measures as success is not something that stones can achieve. So we sacrifice everything the world would measure as success and trust alone in what God provides.
At-38⁰ one hopes that what God provides is sense enough to prepare well for the deep cold of winter, the hot heat of summer, the bugs, the coyotes, the squirrels and the thieves’ and liars’ intervention in an already difficult life, a life of solitude, off-the-grid peace, and wonder.
There’s wood. And a stove. And water. And food. And not quite enough insulation, but it’ll have to do. Things are freezing. The sun shines brightly.
And there is power to write, and warmth to rest by, and read of wonders wrought by God’s hands, here and in places distant, now and in times far removed.
So it is when God walks with us, never alone even in this wonder-filled hermitage.
And for the rest of y’all? What has God got to offer other than life abundant, free from things and dishonesty and strivings and ‘bettering the Jones’ and false pretenses.
If one but wishes a life, a difficult life, fully blessed, a life offered completely to God’s work of bringing grace and truth to all people.
So what’s on the agenda for today for you?