Skills

"The Lord has given them special skills as jewelers, designers, weavers, and embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn on fine linen cloth. They excel in all crafts needed for the work. Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other craftsmen whom the Lord has gifted with wisdom, skill, and intelligence will construct and furnish the tabernacle, just as the Lord has commanded." Exodus 35:35 - 36:1

The DIY gene made a detour when I was being put together. For example, the other day my dad spent over an hour trying to explain a single switch circuit to me. The jury is still out whether I truly understand it or not. We'll see. Now, I am willing to give most projects a go, but I typically need to call in some reinforcements if it moves beyond changing a light bulb. 

The men and women in this story today had serious skills. They could design and build anything plus they had the ability to teach others how to do it too. The first thing that jumps out is the acknowledgement that it is God who gave them their skills. The second thing is that their skills weren't exclusively used for their day jobs. They were integral to the work of establishing a place of worship for the people of Israel. 

All of us have been given skills, talents and abilities. They come from God. Thank him today for those gifts. For many of us, the realization that our skills can be used to build God's kingdom is one we haven't come to yet. For others, we've just simply haven't had the opportunity. Calling all talented and skilled people! (That's all of you by the way.) How can use what you've been given to serve God?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wisdom

"God surely knows where it (wisdom) can be found, for he looks throughout the whole earth, under all the heavens. He made the winds blow and determined how much rain should fall. He made the laws of the rain and prepared a path for the lightning. Then, when he had done all this, he saw wisdom and measured it. He established it and examined it thoroughly. And this is what he says to all humanity: 'The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding'"  Job 27:23-28 I had an "incident" with the one cup at a time coffee maker the other day. Apparently, the lid that screws on to the mini coffee filter holder is an important part of the process. Who knew? I thought I could make a stronger cup of coffee without it. All I ended up doing was making a real mess that I cleaned up with giggling coworkers nearby. I believe, however, I am now armed with a little more knowledge and wisdom.  Job was a righteous dude. He was wise and well-res...
Read more

Faith in Christ

" How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort." Galatians 3   As my daughter's team laced up their soccer cleats for the championship game, it wasn't looking good. More than couple of the players, including my daughter, were trying to battle through their injuries. They played an aggressive attacking style that allowed them to make it this far. When the game went to halftime, they were shockingly leading by a goal. Inexplicably, the coach made a decision to stop their attack and fall back into a defensive formation. The result was completely predictable - a heart breaking loss.   The Galatian believers that Paul was writing this letter to were at a crossroads. Paul had shared the wonderful news that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, was buried and was raised to life on the third day. All who believe in him will be made right with God. They received it with great joy....
Read more

Made Right

"But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight--not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done." Romans 3:21-22 "What do I need to do to make this right?" I cannot begin to tell you how many times that I've wished for a customer service representative to ask me this question. Accounting errors, incorrect fees, unannounced pricing changes, wrong orders and the like have resulted in much frustration over the years. How refreshing it would be in those moments to work with someone who wanted me to feel like the wrong was addressed in a satisfactory way. An equally frustrating experience occurs when I am in the wrong and am unable for whatever reason to make things right with someone. Regardless of what side of the coin we may be on, in...
Read more