Fall Creek Christian Church

"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 acknowledge...

"Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, an expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!"  Exodus 30:1-5     My first significant project with a circular saw didn't go so well. Myself and another high schooler were tasked to build large sections of storage shelves. We had the plywood, the 2x4's, the hammers, the nails and of course, the saw. As the sawdust began to fly, the shelves began to come together. As we made our way through a particular piece of plywood, the saw hung up and I asked him to adjust the plywood while I continued to saw. Unfortunately, his adjustment resulted in the near amputation of his thumb. The subsequent trip to the...

"As God's partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God's kindness and then ignore it. For God says, 'At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.' Indeed, the 'right time' is now. Today is the day of salvation." II Cor. 6:1-2 I have received some pretty amazing gifts in my life. At the time of their arrival, my heart absolutely overflowed with joy and gratitude. These gifts represented the meeting of desperate needs or deep longings. They've come in all shapes and sizes with values so huge that no price tag could contain them. Sadly, however, not even the magnitude of these incredible gifts has kept my heart attentive to them over the long haul. Given Paul's plea in our verses today, it is clear that this problem is not unique to me nor our moment in history. Paul calls out this church for receiving the most marvelous of gifts, God's kindness, and then ignoring it. What?! God heard them. H...

"'When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn't that wrong? And isn't it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!' says the Lord Almighty. 'Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you.  But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?' asks the Lord Almighty."  Malachi 1:8-9 I'm too tired, too busy, too wounded, too afraid, too ashamed, too inexperienced, too distracted, too broke, too angry, too ...  At one point or another in my life, I've selected from this list of "toos" to explain why I wouldn't extend my best to God. Looking at them now, I see them for what they are - a thinly veiled attempt to make life and living about me. Malachi had the thankless job of breaking the bad news to the people.  He was brutally honest.  Their diseased sacrifices revealed their diseased hearts.  Ouch!  They had lost sight ...