Dear
Fellow Children of God,
On Tuesday evening, February 27, as my wife, Kathy, and I were
talking at the end of the day about some important characters we have been reading
about in our daily devotions from the Today’s Light Bible. From Exodus 31-38 the names of Bezalel and
Oholiab are mentioned as craftsmen who would spearhead the building of the
tabernacle, the traveling center of worship for the children of Israel in the
wilderness. Kathy joked, “Maybe we
should have used those names for our children.”
In all honesty, when our children were born, I was willing to be a little
more ‘adventurous’ in how we named them.
But Kathy had “the back porch test.”
She wanted to be able to call their names from our back porch and feel
good about what she said. We did not
name anyone ‘Bezalel’ or ‘Oholiab!’
However,
what strikes me about the description of these men is how God blesses them, how
He equips them, and how He fills them with the Spirit for these tasks of
craftsmanship. 30 Then Moses said to the people of Israel, "See, the
LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of
Judah; 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill,
with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, 32 to
devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33
in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled
craft. 34 And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the
son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. (Exodus 35:30-34)
When
I think of the abilities and talents which the Holy Spirit gives, my mind first
goes to New Testament verses about fruits of the Spirit (Galatian 5) or the
gifts of the Spirit (Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12). Galatians 5 tells us, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there
is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
These fruits and gifts are descriptions of the person’s spiritual character
and personality. The deal with interpersonal
relationships between God’s people.
But in Exodus, God gives skills of craftsmanship by His Spirit.
Bezalel and Oholiab could work with wood and precious metals and fabrics. They could create art in these media, and
this art would help the Israelites in their worship. (If you want more
information about these men, you could read Exodus 31:2 and 6, 35:30 and 34,
36:1-2, 37:1, and 38:22-23) I personally
believe the Lord also fills some with His Spirit for composing and playing
music for worship as well. The fact that
God blesses people as craftsmen and artists tells me that our faith affects our
whole life. Our faith not only impacts
our worship on Sundays. The blessings of
God shine through in our daily lives, at home and at work.
On of my favorite Bible verses is 2 Corinthians 5:15. I assign this verse for memory to all of my
confirmation students. 15 “and he died for all, that those who live might no
longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:15) Please notice that this verse
instructs us for living – We are to live FOR HIM, FOR GOD. This verse also teaches us how our Lord calls
us, or why we would want to live FOR HIM – because Christ died and rose for our
sake!
When I hear God’s call, not just to worship on Sundays, but
to live for Him at all times, I am blessed by knowing about men like Bezalel
and Oholiab. The Lord filled them with
the Spirit to do the daily tasks of their work.
What jobs face you all week long, at work and at home? Do you see how you can approach these tasks
as opportunities to praise and worship our Lord and even share His love? What a wonderful lesson to learn that God gave
His Spirit to Bezalel and Oholiab, and that He blesses us so that we may LIVE
FOR HIM!
By the way, have any of you named one of your children
Bezalel or Oholiab???
A
Child of God, Filled With The Spirit to
Serve My Lord – ALL WEEK LONG!
Pastor
Jonathan
P.S.
NEWS CONCERNING FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH - Gainesville.
CONREGATIONAL
MEETING THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 3, AFTER WORSHIP -
On
Tuesday, February 20, the call Committee interviewed a potential “deferred
vicar,” Timothy Handrick, a man who would serve as vicar for one year and then
be eligible for remaining at First Lutheran. Candidate Handrick has been
a DCE for 17 years, and is now finishing seminary. The call committee is
recommending First Lutheran consider requesting this vicarage candidate. PLEASE
PLAN TO ATTEND THE MEETING THIS SUNDAY.
FEBRUARY
FOOD DRIVE – Thanks
to all who donated for the food drive at First Lutheran this past month. Ken Dudeck and Laura Hoyer took our food donations
to Gainesville Community Ministries on Monday, February 26. Two big blue bins were filled with the
donations from First Lutheran . Here is
a picture. https://photos.app.goo.gl/VDzdNj4j3iTa1br86
BLOOD
DRIVE –First
Lutheran held a blood drive, last Sunday, February 25. 16 people gave blood on Sunday, and two
others donated later in the week! THANK
YOU to all who helped others in this effort.
The blood bank told us this blood could save over 40 lives! But . . . we know who gave HIS blood for
us. 😊
MID-WEEK
LENTEN WORSHIP CONTINUES each Wednesday with worship services at 6:30 p.m. These
services are held at 6:30 each Wednesday in Lent, until March 20. A Lenten meal
is held each Wednesday evening at 5:00 p.m. The Theme of our Lenten
worship is “The Blessings of Suffering.”
BASIC
TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE / NEW MEMBER CLASSS –A new membership class began February
11th, after worship in the Besalski Fellowship
Hall. But, we have only just begun. There is still time to join the
class. This is also a good way to refresh you knowledge of God’s
Word. PLEASE NOTE, JUST BECAUSE A PERSON ATTENDS THE
CLASS DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE COMMITTED TO JOINING FIRST LUTHERAN.
If you are interested in learning and growing, we would love to have you join
us. (Because of the Congregational Meeting and Pastor Rockey’s travel, the
next class will be March 17!)
A
STUDY OF THE BOOK OF ACTS continues on Sunday mornings at 8:45 a.m. in the
Besalski Fellowship Hall. We will finish Acts 10 this week, and then
start studying Acts 11. In Acts 11 we
learn of the church in Antioch, where disciples of Jesus were first called
Christians.
WE
CONTINUE TO READ THROUGH THE SCRIPTURE IN 2024 and 2025 using the Today’s
Light Devotional Bible. –We held a zoom meeting on Wednesday,
February 7, to discuss what we have been reading. A total of 4 people,
plus the pastor, participated. We talked for about an hour, reviewing
readings through Genesis and into Exodus. We may hold another such Zoom
meeting. As of February 27 we had read through Exodus 36.
SUNDAY
SCHOOL IS HELD EACH SUNDAY DURING WORSHIP. PLEASE bring your children
and grandchildren!
P.P.S.
PICTURES – AND OTHER ITEMS OF INTEREST
I
went FISHING
twice this past week.
· On Saturday,
February 24, I fished on the Suwannee River.
I had a few bites, caught no fish, but saw a 3 gators. Here is a picture of the biggest gator! https://photos.app.goo.gl/NHAUgh19jCugEYiJA
· On Sunday,
February 25, after worship, I went fishing till dark. I caught 2 fish. Here are some pictures. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ms1RyYbwr2dpQnkR7
*******
ABOUT
THIS DEVOTION - I retired at the end of August 2019 from serving as full-time
senior pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, AK. I was writing a
weekly devotion previously entitled, "Thoughts from the
Pastor." When I retired many asked me to continue writing these
devotions. So I have continued writing. However, with life's
changes I now call this weekly devotion "Journeys Through Life as a Child
of God." Since I am no longer senior pastor at St. John, I felt it
right to only send this message to those who asked to receive it.
(Currently I am serving as Vacancy Pastor for First Lutheran Church in
Gainesville, FL.)
So, if you stopped receiving these devotions and wondered why, now you
understand. And, if you are now receiving these devotions and do not wish
to receive them, please let me know, and I’ll gladly remove your name from my
distribution list. My e-mail address is jonrock53@mtaonline.net.
My prayer is that these devotions help each of you in your daily walk with our
Lord, Jesus.
*******
Jonathan
Rockey
Child
of God
Husband,
Father, Son, Grandfather
Vacancy
Pastor, First Lutheran Church, Gainesville, FL
Pastor
Emeritus, St. John Lutheran Church, Palmer, AK
How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 a)
