- Details
- Written by: Don Goulding
He [Bezalel the artisan] made the large basin of bronze and its pedestal of bronze from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. (Exodus 38:8)
A mound of gold earrings and jewelry stood at the temple site, and the Israelites had to be restrained from giving more. It was a high point in their devotion. They were caught in a wave of revival, and on the crest were the godly women who served as temple concierges. They melted their bronze mirrors to make the basin used for washing in front of the altar. Their hearts were redirected from a self-centred focus to cleansing before God.
Those who spend a lot of time in front of the mirror often miss the point of life. So, I asked the Lord to show me what mirrors I hold in my heart, where I am more focused on myself than on Him. A few things surfaced.
I worry about how to make the next part of my life pleasant. The days I have remaining should be about honoring Jesus, not about staring into comfort. So that’s a mirror.
Then there are the cravings of my old nature—overindulgence, distraction, laziness. Surely those are mirrors of self-interest.
Finally, there is my work. To the extent that I make my vocation about what I do instead of what God does through me, it’s another mirror.
To melt these reflectors of vanity, I have to do what the temple concierges did. As I redirect my attention to adoration of the Holy One, the spiritual heat melts my concerns about myself. Only daily worship can recast my narcissistic devotion into the washbasin of Christ.
Prayer: Beautiful God, melt these mirrors into cleansing worship of you.
- Details
- Written by: Don Goulding
On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your gracious will.” (Luke 10:21)
Our adult daughter, Ashley, had a growth in her ear canal that caused minor discomfort for two years before she had it examined. The doctor feared it was a tumor and referred her to a specialist. Ashley decided to go to her specialist first, to Jesus. After an anointing prayer by her church, she went to the recommended doctor. He found nothing, and the pain was gone. It seemed a miracle of God in response to prayer.
When I relayed the event to an American Christian, he typified our worldview by saying, “She probably had a plant seed that fell out between examinations.”
Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples with authority to heal, cast out demons, and preach. They returned, jumping with excitement over God’s power. Jesus said the miracles they experienced were hidden from the wise and learned. Only those with childlike faith can see what God does.
The problem is not the rarity of God’s interventions but the jadedness of man’s faith. With my worldly education, I wait for physical manifestations of spiritual realities. It’s like waiting for a bird to fly past before I accept that air must be around me. I have much to unlearn.
If I want to rejoice as Jesus did, I must return to innocent trust. Cold cynicism will never get me there. I need to make my request, then reach for the touch of God’s Spirit like a three-year-old.
Prayer: Father, give me childlike eyes for the unseen.
- Details
- Written by: Don Goulding
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)
The few Christians surviving in Pakistan are unpretentious souls. Beige and brown clothes, mud colored houses, food cooked over a dried cow dung fire—it’s one of the simplest and most beautiful lives I’ve encountered. And these humble children of God gave me a sublime lesson about a complex doctrine.
A brother sat in a chair in front of everyone, posing as one of the many donkey cart drivers of the village. Another brother played the part of the donkey, but he pushed the cart with his head. Rolling laughter told us the Pakistanis saw the problem and understood the analogy to a Biblical truth.
The Apostle Paul speaks definitively on faith when he says, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Likewise, James is accurate in claiming faith without works is dead. Paul is speaking of the donkey, and James talks about the cart. Both parts working together carry me to salvation and must come in the correct order. Good deeds cannot push faith. Faith must pull good deeds.
God paid the full price on the cross for grace out of his own resources, and now he only requires that we not treat his colossal gift cheaply. Only a donkey of faith pulling a cart of works demonstrates our grasp of how much God spent. Good works by themselves accomplish nothing because our charitable deeds will never remove the sin that holds us apart from God. Likewise, an unburdened donkey of belief, frolicking about, is so insincere as to be pointless. I need a donkey pulling a cart—faith in the blood of Jesus that is reflected in my works.
Prayer: God, my Savior, may my life demonstrate my faith in your provision.