Friends,
A very unorthodox devotion from Exodus 25-28...
If you know me then you know I am a pretty focused kind of guy...I love my God, I love my family, and I love my ministry in the Church of Jesus Christ. I am in my 2nd week of being the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in New Castle, Indiana and it rocks...the people of God are amazing and the call of God is tremendous. The days fly by full of study, work, leadership, counseling, pastoral care, management, friendship, celebration and laughter as well as grief and tears. I only wish I had more time to give in a day because it's just so much fun and a joy to be working for Jesus every day (it's also a joy to get that sweet Sabbath day off too!!!).
Nothing I do can fill me up or sustain me! No ministry task, no ministry position (whether in lay ministry, staff pastor, Associate Pastor, or Senior Pastor!), no great teaching experience or counseling breakthrough can replace my personal relationship with Jesus Christ! My ministry is not my personal relationship with Jesus Christ! My ministry is not my identity or my source of strength!
So, going back to my personality...I am driven and I love to work! Not quite a work aholic (denial!) because my wife won't allow it, nor will my 3 year old son! But, I love to work and I love to be with people and I truly enjoy the demands and challenges of ministry. But, the greatest challenge of all is continually abiding in Christ...yes, you heard it here first, it takes more daily discipline in my life to abide in Christ and focus on my personal relationship with Him then to be a good worker for Him. It's easier for me to put in a 12 hour work day for God, then to spend quality and quantity time as His beloved on a continuous basis!
Crazy and crazy making!
That's where my daily disciplines come in...I am in the middle of Exodus in my 2010 walk through the Bible journey in the NAU. It's been marvelous to spend QT in the Word simply to abide and enjoy God's fresh bread--His revelation for my life! I am listening to God and praying each day and honestly He's keeping me up almost every night! That's where I'm finding the time to write this... I'm hearing Him speak to me about the Lent Season of Preparation coming up and I am putting some disciplines in place. I want more of God because He is my source, my rock, my comforter, my all in all... It's not enough to work for Him or put in 60 hours a week for Him. In the midst of all this great stuff though I think about my January 1 post and how I truly feel that God wants me to post my devotion time on the blog. He wants me to journal! He's been telling me this for years...Lord, help me to prioritize and go all the way because you don't want half-hearted obedience, you want me to obey fully! But, how do you write a devotion out of Exodus 25-28? It's about curtains of Goat's hair, boards and sockets, lots of gold and precious jewels and crazy outfits for priests, and other detailed directions for making the Tabernacle...pretty boring and esoteric stuff, but I know it's important because it's in the Word so teach me O LORD... You are a God of details and I am learning that you want me/us to follow you to the T and not half-effort our devotion to you!
God wants all of my heart...He wants all of your heart! He wants us to follow Him to the T. He's a God of details and He wants us to pay attention to the details of our intimacy with Him, our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our ministry to Him and the world He has called us to be a light to.
God, thank you for continual patience in my life...teaching me to abide in you; teaching me to trust fully in you; teaching me that you do not call me as your hired hand, but as your adopted son. Lord, I ask in the name of Jesus that you teach me to live in the fullness of your inheritance and in the perfection of your fellowship. Complete my joy and teach me to rejoice always and pray continuously. I want to be your lover and experience your intimacy. I want to follow you to a T because you dotted every i and CROSSed every T so that I can be in relationship with you! Thank you Jesus!
Friends, may we turn to Him and not toward the work we think we should do for Him. May He guide us and direct our paths. May we follow fully!
Love,
Jerry
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