Notes from my Bible Study for March 26, 2010

Today's Reading: Psalm 85, Exodus 30-31, Nehemiah 11:1-12:26, 1 Corinthians 3

Psalm 85 - Psalm 85 is another psalm of lament, this time written by the Sons of Korah. The people are anxious for God to work on their behalf. They recognize that the best way to deal with the tough situation that they find themselves in is to go straight to the God who can help.

So many of us look for solutions apart from God. When we make room for God to work, and when we look for the work of His hand, we are often times witnesses to a miracle. Such was the need of the people of Israel.

Exodus 30-31 - The Lord finishes giving Moses the law in these chapters. One of the things that strikes me is that God sets apart people to accomplish His will. The tabernacle would take a lot of work to build. There was such incredible detail that God wanted in both the tabernacle and its furnishings. So, God gives Bezalel and Oholiab the skills that would be needed to make this project work.

Being a part of the Body of Christ is a beautiful thing. He has given His church everything we need to accomplish His purposes. We are lacking nothing in the area of giftedness in order to do what He has called us to do. It just takes people with the gifts to step up. That is what God would do through Bezalel and Oholiab.

Nehemiah 11:1-12:26 - This section of Scripture records the names of the families who would settle in the city of Jerusalem. It's interesting to me that the leaders saw fit that one out of every ten Jewish people should live in Jerusalem. Never again did this group of leaders want to see a siege against the city succeed.

1 Corinthians 3 - There is nothing that makes God look so bad as a church that can't get along. Paul was furious with the Corinthian believers' lack of love. He told them that they were like spiritual babies, incapable of eating spiritual "meat." They had much work to do in the area of spiritual growth, and getting along. Paul's words in verses 16-17 give us a key for how we can overcome such sin: 16 Do you not know that you 12 are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? We should be people who walk in the power of the Spirit. As the Holy Spirit controls us, so we can be used by God to change this world.