When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son.” Luke 1:57

Elizabeth and Zacharias had waited a lifetime for their son to be born. In fact, they were both past the childbearing years. Elizabeth thought the Lord had denied her the blessing of being a mother. Yet God had big plans for them–they were just in His timing, not hers.

What Kind of Time?

The New King James refers to the mention of time in this verse as full time with the meaning of “being fulfilled.” God knew that their son John the Baptist would be a special child, the prophet of the Most High (Jesus), so John’s birth had to be at just the right time, at the same time as Jesus’ birth. God’s plans can’t be rushed.

When I compare Elizabeth’s story to our lives, to my own life, I empathize with some of her challenges. After all, it feels like we spend much of life waiting for things to happen …

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Thanks for listening. May your soul’s meditations be fuel for Spirit-led actions today!

The whole human race is foolish and has no knowledge! The craftsmen are disgraced by the idols they make, for their carefully shaped works are a fraud. These idols have no breath or power. Idols are worthless; they are ridiculous lies!  On the day of reckoning they will all be destroyed. Jeremiah 51:17-18 NLT

In this passage, God is disgusted with the craftsmen. Why? Because the metalsmiths have been using their talents and gifts to make worthless idols. God just couldn’t understand how people could make an object of wood or metal, call it a god, and then worship it as if it had created them or loved them or cared for them! They were taking the gifts and talents God had bestowed upon them and were using them to disrespect God and lead others astray.

That lead me to evaluate my talents and gifts, and I realized that ultimately there are only three ways I can use mine:

1. I’m not using them.
2. I’m using them in a worthless way.
3. I’m using them in a “worthful” way.

Listen to the podcast below to finish our reflection on The Craftsmen. Just click on the arrow or subscribe on iTunes if you’d like to get Reflections delivered to your podcast library every week.

Resource

In this podcast I recommend a book I’m reading called Called to Create, A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and Risk by Jordan Raynor. Perhaps you’re an artist or maker and you struggle with how to use your gifts. This book will help you! I’ve included links to both Amazon and Christian Book Distributors in case you’d like to check it out.

Thanks for listening. And may your soul’s meditations be fuel for Spirit-led actions today!

Called to Create: A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and Risk By Jordan Raynor / Baker BooksReimagine your work as service to God and others! Best-selling author Raynor helps artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and other creative professionals tackle difficult questions of importance, reputation, discipleship, and eternal significance as he discusses calling,creating, challenges, and Jesus’ command. Includes stories from the Christian founders of TOMS Shoes, Chic-fil-A, Sevenly, and others.

*This post contains my affiliate links to Amazon and Christian Book Distributors highlighting today’s resource.

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short meditations on scripture intersecting life

Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.

The backstory for this verse is that the Israelites had been released from exile and were back in Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of God. I can only imagine the feelings the older exiles must have felt after living for many decades as servants in Babylon. To set foot in their homeland again must have been such a joyful time. And I wonder about the younger ones who had been born in captivity, and Babylon was all they knew. I’m sure they had heard stories of their homeland and to see it for the first time was an experience they would never forget.

The First Thing They Built Was …

After they were settled, they started building the temple. They needed to put first things first, and they did because the very first thing they built was the altar so they could make their burnt offerings to the Lord. They needed to have a way to take care of the sin problem between them and the Lord.

And we need to do the same thing when we sin. We need to “rebuild our own altars” too. We need to confess our sin and be restored.

Join Jane from Only By Prayer on today’s podcast by listening below. You can also subscribe on iTunes to have each new podcast sent right to your device.

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short meditations on scripture intersecting life

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. Zechariah 3:1

Whether we have been “living in exile” as the Israelites were by pursuing a selfish, sinful lifestyle for a long time, or we had a fight with our spouse or other “quicker” sin, as soon as God calls us back to Him, Satan is right there doing what he does best to us: accusing and deceiving.

Join Only By Prayer today as Jane talks about this problem and how to overcome it.

To listen to the podcast, click below or subscribe to it on iTunes. Thanks for listening, and may your soul’s meditation be fuel for Spirit-led actions today!

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short meditations on scripture intersecting life

Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:12-13

Prayer is powerful.

It changes situations, people, and events. Daniel was one of the most faithful pray-ers in the Bible. We can take away much from his example. And we can get a bit of a behind-the-sceneslook as to what goes on when we pray.

Let’s dive into these two verses to see how they can impact our prayers today!

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As I read through the Bible, I can’t help but be in awe of the amazing characteristics of God.

In today’s scripture focus in Ezekiel, I see how the Lord always strikes the right balance.

As a parent, I know I sometimes struggled with finding the correct tone. I could be overly harsh or too permissive. It was difficult at times to not be swayed one way or the other.

But we can take our cue from God. Today we are going to reflect on Ezekiel 20:27-49, where we see God finding the perfect mix of righteous judgment and mercy. I can trust Him because I know He always has what’s best in mind.

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Pray on!

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