Discernment

Scripture

Every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats‘ hair and rams’ skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them.

~Exodus 35:23, NASB 1995

Quote

He that is mastered by Christ, is master of every circumstance.

~A. B. Simpson

One of the things on my bucket list is to see a replica of the TABERNACLE. There used to one in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and I think there might be one in Orlando, Florida. The tabernacle is fascinating. On the outside, it did not look like much. The outer covering was made from goat’s hair, ram shins and badger skins. The NASB says ‘porpoise skins‘. The badger was a land creature with a furry hide and the porpoise was a marine mammal with a leathery skin. All we know for sure was that the Israelites could make leather from these skins. You have to admit, a tent made of goat skin, sheep skin and leather is not that impressive. It was very plain, very common and nothing like the fabulous temple that Solomon built. Sometimes diamonds come is a plan brown box. My mother said, “You don’t judge a book by looking at the cover.”

We humans are bad about judging things based on their outward appearance but outward appearances can be very deceptive. Jezebel had a beautiful face but a wicked heart. Samson had a strong body but a weak mind. Saul looked like a king but he was grossly insecure: too insecure to be a leader. The flesh looks at the outward appearance but faith looks deeper to that which is within. On the outside, the Tabernacle was plain but on the inside there was pure gold. Every thing in the holy place was made of pure gold. On the outside, you may see a handsome rugged man who seems confident enough to take on the world but once you see the inside, you may discover a child that is afraid and uncertain. On the outside there is cursing and anger but on the inside there is pain and anguish. Cursing on the outside and crying on the inside.

Most of us judge superficially. It is much easier to judge by appearance than it is to get to know a person. It is our own insecurity that threatens us: we are afraid to look deeper into others because we are afraid to search our own hearts. Jesus said in Mark 7, “For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. All these evils come from within and defile a person.” The person who pulled out in front of us is not responsible for our anger. The anger dwells within us, embedded in our heart. The person who pulled out in front of us is simply the stimulus that brings the anger out. The anger that comes out resides in the heart and it is our problem.

To get victory, we have to be honest and willing to look on the inside. Any injustice perpetrated against you can create anger and resentment. We have to let it go; give it to Jesus which is easier said than done. By holding on to our anger, we think we are more likely to be vindicated, to be heard, to be understood but it is a deception. The anger is an acid that eats away at our joy, happiness and peace. It can hurt and injure others but it also hurts those who keep it hidden in their heart.

April was cool and it appears that May is also going to be cool. I’m not rushing things: the heat will come. My plan was to mow the ditches today but with the rain last night; that will not happen.

Good turn out at the NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER service: better than usual but it should have been thousands instead of 100. Part of that was my fault, I kept forgetting to announce it. Rex Looney lead the praise and worship and Scottie’s son in law brought the message. Everything was inspiring.

Continue to pray for Larry and Rhonda Slatter. They are at UAB in Birmingham. Rhonda said they ran test all day yesterday but have no results at this time.

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