An Offering's Heartbeat

Reading of the Day (1/29/25): Exodus 35-37

Exodus 35:5: Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass,

Our God is a living God! In Him is life and the true meaning of life itself. In fact, Matthew 22:31-32 says, "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." And although that's New Testament, it refers back to the Old Testament showing that God never changes...and not only is He life, not only is He living, but He is God alone of all living! Everything He does gives life! And that's also true for every offering given to The Lord-the offering of gold, silver & brass as we see stated in the above Scripture from Exodus, and the offering we bring with us to church today! Our offering is supposed to have a heartbeat! Our offering is supposed to be alive with willingness, love, and compassion on those who will benefit from our cheerful giving: 2 Corinthians 9:7: "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." Things changed with the Israelites in these chapters. Instead of murmuring, complaining & just doing things because they had to, they finally came with willing hearts! They gave because they wanted to be a part of the work! They did not do it just because they had to. If that was the case, the offering would have been dead. Meaningless. No matter how much gold, silver & brass was brought forward, it would have been missing one key life-giving ingredient: a heartbeat! Thank God they did have a change of heart! Many times in these Scriptures, willing & wise hearts were mentioned...those who gave their hearts & their skills to complete the work of the tabernacle. Does our offering have the life-giving ingredient? Do our hearts beat cheerfully as we give of our time, talents & treasures to The Lord? Let's keep this in mind going forward! With willing hearts which love Jesus & His people, let's give living offerings unto The Lord which can make a difference far beyond anything we've ever dreamed!