What a wonderful day in the Lord I was granted yesterday!

After our choir special, I went to my place in the seat next to my husband and settled in for one of Jeff's great messages. With great anticipation I opened my Bible to Titus chapter 2 where we have been now for a couple of weeks. One of my favorite books in the Bible. Just as I got to my place in the scripture, I gasped and looked at my husband and said, "It's my day to answer the prayer lines for the Transforming Truth ministry. So I jumped up and quickly went over to the conference room in the other building.

We had several routine calls, a couple from people who call regularly. The message had wound down and we were getting ready to leave but continued to receive calls. Everyone either had left or were on another line, when the phone in front of me rang. I picked it up and the voice on the other end sounded a little desperate. As she told me her story, I learned that she was in the bed and had to be there for at least two months. She suffers from Lupus and had a fall that left her unable to attend drive. She was watching the transforming truth ministry and expressed how much she enjoyed it.

She told me that she was born into a Jewish family, her husband is an atheist, and her son does not know the Lord. As I listened to her, I could hear in her voice that she needed desperately to share her heart with someone. It became evident that she was not a Christian and I turned in my Bible to the book of Romans.

Everyone else was leaving and I continued to speak with her. She was asking questions about the Jewish nation. How they got where they were and why they were so loved by God. It just so happens that God has had me studying through the books of Genesis and Exodus for the last several months. Not only have I been blogging through the Bible and at this point have gotten to the passages that we needed to discuss; but I have also been doing a Bible study that started in Genesis and at this very moment has me in the middle of the issues she was bringing up.

Isn't God glorious? I don't believe for a moment that I just happened to be the one who picked up the phone when she called, or that my mind and heart have been centered in on exactly what this precious lady needed to hear. We were still on the phone at 1:00 and I had just shared with her the entire Romans road. She had a translation of the Bible that didn't read exactly like mine, so she wanted to write down all the verses. She had some confusion about her stuff (as she called it) she said "my big beautiful house, my expensive cars, you know that kind of stuff" she said, I'm afraid He (God) will take it away from me.
I said, "God doesn't need your stuff, He just wants your heart".

She wanted me to pray and she wanted to just listen. When I asked her if she prayed in her heart to receive Christ as her Savior, she said Oh I was just listening to you pray. I explained to her that she needed to pray and receive Christ as her Savior, she abruptly said, I've got to go, my husband is home.
I said, "would you please read through these verses I have given you and call me back later when we can talk further?" she said, "yes".

On my way home from church I turned my cell phone back on and I had not one message from her, but two messages from her within two minutes of each other, that were placed to me while I was in church. The voice on the other end said, "Kathy this is ......, I'm the lady you spoke with this afternoon on the phone. I'm ready, please call me back I want to pray with you. I excitedly called her back and she prayed the sinners prayer in her own words, and as she wept, she received Christ as her Savior. What a glorious end to a great day with the Lord.
At the end of our conversation, as I sat in my driveway, she said something to me that I will never forget. She said, "Kathy, I have called many of the prayer lines on the T.V. and out of all the people I have ever spoken to, you are the only one who has ever taken the time to answer my questions, and now I really understand". Praise the Lord, I said to her "......., please don't give me any praise for that, God has done what you needed in your heart, I was just the tool He used to do it. I explained to her how God had put us together on the phone and how I had been studying the exact passages that we needed to discuss, and I continued by making sure that she knew that only God could have known that she needed me that day and brought us together. We wept together, as I promised to pray for her, her husband and her son. God is so good. I praise Him today and give Him all the glory for that precious soul coming to know him.

Exodus 38-40

Making the Altar of Burnt Offering (38:1-7)
Making the Bronze Laver (38:8)
Making the Court of the Tabernacle (38:9-20)
Materials of the Tabernacle (38:21-31)

Making the Garments of the Priesthood (39:1)
Making the Ephod (39:2-7)
Making the Breastplate (39:8-21)
Making the other Priestly Garments (39:22-31)

The Work Completed (39:32-43)
Since we covered all of the fixtures, furniture and priestly garments in detail in Exodus chapters 25-31 in detail, I will not go back over all of them. God had given Moses very specific instructions, right down to the colors of thread that were to be used to embroider the curtains that were to be hung in the tabernacle. Suffice it to say that by the end of chapter 40 we have confirmation that every detail of every specification was followed right down to the purple, blue and scarlet cherubim that were skillfully embroidered on the curtains that were hung in place.

The Tabernacle Erected and Arranged Exodus 40:1-33
Remember that the tabernacle was built so that it could be taken down and moved. Though it was possible (it was what God told them to do) it was not an easy task. Remember that everything was covered in pure gold, or was built of bronze and wood, these things were not exactly light weight. However, the furniture used in the tabernacle was built with rings on the corners so that poles could be inserted and could be carried be two to four men.

The Cloud and the Glory (40:34-38)
There was a cloud that came down to hover over the tabernacle when the glory of the Lord filled it. When the cloud was there, they stayed where they were. But when the cloud was taken up they knew it was time to continue on their journey. The Bible tells us in verse 38 "For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys." This is just another example of God's love, protection and provision for his chosen people.