Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

FRIDAY MARCH 13


GIVING UP OUR MIRRORS

READ:
Exodus 38:8
________________________________________________________________________________
[Bezalel] made the
laver of bronze and
its base of bronze,
from the bronze
mirrors of the
serving women.
_______________________________________________________________________________

When Moses gathered the children of Israel together to begin work on the tabernacle (Ex 35-39), he called on Bezalel, a gifted artisan, to help make the furnishings. We're told that certain women were asked to give their precious bronze mirrors to make the bronze basin he was constructing (38:8). They gave them up to help prepare a place where God's presence would reside.

Give up our mirrors? For most of us, that would be hard to do. That's not something we're asked to do, but it makes me think about how too much scrutiny and self-examination can be disconcerting. It can make us think too much about ourselves and not enough about others.

When we can forget about our own faces quickly and remember that God loves us as we are__in all our imperfections__then we can begin to "look out not only for [our] own interests, but also for the interests of others" (PHIL. 2:4).

Augustine said that we get lost in loving ourselves but found in loving others. Put another way, the secret of happiness is not getting our face right but giving our hearts away, giving our lives away, giving our selves away, in love.
__David Roper

Father, may I think more of others today than I think of myself. May I lose
my thoughts about myself in my thoughts of other people and their needs.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

A heart that is focused on others will not be consumed with self.

********************Today's Bible Reading __ Philippians 2:1-5*******************
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if
any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if
any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-
minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of
one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or
conceit, but in lowlines of mind let each of you look out not only for his own
interests, but also for the interests of others.

5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians while
he was under house arrest. He was waiting for a verdict that
would either set him free or result in his execution. It was in these
circumstances that he wrote about "consolation," comfort," and
"fellowship" (v.1). Paul reminds the Philippians (and us) that these
things come from our commitment to Christ. We have consolation
in Christ, comfort from His love, and fellowship with the Spirit. All
of our love for each other comes from following the example of
Christ (vv.2-5), which Paul explains in verses 6-11.