the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time
“I have filled him with the Spirit of God…in all manner of workmanship.”
Today’s text refers to Bezaleel, who was equipped by the Holy Spirit to superintend the building of the Tabernacle. He was skilled to work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones and to carve timber. The Spirit of God made him a craftsman to do these practical types of work.
The Choice Gleanings calendar quotes E. Tramp as saying, “We generally overlook this phase of the Spirit’s ministry. Whether in the field or the factory, the office or the home, the believer can claim the Spirit’s assistance in daily labor. A man I know has made an altar out of his factory bench. A Martha in our midst has made her kitchen table into a communion table. Another still has changed his office desk into a pulpit, from which to speak and write, transforming commonplace affairs into the business of the King.”
In Nazareth, Israel, there is a Christian hospital that ministers primarily to Arabs. On the grounds of the hospital is a chapel. But when a preacher gets up to speak, he does not stand behind a pulpit. Instead he stands behind a polished carpenter’s bench with a wooden vise at one end. This is a beautiful and needed reminder that our Lord worked as a carpenter in Nazareth, and that a workbench was His pulpit.
A doctor in the Midwest sought to treat men’s souls as well as their bodies. Sometimes after he had talked with a person in the clinic and given a thorough examination, he would suspect that the problem was spiritual rather than physical. That night he would go to the patient’s house and ring the bell. At first the patient would be startled to see the doctor. But then the kindly physician would say something like this: “I am not coming to see you as a doctor but to visit you as a friend. There’s something I’d like to talk to you about. Do you mind if I come in?” Of course, the person didn’t mind, so the doctor would go in and talk to him about his spiritual need. Then he would explain how the Lord Jesus was the answer to that need. Many of the patients committed their lives to the Lord and went on to serve Him well. Many will be forever thankful for the ministry of the beloved doctor who cared for their souls as well as their bodies.
The Lord has many unconventional pulpits in the world today. As Tramp said, many have learned how to transform ordinary affairs into the business of the King.
'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' Copyright 2007 © William MacDonald. 'Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time' articles may be reproduced in whole under the following provisions: 1) You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
