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We might think of humility as a form of weakness, but it is actually the very opposite. Humility is connected to meekness. Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." What is meekness? A literal definition of the word is power under constraint.
For example, if you were to see a person riding a magnificent, powerful stallion, and he is clip-clopping along, that horse has submitted his will to the rider. He has more than enough power to resist the direction of the rider and do what he wants. But because that horse has effectively humbled himself, or has been meek, he's putting his power under constraint. He's surrendering his will to the person who is riding him.
In the same way, when the Bible speaks of humility and meekness, it means surrendering our will to the will of God. Philippians 2:3 tells us, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."
If you want to experience real joy, then put the acronym JOY into practice: Jesus. Others. Yourself. Put Jesus first. Put others second. Put yourself third. That is the joy we can experience. It is so simple, but I am amazed at the fact that very few people practice this. Many believers find themselves in the doldrums. They are down. They are depressed. They don't have this kind of joy.
If you want real success, if you want true happiness, if you want to experience a deep and abiding joy instead of the fleeting happiness of this world, it is found in following Jesus and loving others.
Think about someone in need and start doing something for that person. Then watch how joy will appear in your life as a byproduct.
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Do you put into practice the condensation JOY? Jesus, others, yourself is the answer!
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Today's Bible Reading:
Exodus 25: Gifts offered for the dwelling
1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Tell the Israelites to collect gift offerings for me. Receive my gift offerings from everyone who freely wants to give. 3 These are the gift offerings that you should receive from them: gold, silver, and copper; 4 blue, purple, and deep red yarns; fine linen; goats’ hair; 5 rams’ skins dyed red; beaded leather;[a] acacia wood; 6 oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet-smelling incense; 7 gemstones; and gems for setting in the priest’s vest[b] and chest piece. 8 They should make me a sanctuary so I can be present among them. 9 You should follow the blueprints that I will show you for the dwelling and for all its equipment.
Instructions for building the chest containing the covenant
10 Have them make an acacia-wood chest. It should be forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 11 Cover it with pure gold, inside and out, and make a gold molding all around it. 12 Cast four gold rings for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13 Make acacia-wood poles and cover them with gold. 14 Then put the poles into the rings on the chest’s sides and use them to carry the chest. 15 The poles should stay in the chest’s rings. They shouldn’t be taken out of them. 16 Put the covenant document that I will give you into the chest.
17 Then make a cover of pure gold, forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. 18 Make two winged heavenly creatures of hammered gold, one for each end of the cover. 19 Put one winged heavenly creature at one end and one winged heavenly creature at the other. Place the winged heavenly creatures at the cover’s two ends. 20 The heavenly creatures should have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. The winged heavenly creatures should face each other toward the cover’s center. 21 Put the gold cover on top of the chest and put the covenant document that I will give you inside the chest. 22 There I will meet with you. From there above the cover, from between the two winged heavenly creatures that are on top of the chest containing the covenant, I will deliver to you all that I command you concerning the Israelites.
Instructions for the table
23 Make an acacia-wood table, three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. 24 Cover it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. 25 Make a frame around it that is four inches wide and a gold molding around the frame. 26 Make four gold rings for the table. Fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 27 The rings that house the poles used for carrying the table should be close to the frame. 28 Make the poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. The table should be carried with these poles. 29 Make its plates, dishes, jars, and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them of pure gold. 30 Set the bread of the presence on the table so it is always in front of me.
Instructions for the lampstand
31 Make a lampstand of pure hammered gold. The lampstand’s base, branches, cups, flowers, and petals should all be attached to it. 32 It should have six branches growing out from its sides, three branches on one side of the lampstand and three branches on the other side of the lampstand. 33 One branch will have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals, and the next branch will also have three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with a flower and petals. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. 34 In addition, on the lampstand itself there will be four cups shaped like almond blossoms, each with its flower and petals. 35 There will be a flower attached under the first pair of branches, a flower attached under the next pair of branches, and a flower attached under the last pair of branches. So it will be for the six branches that grow out of the lampstand. 36 Their flowers and their branches will be permanently attached to it. The whole lampstand should be one piece of pure hammered gold. 37 Make its seven lamps and set up its lamps so that they direct their light in front of the lampstand. 38 You should also make its tongs and fire pans out of pure gold. 39 All these items should be made from pure gold weighing one kikkar. 40 See to it that you make them according to the blueprint for them that you were shown on the mountain.
Instructions for building the dwelling
26:1 Make the dwelling with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue, purple, and deep red yarns. Work figures of winged heavenly creatures into their design. 2 Each curtain should be forty-two feet long and each curtain six feet wide. All the curtains should be the same size. 3 Five curtains will be joined to each other as one set, while the other five curtains will be joined together as a second set. 4 Make loops of blue thread on the edge of the outer curtain in the first set. Do the same on the edge of the outer curtain in the second set. 5 Make fifty loops on the one curtain in the first set and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops should be opposite each other. 6 Then make fifty gold clasps. Join the curtains to each other with the clasps so that the dwelling becomes one whole structure.
7 You should also make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the dwelling. Make eleven curtains. 8 Each curtain should be forty-five feet long and each curtain six feet wide. The eleven curtains should all be the same size. 9 Join five of the curtains together, and join the six other curtains together. Double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent. 10 Make fifty loops on the edge of the outer curtain in one set and fifty loops on the edge of the outer curtain in the second set.
11 Make fifty copper clasps. Put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it becomes one whole structure. 12 The extra cloth that is left over from the tent curtains, that is, the half curtain that remains, should hang over the back of the dwelling. 13 Eighteen inches on one side and eighteen inches on the other side of the leftover length of the tent’s curtains will hang over the two sides of the dwelling to cover it. 14 Then for the tent, make a covering of rams’ skins dyed red and an outer covering of beaded leather.[c]
15 Make acacia-wood boards to stand upright as a frame for the dwelling. 16 Each board will be fifteen feet long and twenty-seven inches wide. 17 Put two pegs on each board for joining them to each other. Do this for all the dwelling’s boards. 18 Make twenty boards for the dwelling’s southern side. 19 Then make forty silver bases to go under the twenty boards. There will be two bases under the first board for its two pegs, two bases under the next board for its two pegs, and so on. 20 For the dwelling’s other side on the north, make twenty boards 21 and their forty silver bases, two bases under the first board, two bases under the next board, and so on. 22 For the back of the dwelling on the west, make six boards. 23 Make two additional boards for the dwelling’s rear corners. 24 They should be spread out at the bottom but joined together at the top with one ring. In this way, these two boards will form the two corners. 25 And so there will be eight boards with their sixteen silver bases, two bases under the first board, two bases under the next board, and so on.
26 You should also make acacia-wood bars: five for the boards on one side of the dwelling, 27 five bars for the boards on the other side of the dwelling, and five bars for the boards on the back wall of the dwelling on the west. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the boards, should run from one end to the other. 29 Cover the boards with gold. Make gold rings to house the bars. Cover the bars with gold. 30 Then set up the dwelling according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.
31 Make a veil of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen. Work figures of winged heavenly creatures into its design. 32 Hang it on four acacia-wood posts covered in gold. They should have gold hooks and stand on four silver bases. 33 Hang the veil under the clasps, and put the chest containing the covenant there behind the veil. The veil will separate for you the holy from the holiest space. 34 Place the gold cover on the chest containing the covenant in the holiest space. 35 Place the table outside the veil, and set the lampstand opposite the table by the south wall of the dwelling. Place the table by the north wall.
36 Make a screen for the tent’s entrance of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework. 37 Make five acacia-wood posts for the screen. Cover the posts with gold. Their hooks should be gold. Cast five copper bases for the posts.
Instructions for the altar
27:1 Make an acacia-wood altar. The altar should be square, seven and a half feet long and seven and a half feet wide. It should be four and a half feet high. 2 Make horns for the altar and attach them to it, one horn on each of its four corners. Cover it with copper. 3 Make pails for removing its ashes and its shovels, bowls, meat forks, and trays. Make all its equipment out of copper. 4 Make for the altar a grate made of copper mesh. Make four copper rings for each of the four corners of the mesh. 5 Slide the mesh underneath the bottom edge of the altar and then extend the mesh halfway up to the middle of the altar. 6 Make acacia-wood poles for the altar and cover them with copper. 7 Put the poles through the rings so that the poles will be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar with planks but hollow inside. All these should be made just as you were shown on the mountain.
Instructions for the dwelling’s courtyard
9 You should also set up the dwelling’s courtyard. The courtyard’s south side should have drapes of fine twisted linen stretching one hundred fifty feet on that side, 10 with twenty posts, twenty copper bases, and silver hooks and bands for the posts. 11 Likewise along the north side the drapes should stretch one hundred fifty feet, with twenty posts, twenty copper bases, and silver hooks and bands for the posts. 12 The courtyard’s width on the west side should consist of seventy-five feet of drapes with their ten posts and their ten bases. 13 The courtyard’s width on the front, facing east should be seventy-five feet. 14 There should be twenty-two and a half feet of drapes on one side with three posts and three bases for them. 15 There should be twenty-two and a half feet of drapes on the other side with three posts and three bases for them. 16 For the gate into the courtyard there will be a screen thirty feet long, made of blue, purple, and deep red yarns and of fine twisted linen, decorated with needlework. It will have four posts with their four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard will have silver bands, silver hooks, and copper bases. 18 The courtyard will be one hundred fifty feet long and seventy-five feet wide. Its walls’ height will be seven and a half feet of fine twisted linen and its copper bases. 19 All the dwelling’s equipment for any use and all its tent pegs and all the courtyard’s tent pegs will be made of copper.
Olive oil for the lampstand
20 You must require the Israelites to bring you pure oil of crushed olives for the light so that the lamp may be set up to burn continually. 21 In the meeting tent, outside the veil that hangs in front of the covenant document, Aaron and his sons will tend the lamp from evening to morning in the Lord’s presence. It will be a permanent regulation for the Israelites in every generation.[Footnotes:
Exodus 25:5 Or dolphin skins
Exodus 25:7 Heb ephod
Exodus 26:14 Or dolphin skin]
Acts 6: Selection of seven to serve
6 About that time, while the number of disciples continued to increase, a complaint arose. Greek-speaking disciples accused the Aramaic-speaking disciples because their widows were being overlooked in the daily food service. 2 The Twelve called a meeting of all the disciples and said, “It isn’t right for us to set aside proclamation of God’s word in order to serve tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, carefully choose seven well-respected men from among you. They must be well-respected and endowed by the Spirit with exceptional wisdom. We will put them in charge of this concern. 4 As for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and the service of proclaiming the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the entire community. They selected Stephen, a man endowed by the Holy Spirit with exceptional faith, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 The community presented these seven to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 God’s word continued to grow. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased significantly. Even a large group of priests embraced the faith.
Arrest and murder of Stephen
8 Stephen, who stood out among the believers for the way God’s grace was at work in his life and for his exceptional endowment with divine power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose from some who belonged to the so-called Synagogue of Former Slaves. Members from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia entered into debate with Stephen. 10 However, they couldn’t resist the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly enticed some people to claim, “We heard him insult Moses and God.” 12 They stirred up the people, the elders, and the legal experts. They caught Stephen, dragged him away, and brought him before the Jerusalem Council. 13 Before the council, they presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops speaking against this holy place and the Law. 14 In fact, we heard him say that this man Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and alter the customary practices Moses gave us.” 15 Everyone seated in the council stared at Stephen, and they saw that his face was radiant, just like an angel’s.
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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000
Riverside, California 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1(800)821-3300
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