The Blueprint

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will. ~ Romans 12:2


I was reading in Exodus the other morning (specifically Exodus 25 – 27) and was struck by how specific God’s instructions were. God tells Moses:

Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. ~ Exodus 25:9

God didn’t tell Moses to build a tabernacle and leave him in the dark on what He wanted. God was specific in describing every aspect of this building, both inside and out. He even goes so far to explain what adornments should be placed inside the tabernacle and what materials to use in building every part of it. God did the same for us. He has laid out a blueprint for our lives telling us exactly what should be inside of us, how are outsides should look and sound, and what materials we need to use to get there. This blueprint is called the Bible.

If you were going to build a house I’m sure you would want a contractor who would look at your blueprints. If they don’t look at the map for the house, how could they possibly know what goes where, which materials to use, and what the finish product is supposed to look like? They couldn’t! Well, the same goes for us. God is building us up. If we never look at the blueprint, how can we know what we are supposed to do with our lives and how we are supposed to get to that point?

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ~ 1 Peter 2:5

We don’t have to question what a life lived for Christ looks like. God gives us example after example in His Word. If you aren’t sure what you are supposed to be doing, take time in His Word, talk to Him about it, and allow Him to transform your mind so you can “test and approve what God’s will is.” (Romans 12:2) You were never meant to wander in the dark hoping to find your way to a life “worthy of the calling you have received.” (Ephesians 4:1) Let Him light the path for you.

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. ~ Psalm 119:105

Beautiful Feet

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. ~ Ephesians 2:4-5


A few days ago God dropped this verse into my heart. As I contemplated this, I realized that many of the people I pass along the street, in the store, at work, or elsewhere everyday are walking dead in their transgressions. They don’t know what it’s like to be “alive with Christ.” I was really convicted about what I’m doing to show these people the life that comes from knowing Christ. What am I doing to show them there is a way to life? That what they are living isn’t what was intended for them. After coming to an understanding of the question, God took me further to show me what I needed to be doing:

We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. ~ I Thessalonians 2:8

I can tell these people about the love of Christ all day long, but what am I doing to show them this love? Can they see the love of Christ in my actions? I want to live in such a way that I am sharing my life with them, that I am making time for them. As my pastor taught tonight – time is something you can never get back. It is priceless. When you take time out of your life to be there for someone, to share a kind word, to show an interest in their life, and to love them, they take notice. They recognize that you are freely giving them something that you can never get back. It tells them you believe they have value, they are worth your time. They are worth those few minutes or hours.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:14-16

When you take that time for people, they begin to take notice of your actions and what makes you different from others who would walk away. Don’t hold back! YOU are the light of the world! Where light enters, darkness cannot dwell. We have the light of Christ that breaks through all darkness. We have the power to share that light with others, but are we taking the time to do that? Are we allowing our lives to be used to bring light to the darkness in others’ lives? Don’t put your lamp under a bowl, put it on its stand so that it can shine before all men!

Even as I’m writing this God is giving me the image of a lighthouse. Lighthouses are set up as beacons for ships at sea to know when they are approaching home and to guide them safely into shore. We are lighthouses! When we put our light up on its stand we serve as a beacon for those lost at sea, lost in the darkness where they can’t see the shore. We can guide them safely home.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ~ Romans 10:14-15

The Long Road

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went out of Egypt armed for battle. ~ Exodus 13:17-18


At a service the other night a guest speaker got up and talked about how everything we do comes by a process. He said if something comes to you at the snap of a finger it will go the same way. There is a due season and appointed time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3). I was reminded of this as I read Exodus 13 today.

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you’re reading a familiar passage and suddenly you see something in it that you never noticed before? Well, I had one of those moments with verse 17. You see, there was a shorter way for the Israelites escape and flee from the Egyptians who were pursuing them, but God knew them so well that He didn’t lead them that way. It wasn’t because He wanted to make it more difficult for them or make them walk farther, but because He loved them and didn’t want to see them give up. He knew that if they took the shorter route they would come against enemies that they were not yet ready to face. Later on we see the Israelites fight the Philistines on several occasions, but at this point God knew they would turn back in fear. He needed to show them He was capable of protecting them and fighting for them before they would be prepared to face those enemies.

There are things in our lives where it seems like God is taking us the long way around. It seems like He’s trying to deprive us of something that we desire or that we feel would be good for us. Perhaps that’s a job, a relationship, a house, finances, etc. Whatever it is you feel like God is deliberately keeping them from you. Honestly, you may be right. In the case of the Israelites, He deliberately led them a longer way, which could be interpreted as depriving them of freedom for that much longer, so that He could prove Himself faithful to them. God is not trying to make life hard for you. He’s not trying to keep good things out of your reach. He knows the battles you will face when you get what it is you want and He wants to prepare you for them before you have to face them.

Instead of taking them the shorter route, it says that God took them down the desert road toward the Red Sea. Once at the Red Sea they were put into a position that would have seemed impossible. We also see that God was right about the reaction of His people to battle. As the Egyptians closed in, the people started crying out in fear:

“Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” ~ Exodus 14:12

At this point, however, turning back was not an option. Pharaoh was coming against with 600 chariots (14:7) and he was not happy! But on the other side they had come up against the Red Sea. This route put them in a position where they had to rely on God to see them through and He proved Himself faithful!

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ~ Exodus 14:21-22

Not only did the people make it safely across the Red Sea knowing their God provided a way, but the army that was chasing them He threw into confusion and let the waters of the sea flow back over them so they were no more.

You have been taken down this long road so the He can prove to you that He is faithful. He wants to show you that He is your Lord, that He loves you, and that He will fight for you. Not only that, but He wants to take those things that are chasing you (anxiety, fear, insecurity, etc.) and let the sea flow over them so they chase you no longer. It’s a process.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1