Exodus 26:31-35 …and the veil was torn in Jesus

 Matthew 27:51

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,

When Jesus gave up His sinless life for us the veil was torn in the temple. It was finished. In His resurrection we are lifted with Him to the seat of mercy and washed clean. The veil that separated us from God was done away with and now we live and we are seated in Jesus at the right hand of the Father. We are free! We are free to live a life that is in union with Holy Spirit as a living testament to the glory and mercy of God. Praise be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who together are worshipped and glorified. Our God is a tripartite God, He is one. We are built in His image. We have a mind, a body and a spirit that belongs only to God. Jesus, the body, is the name above all names. Listen to that still, small voice of God in us. Carla

Exodus 26:31-35

31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. 35 You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. (NKJV)

The veil separated the holy place from the Most Holy Place.  Only the ark would stay in the Most Holy Place. Perhaps the most beautiful and intricate of all the fabrics in the tabernacle, the veil was to hang from pillars by clasps, dividing the chamber into two separate rooms. The larger room would be called the holy place and the smaller room the Most Holy Place. The Hebrew expression can also be translated “the Holiest Place” or “the Holy of Holies”. The NKJV Study Bible

The Hebrew word aron refers generally to a storage box, but it is commonly used to refer to the ark of the covenant. 

The atonement cover describes the lid of the ark of the covenant. Exodus 25:17 describes the mercy seat it is made of pure gold.

A screen  describes the curtain that hung across the entrance of the tent, closing it off from the courtyard.  Although it was embroidered, it apparently did not depict cherubim like the inner veil. Faithlife Study Bible

Hebrews 9:2–5

For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All…

Leviticus 16:2

and the LORD said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.

2 Chronicles 3:14

And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

Exodus 25:10–23

“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around…

Exodus 25:17

17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. 20 And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.

“Say, Pooh, why aren’t you busy?” I said.
“Because it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.
“Yes, but—”
“Why ruin it?” he said.
“But you could be doing something important,” I said.
“I am,” said Pooh.
“Oh? Doing what?”
“Listening,” he said.
“Listening to what?”
“To the birds. And that squirrel over there.”
“What are they saying?” I asked.
“That it’s a nice day,” said Pooh.
“But you know that already,” I said.
“Yes, but it’s always good to hear that somebody else thinks so, too,” he replied…
(From “The Tao of Pooh”, Benjamin Hoff)

I lounge on the grass, that’s all. So
simple. Then I lie back until I am
inside the cloud that is just above me
but very high, and shaped like a fish.
Or, perhaps not. Then I enter the place
of not-thinking, not-remembering, not-
wanting. When the blue jay cries out his
riddle, in his carping voice, I return.
But I go back, the threshold is always
near. Over and back, over and back. Then
I rise. Maybe I rub my face as though I
have been asleep. But I have not been
asleep. I have been, as I say, inside
the cloud, or, perhaps, the lily floating
on the water. Then I go back to town,
to my own house, my own life, which has
now become brighter and simpler, some-
where I have never been before.
Of course I have always known you
are present in the clouds,
and the black oak I especially adore,
and the wings of birds...
Mary Oliver, “Six Recognitions of the Lord”

My friends, “Today, where did you see, find, savor wonder?”
“Where did you embrace passion and the delight of wholeheartedness?”

 Sabbath Moments

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 We are blessed by our faith!

Galatians 6:7–9

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life…

Abraham was blessed that he could be a blessing. So are we. Through his faith all the world was blessed and God was glorified. May we all be generous in all areas of our lives not only in monetary gifts but in our time and talents, enriching the lives of all who we meet. We must treat others the same way we want to be treated. God loves a cheerful giver. Carla

2 Corinthians 9:6-8

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.  (NKJV)

The law of the harvest is referred to repeatedly in Scripture (Proverbs 11:24, 25; 19:17; Luke 6:38; Galatians 6:7). Paul applied it to giving. Giving is like sowing seed. Knowing the law of the harvest (verse 6), each believer should give as he purposes in his heart. The believer is to give freely and cheerfully, not out of compulsion, and without regret. If we give, God is able to give us more so that we can perform other good works.  The NKJV Study

The Corinthians may have felt concerned about giving money because of the uncertainty of life in the ancient world. Paul does not want this to be reason for them to withhold their generosity. Paul affirms that God can provide everything they need, just as He is doing for the church in Jerusalem. Faithlife Study Bible

Deuteronomy 15:10

You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 

2 Corinthians 8:12

For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

Exodus 25:2

“Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. 

From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.

The planet needs people who wake up.

So. What if, waking up begins with wonder?

What if waking up begins with gladness, curiosity, gooseflesh, delight?

Without wonder we approach life as a self-help project. Eugene Peterson reminds us, "We (only) employ techniques; we analyze gifts and penalties; we set goals and assess progress. Spiritual formation is reduced to cosmetics."…

Today I don't need to overcome. Today I need to play. Latch on to moments of wonder and joy.

What if I don’t feel like playing? What if my spirit is too heavy? Fair enough.

I know exactly what that feels like... So. Let’s think of it this way: Play is an openness to a part of me that has been closed or discounted.

Which means that play is not so much an activity, as a suspending of control.

Let this be our prayer:

Let us recapture that child in each of us;

that child still smitten with wonder.

Where is the play in your life?

Where is the rest?

Where is the wonder?

Where is the gladness?

Where is the gooseflesh?

And St. John of the Cross reminds us of the soil where this seed, this awakening to wonder (this inkling of the fullness) comes to life.

“When you regarded me

Your eyes imprinted your grace in me,

In this, you loved me again,

And thus my eyes merited

To also love what you see in me....

Let us go forth together to see ourselves in Your beauty.” (Spiritual Canticle)

Sabbath Moments

Psalm 21:4 God gives us an abundant life and it is good.

 Psalm 133:3

It is like the dew of Hermon,

Descending upon the mountains of Zion;

For there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.

In God is life and that life is eternal. We are blessed here and forever. He knows His desires for us and they are good to prosper and protect us from the evil that seeks to destroy us. Carla

Psalm 21:4

He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—

 Length of days forever and ever. (NKJV)

King David acknowledges that all he has is God’s gift; his kingship itself (the crown) is a gift from the Lord. But God’s greatest gift is life—temporal and eternal. In response to God for His many gifts, David trusts in the Lord, for he knows that this trust is not misplaced (15:5). These words of this passage should not be limited to King David, for they also speak generally of God’s blessings on all believers. Each of us shares in the blessings of true royalty when we place our trust in the Lord, the Great King. The NKJV Study Bible

The Israelites considered long life a blessing from God (91:16), a reward for obedience or wisdom (Deuteronomy 30:20; Proverbs 3:1–2). Faithlife Study Bible

Psalm 61:5–6

For You, O God, have heard my vows;

You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

You will prolong the king’s life,

His years as many generations.

Psalm 91:16

With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation.”

2 Samuel 7:19

And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 

This week, we embrace the invitation to sanctify--and embrace delight in--the ordinary.
The hiding place for the holy.
May Sarton put it best (and now my daily mantra). “I spend the first 20 minutes of my morning walking the garden looking for miracles.”
I am struck by the rootedness that comes with investment.
And gratefully, it is the place where delight bubbles up, a “praising of the mysterious and tender touching we are so often in the midst of.” (Thank you Ross Gay, The Book of Delights.)
Joseph Campbell’s observation, “People say that what all we're seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive—of the rapture of being alive.”
Yes, and Amen, the sacrament of the present moment...

My friends, “Today, where did you see, find, savor wonder?”
“Where did you embrace passion and the delight of wholeheartedness?” Sabbath Moments

As the light of dawn awakens earth's creatures

and stirs into song the birds of the morning

so may I be brought to life this day.

Rising to see the light

to hear the wind

to smell the fragrance of what grows from the ground

to taste its fruit

and touch its textures

so may my inner senses be awakened to you

so may my senses be awakened to you, O God.

Celtic Benediction 

Galatians 1:10 God honors the spark of Him that abides in us

 Romans 2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

We see in part that which God sees in whole. He sees the heart of a person and we cannot. That part of us that belongs to Him He loves and protects. Help me God to see the spirit  that was created from Your love and that is in every person born! To do otherwise is to deny You. All of mankind and Your creation deserves the respect and the dignity that belongs to You. Carla

Galatians 1:10

For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. (NKJV)

To please men was neither Paul’s motivation nor the source of his authority (verse 1). Paul continually sought the approval of God. He did not base his decisions on the opinions of other people. Instead he single-mindedly aimed at pleasing God (Philippians  3:14). As an apostle Paul was a leader, but he was always a bondservant of Christ. The NKJV Study Bible

In preaching the gospel, the apostle sought to bring persons to the obedience, not of men, but of God. But Paul would not attempt to alter the doctrine of Christ, either to gain their favour, or to avoid their fury. In so important a matter we must not fear the frowns of men, nor seek their favour, by using words of men’s wisdom. Concerning the manner wherein he received the gospel, he had it by revelation from Heaven. He was not led to Christianity, as many are, merely by education. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

Paul was being accused of easing the requirements of obedience to the law for Gentile believers (non-Jewish people who believed in Jesus). For example, while circumcision was a sign of God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17), Paul did not require that Gentile believers be circumcised. This made his message more appealing to Gentiles while opening him to the charge of seeking to appease people. Faithlife Study Bible

1 Corinthians 10:33

just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

Romans 1:1

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 

1 Timothy 2:4

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 

1 Samuel 24:7

So David restrained his servants with these words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul got up from the cave and went on his way.

With so much of today's news being fueled by fear and uncertainty, I wonder some days if my own passion and heart is being leached from me. My mind races. When that happens, my spirit is anxious and heavy. And I detach. It is a dark place in me that I do not like. Or maybe I don’t like that I’m susceptible. Either way, it numbs the part of my life and my spirit that is essential.

Today I needed a reminder of the renewing, and replenishing, and healing gift of small wonders.

Our question this week is, “Today, where did you see, find, savor wonder?”

“Where did you embrace passion and the delight of wholeheartedness?” Sabbath Moments