I am praying that God will use me as His servant by….

…allowing me to communicate His care for His people throughout history. Recently, I’ve been reading a book by Vaugh Roberts called God’s Big Picture. In the book, the author shares the purpose of the tabernacle as described in the Old Testament. The tabernacle was to represent God’s presence with His people and serve as a place for His people to get themselves right with God. He went on to describe some of the elements that were within the tabernacle, like the show bread and the lamp stand and the altar of incense. I have read about these things in Scripture before this, but never really understood exactly what purpose they served. The author talks about how the show bread was to remind the people of Israel that God provides for His people. The lamp stand was to represent God’s constant watch and protection over His people. The altar of incense was to remind God’s people of His nearness. After reading this, I was overcome by how good our God is. I responded with thanksgiving to Him for his constant provision for us, for his constant watchfulness and protection, and for His continued nearness even when I don’t feel like He is near. Moreso, I see how Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the truths that were foreshadowed in the tabernacle. Through Him we find redemption, forgiveness of sins. Through Him, we experience God’s provision of grace and love. Though Jesus we are grafted into God’s family and no one can take us away from Him. He has placed His Spirit within us so we are able to experience God in a way that goes beyond the tabernacle experience. My prayer is that God would continue to remind me of these truths throughout my week in such a way that I would be able to point students to them; to remind them of God’s provision, protection, and nearness through Jesus. And that by learning about these truths, they would want to enter into a relationship with Him. -- Alan