The Prompted Heart
Today’s scripture selection: Exodus 25-28
Key verse: Exodus 25:2
When God instructed Moses to have the people build a tabernacle – a place of worship – for Him, He said a very interesting thing.
He said, “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.”
He didn’t say “Have them bring me an offering or…”
- I’ll punish them severely
- I’ll never guide them again
- I’ll let their enemies overtake them
- I’ll send a plague
- I’ll go away forever
He said – receive the offering from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.
Nor did He say those whose heart prompted them to give had to be
- Good enough
- Holy enough
- Strong enough
- Wise enough or
- The “right kind” of people
All they had to do was freely give, prompted by their own hearts to do so.
Giving isn’t bargaining with God. It isn’t paying our dues or paying our bills. It isn’t life insurance.
It’s how we show we love Him and the world He has created – nothing more and nothing less.
Prayer: Lord, may I give and love freely, AMEN.
By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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