Set Apart

Consecration: defined as to be set apart for a holy or noble purpose.  There can be no doubt as to the function of this building.  It is a church or cathedral with the purpose of worshiping God. Visiting the beautiful old cathedrals leaves one with the impression that people were serious in their intent to "set apart" or to make special their places of worship.  If you have visited the Cathedral of the Plains, you see and feel the results of many families' sacrifices in obtaining wagons of stone for building and in giving hard-earned money to make a very special place to honor God.

As a child, I was blessed to attend church at the old country church my mother's family had attended for many years.  New Hope Methodist Church, while a modest structure, is where I got my first lessons in setting apart something special for God.

Every November finds my Aunt Sue, Aunt Norma and Cousin Martha dishing up the best chicken and noodle dinner you will ever eat at the annual Lord's Acre Sale.  Their cinnamon rolls and bubble bread will bring high dollars at the auction to follow, with the proceeds set apart for the church's mission funds.

This concept intrigued me as a child--do farmers really keep an acre that belongs to God?  Do the crops grow better on that ground?  It was explained to me that the money earned from the crops on that acre, or the sale of some livestock, or the other products made for sale by church members were special and given for the Lord's work.

As an adult, I want to embrace more the idea of consecrating things in my life.
What if I set apart as holy a place in my home to worship, pray and read the Bible daily?  Some people have a place they go to pray, their "prayer closet", set apart for that purpose only.

What if I set aside time for the Lord's service....just like other appointments?  I read a book once in which a lady set aside every Saturday morning to "do the Lord's work".  She took food to those ailing, visited the downtrodden, and tried to encourage or perk up others who needed her attention. Of course,we can be serving others in Jesus' name at anytime. However, setting apart time in our week for service, just as for prayer, Bible study and worship as a deliberate choice  would show we are serious about the idea  of consecration.

I've read of other people who set aside specific times for prayer, they even call others by phone to "call out the names" of friends and loved ones in agreement to God in prayer. A group of my friends and I have done this for years...each Friday morning, when possible, we meet around my dining room table to pray for our families, our schools, church and communities.  As we look back at our prayer lists over the years, it is a testimony to God's love and goodness in how He has answered our prayers. You would think there would be a "holy" glow over the table, but the only "glow" is the dust motes dancing in the sunlight. I still think that table is special, though, as we have gathered around it to lift our prayers to the Lord.

What if I gave God the "first fruits," the first and best of my time and energy instead of giving Him the leftovers?  This is the Old Testament idea that each person owed God their best as sacrifices or offerings, the first of the crop, the best of the new livestock, which is where people got the idea for the Lord's Acre Sale.  This would mean the first of my money, too...to set aside funds for His work first, and adjust my other living expenses after instead of giving what is left.

What if I took God seriously when He said as His child and follower, I was to be consecrated..holy and set apart for His purposes?  I heard a speaker on the radio addressing a new class of students at a seminary.  He reminded them that in the Old Testament times, God had chosen the tribe of Levi to be consecrated, or set apart as the priests for the people.  They were the ones to tend the temple, offer sacrifices and carry the Ark of the Covenant, the special box containing God's word. The speaker told the students that they, too, as followers of Jesus were to be the carriers of God's word to the people.  They were also to carry God's grace.  He said all of us as followers of Jesus should imagine we carry buckets with God's words and grace.  When people bump us, not only physically but "bump" us with different ideas or rude behavior, what splashes onto them from our bucket?

What if I could splash others with His grace and His words?  Only with God's help and the help of the Holy Spirit in me would that be possible...but I could do my part by remembering I am to be "set apart".   Just as with the Levite priests of the past, we have a higher calling, a noble purpose. Memorize His words to be equipped as a "carrier", pray for a mind set of giving grace.

What if...we each made an effort to set some things aside as holy--a place to pray, a time for worship,
prayer and service, part of our money and most importantly our hearts and minds?
What an adventure it is..to see what God will do in us and through us!