Scripture with Mad Libs

Have you ever done a Mad Lib? They're those awesomely ridiculous sentences where you add a verb, noun, adjective, etc. and make the regular sentence funny.

Example:
Pick a 1) verb ending in "ing" _______________
2) A place ________________
3) An adjective ________________
5) A noun ______________
6) a verb ending in "ing" __________________
7) A noun _______________
8) A verb _________________

This is a ___________ news report. This just in from ______________.   14 ______________  ____________have been spotted ______________ near  a/an__________.  Police are on their way to ________________.

This is a singing news report.  This just in from my house.  14 gold pencils have been spotted licking near a television.  Police are on their way to the site to camp.

See - a silly sentence made from replacing a normal sentence with random words.  

But this time, let's play it with scripture.

Here is the back story.  In Exodus chapter 35 Moses gives instructions for the people what they should bring to the Lord as an offering to build the Tabernacle.    Every fine thing was used in the construction: gold, bronze, linens, leathers, acacia wood, olive oil, spices, and gemstones.  And the people gave generously.  All of these articles became a wave offering to the Lord for his goodness.

Once all the supplies had been gathered, Moses gave the Israelites further instruction that God had given him:

“Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills – to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.  And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others.  He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers,  embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers – all of them skilled workers and designers. So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded.” Exodus 35:30-35; 36:1

Bezalel must have been a great man of God.  God gifted him and blessed him with his Spirit, something that was very rarely given before Christ's sacrifice.  Specific people were given God's spirit at very specific moments to do a very specific task.  It might have been to lead the people of Israel, to help them worship the Lord, to prophesy for the people, sometime where God wanted to gift his power on one of his people. God gifted Bezalel with the responsibility of overseeing the construction of the tabernacle and the skills to do that.  In addition to his skills, he gave Bezalel and Oholiab to ability to teach others these skills.  They accepted this great responsibility to serve the Lord through construction and taught others to join them in this act of worship.

In thinking about the power of this scripture, I created a Mad Lib.

Now: the Mad Libs:
1) Your name
2) the roles God has given you (mother, father, mentor, teacher, engineer, boss, employee, craftsman, etc).
3) A fellow believer you work closely with in these roles.

“'See, the LORD has chosen ____(1)______, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills – to _____(2)_______.  And he has given both him and ___(3)________,  the ability to teach others.  He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work. So ___(1)____&__(3)________ and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability […] are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded.”

Bezalel  received the Holy Spirit and accepted his responsibility to serve God through the gifts and the wisdom that God had given him.    Do we approach our gifts the same way?  We who are followers of Christ have all been given gifts and abilities through the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12, Eph 4:11, etc).  But do we approach using these gifts with as much reverence and responsibility that Bezalel had?  If we saw our homes, our jobs, and our families in light of this responsibility, would it change how we approached things?

Often I fall into the trap to believe that my success is based on my own ability.  But who gives me that ability? Who blesses my steps and my pathway to use these gifts? It is my responsibility to use these gifts for the Lord, otherwise I have dishonored the Holy Spirit.

So Lord, how do I do that?