Welcome to the PMF Workshop for the week of September 28, 2020. I’m your host, T. M. Moore. Each week we provide teaching, encouragement, and resources to help you in working your Personal Mission Field. By adopting the perspectives and practicing the disciplines we present in the Workshop, you can become more consistent and effective in realizing the presence, promise, and power of God’s Kingdom in your daily life.

Today’s Workshop is entitled, “Sacred Space.” Our text is Psalm 114.1, 2 and Romans 12.1, 2.

When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion. Psalm 114.1, 2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12.1, 2

Israel’s deliverance and ours
We are familiar with the Old Testament story of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. God saved and delivered His people from a land of slavery and barbarism, into the land He had prepared for them, the land of promise.

Israel’s experience is a type of our own salvation. God delivered us from a life of bondage to sin into the promises of Jesus and the calling to His Kingdom and glory (2 Pet. 1.4; 2 Cor. 1.20; 1 Thess. 2.12).

The land of Canaan – which became the nations of Judah and Israel – was both a sanctuary, or holy place,  for God’s people, and their kingdom, or place of dominion. This was where they were to worship God and to serve as stewards and rulers in His Name, following His Law and cultivating His land unto blessing. Here they were to love God with all their soul and strength, and their neighbors as themselves. Here they were to live in holiness and justice, seeking and worshiping God at all times, as they realized His blessings in every area of their lives (cf. Deut. 28.1-14). Here, in their appointed place, they would become a beacon of light and life to the world.

The Lord promised that the nations would see His people’s faithfulness, and they would marvel at their wisdom (Deut. 4.5-8) and desire to have a part in God with them (Mic. 4.1-5). The people were to look forward to a day of enlarging their space – stretching out their tents, as Isaiah has it (Is. 54) – to embrace and welcome people from all nations into their sanctuary and kingdom.

This is how we must look at our Personal Mission Fields, both as individuals and as churches. Your Personal Mission Field is like the land of Canaan God gave to Israel – your appointed place for seeking and advancing God’s Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Our Personal Mission Field is a sacred space, in which we are to be living sacrifices to God in everything we do. And our Personal Mission Field is also part of the field of the world, where the Kingdom of God is coming on earth as it is in heaven. And God has put us there to love Him and our neighbors by good works of obedience.

Mercy and grace
To fulfill this calling, we need the mercy and grace of God. The mercies of God are many and continuous. We could never acknowledge them all, though we must daily give thanks for them. We could not exist apart from God’s mercy. Thus, the worship we owe Him must be as constant and as comprehensive as His mercies are. God goes before us into our Personal Mission Field each day, preparing opportunities for His grace to abound to and through us, and for His mercy to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ. Thus, the proper perspective to carry into our Personal Mission Field at all times is that of worship and obedience. Your Personal Mission Field is your sacred space, your corner of the Kingdom; and God intends to make Himself known through you as you draw on His mercies and grace for everything you do, every day of your life.

True worship is living worship, daily worship and obedience, moment by moment offering ourselves to the Lord as a sacrifice of praise. This is the meaning of the word Paul uses, reasonable – “λογικός ή, όν: pertaining to being genuine, in the sense of being true to the real and essential nature of something – rational, genuine, true. τὴν λογικὴν λατρείαν ὑμω̂ν this is your true worship.” (Louw & Nida).

In all we do, we belong to the Lord Who has delivered us. We have the privilege of serving His purposes, glorifying His Name, celebrating His goodness, advancing His rule, and realizing His promises in the sacred space He has appointed for us, our Personal Mission Field. But only by daily practice will we be able to realize more of the great promise of our sacred space and Kingdom.

An exercise for this week
Here's an excerpt from Psalm 25 that I challenge you to memorize and sing throughout the day:

Psalm 25.4, 5 (Festal Song: Revive Thy Work, O God)
Make me to know Your ways, teach me Your paths, O Lord!
My Savior, all day long I wait and seek You in Your Word.

Singing helps to focus your mind. It engages your heart for hope and resolve. Singing reinforces your values and priorities. And singing can lead you into every situation and opportunity, ready to worship and serve God as He leads. Sing this stanza throughout the day. Memorize it. As you drive in your car, prepare for a meeting, or sit down to your dinner, sing these words, and bring worship in the sacred space and Kingdom of your Personal Mission Field.

Have you mapped out your Personal Mission Field? Watch this brief video, download the worksheet, and get started today.

Here are a few other resources to help you in working your Personal Mission Field:

At The Ailbe Bookstore:
The Ailbe Psalter sets all the psalms to familiar hymn tunes. Learn to sing God’s Word as you go about your daily work in your Personal Mission Field.

At The Fellowship of Ailbe website:

Are you praying for revival? Working toward it? Believing that revival can happen in our lifetime? Our ReVision series, “Revived!” explains why you should and how you can. Go to the website, click the Resources tab and the ReVision category, then scroll down to “Revived!”, and download all the studies for free.

Tell us about what’s going in your Personal Mission Field. What challenges are you facing? How has the Lord been leading or using you? Email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with your Personal Mission Field stories, and we might be able to use them to encourage one another in the Personal Mission Field Workshop.

For the Fellowship of Ailbe, and for the Personal Mission Field Workshop, this has been T. M. Moore.

Check out our new podcast, and discover more ways The Fellowship of Ailbe can equip you for living to God’s glory in your Personal Mission Field.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.