Old and New Alike
This morning I am reading in 1 Chronicles. I am coming to the end of the book and we have King David turning the work of the temple over to his son, Solomon. While the Lord had given David all of the instructions, down to the smallest detail, David was not to build the temple because he was "a warrior and have shed blood." (vs 28:3b) A few verses later David tells his son, "acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever." (vs 28:9) Let's stop there for a minute.
I don't know about you but I am equally humbled and thankful God searches my heart and understands every desire and every thought I have. Really! This means I am NOT invisible to Him. He knows every single detail about me. He knows the things I love the most and He also knows the things I probably shouldn't be thinking. (Good way to nip things in the bud, if you know what I mean!) I need to be honest, there was a time in my life that I did not want the Lord knowing everything. I just didn't. I wanted to keep a hold of the things that were mine to control (yes, laughable for sure) and only give Him the things I think He needed or wanted. Silly me, it was and still is all His anyway. It was His the moment I asked to be His - the moment I asked Him to come into my life and to forgive my sins, to be my personal Savior.
I find myself asking God repeatedly to search me, to remove from me what is wrong and broken and fill me with Him - what is right and good. I struggle daily with thinking I am still not where He wants me to be, a place I desperately want to be. I want to make Him proud. I want to be who He wants me to be. I want to honor Him with my life. I want to be His. And I want all that to help others know how good and perfect and loving and faithful He is. (I haven't gotten off target...work with me.)
David wasn't done passing things down to his son. He also said to him, “Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished." (vs 20) I read that and a lightbulb went off in my head. It made sense. In the old testament, the spirit of the Lord was in the Ark of the Covenant. The temple Solomon was in charge of was to provide a house for the Ark. There were a lot of details. (That is an extremely mild way of putting it!!!) Not just anyone could come before the Ark, and not a single soul could physically touch it. God's Spirit was too Holy for man. I know that sounds cruel, but let's be honest here - would YOU want something icky and sinful to touch you? (I'll let you form the mental image of the worst thing you can think of and that is a good representation of what I mean here.)
But that is the thing with God. He so desperately wanted a relationship with His people that He gave David those detailed instructions and He had Solomon build the temple so His people could come before Him. He made a way. He ALWAYS makes a way. Because despite the "icky and sinful" He so much wants us to be His. To know Him. To fellowship with Him. To have a relationship with Him. Do you see where I am going with this? Good. BECAUSE...
1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" You guys! This! The work of the temple is NOT complete. Sure, we don't have to build an elaborate building and have lampstands and plates and incense and the like, but we do have to build the temple. You see, when God gave His son for us He did that so He could give each of us His spirit. WE GET TO CARRY HIS SPIRIT. What an awesome opportunity, responsibility, and gift. He chose me. He chose you. He CHOSE US to be temples for His spirit. Talk about being mind-blown and humbled.
I don't know about you, but I want to honor that gift. I want to be certain that when he searches me I am open to change and correction so His work can be done in me. I want Him to use me to reach others. I want my life to be a reflection of His goodness and power and strength. Why? Because I am not my own, I was bought at a price (1 Cor. 6:20 paraphrased). Like David's advice for his son, I want to serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind.
Lord, I pray that anyone who reads this sees the beauty of your gift. The blessing of a life lived with you. Lord, I ask that you open the eyes of their hearts so they may see you. Reach them and hold them. Comfort them and carry them. Most of all, show them you will never leave them nor forsake them.
Love, M
I don't know about you but I am equally humbled and thankful God searches my heart and understands every desire and every thought I have. Really! This means I am NOT invisible to Him. He knows every single detail about me. He knows the things I love the most and He also knows the things I probably shouldn't be thinking. (Good way to nip things in the bud, if you know what I mean!) I need to be honest, there was a time in my life that I did not want the Lord knowing everything. I just didn't. I wanted to keep a hold of the things that were mine to control (yes, laughable for sure) and only give Him the things I think He needed or wanted. Silly me, it was and still is all His anyway. It was His the moment I asked to be His - the moment I asked Him to come into my life and to forgive my sins, to be my personal Savior.
I find myself asking God repeatedly to search me, to remove from me what is wrong and broken and fill me with Him - what is right and good. I struggle daily with thinking I am still not where He wants me to be, a place I desperately want to be. I want to make Him proud. I want to be who He wants me to be. I want to honor Him with my life. I want to be His. And I want all that to help others know how good and perfect and loving and faithful He is. (I haven't gotten off target...work with me.)
David wasn't done passing things down to his son. He also said to him, “Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished." (vs 20) I read that and a lightbulb went off in my head. It made sense. In the old testament, the spirit of the Lord was in the Ark of the Covenant. The temple Solomon was in charge of was to provide a house for the Ark. There were a lot of details. (That is an extremely mild way of putting it!!!) Not just anyone could come before the Ark, and not a single soul could physically touch it. God's Spirit was too Holy for man. I know that sounds cruel, but let's be honest here - would YOU want something icky and sinful to touch you? (I'll let you form the mental image of the worst thing you can think of and that is a good representation of what I mean here.)
But that is the thing with God. He so desperately wanted a relationship with His people that He gave David those detailed instructions and He had Solomon build the temple so His people could come before Him. He made a way. He ALWAYS makes a way. Because despite the "icky and sinful" He so much wants us to be His. To know Him. To fellowship with Him. To have a relationship with Him. Do you see where I am going with this? Good. BECAUSE...
1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" You guys! This! The work of the temple is NOT complete. Sure, we don't have to build an elaborate building and have lampstands and plates and incense and the like, but we do have to build the temple. You see, when God gave His son for us He did that so He could give each of us His spirit. WE GET TO CARRY HIS SPIRIT. What an awesome opportunity, responsibility, and gift. He chose me. He chose you. He CHOSE US to be temples for His spirit. Talk about being mind-blown and humbled.
I don't know about you, but I want to honor that gift. I want to be certain that when he searches me I am open to change and correction so His work can be done in me. I want Him to use me to reach others. I want my life to be a reflection of His goodness and power and strength. Why? Because I am not my own, I was bought at a price (1 Cor. 6:20 paraphrased). Like David's advice for his son, I want to serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind.
Lord, I pray that anyone who reads this sees the beauty of your gift. The blessing of a life lived with you. Lord, I ask that you open the eyes of their hearts so they may see you. Reach them and hold them. Comfort them and carry them. Most of all, show them you will never leave them nor forsake them.
Love, M
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