Tag: God’s Temple

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Built to Last

Daily Reading

1Kings 8-9

Daily Thought

An Episcopal church in Manhattan, The Church of the Holy Communion, opened its doors in 1844 as a place of worship and a help to the needy. It had a good run, but by mid-20th century, neglect began taking its toll. In 1983, The Church of the Holy Communion was converted into the Limelight Nightclub, the once reverent spot into a house of decadence. Yet, it would sink lower still. In the Spring of 2010, the Church turned Nightclub was reborn as the Limelight Marketplace, with 35 upscale boutiques and restaurants, complete with stained-glass windows. What had become of the house of worship?

God warned Solomon there could come a time when, “Everyone passing by the Temple will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them’” (1Kings 9:8-9).

The first Temple, 960-586BC, Solomon’s, was destroyed by the Babylonians. The second, 516BC-70AD, by the Romans. Why then exert the effort, take the time, pay the price to build a house for God? Not because God needs the Temple, but because the Temple and its people need God. These temples lasted a long time, but they did not last forever. No building of man can.

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1Corinthians 3:16). That “you” is plural, not singular. The Christian life is community. Do not go it alone. This is the Church, the people of God. You are that house. Built to last, because the Church is not a building of man, but the handiwork of God.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are holy and righteous. I am not. You made me in Your image, so deep inside I have always known what I should be like. But, on my own, I wouldn’t do anything to change. Thank You for seeking me and inviting me to follow You. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Jesus said, “Follow Me.” God, I commit to following You with all that I am. Help me keep that promise. Do not allow me to chase after empty religion, but may my religion be the kind of religion that You embrace, that I will keep myself pure, unpolluted by the world, and that I will look after and serve the poor, the marginalized, the orphans and widows. You are, and shall always be my first love. With all of my heart, with all of my mind, with all of my strength, I will love You, follow You, and serve You.

Amen

Daily Question

What difference does it make to realize you are a temple of God?

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God’s Temple

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 40-42

Daily Thought

Behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. 4 And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you.” ~Ezekiel 40:3-4

Notice every detail. Because Ezekiel did. As chapter 40 begins and continues for several chapters, Ezekiel is given a vision of God’s plan for his Temple. Every gate, every wall, every room, every table is assigned by God and carefully measured by the reed in his hand. This is the Temple in which God would dwell in the midst of his people. Who would build it, or when, is not mentioned, but the measurements are meticulous. It would be built. 

To the time of Ezekiel, there had been the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon. Following the exile, there would be a temple rebuilt, and then Herod’s Temple, which stood at the time of Jesus, but was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Now, one temple remains, but it is not built of stone which does not last: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1Corinthians 6:19-20). I need only note the care to which God commanded Ezekiel to measure the Temple to understand it is me who is being measured.  

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. ~Psalm 139:13-14

Look in the mirror and see the wonder of one created in the image of God–“in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). O Christian, you are God’s Temple. Notice every detail, because God does. 

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” ~Ephesians 2:10

Daily Prayer

Creator God, what an amazing world. Just the idea that I am here amazes me. In the corner of this vast universe, You pay attention to me. And I pay attention to You. Sometimes. How can the Creator of the universe love me so deeply, and I take You for granted all too often. You know the beginning and the end. You set the foundations of the world and write Your story in history. We open Your Word and we find truth to live by and a future to hope for. 

Your church is the future, the body of Christ who will make the mystery of grace known in this world. I stand beside You, God, because You are the author of life and You have the Last Word. What You say happens. I will listen to Your Word, and I will follow it, because Your Word is worthy of my trust. How great is my God.

Amen

Daily Question

What does it mean to you that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by God?

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God’s Temple

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 40-42

Daily Thought

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city. In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. ~Ezekiel 40:1-3

Notice every detail, because Ezekiel did. As chapter 40 begins and continues for three chapters, Ezekiel is given a vision of God’s plan for his Temple. Every gate, every wall, every room, every table is assigned by God and carefully measured by the reed in his hand. This is the Temple in which God would dwell in the midst of his people. Who would build it, or when, is not mentioned, but the measurements are meticulous. It would be built. 

To the time of Ezekiel, there had been the tabernacle of Moses and the temple of Solomon. Following the exile, there would be a temple rebuilt, and then Herod’s Temple, which stood at the time of Jesus, but was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Since then, only one temple has been raised, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1Corinthians 6:19-20). I need only note the care to which God commanded Ezekiel to measure this Temple to understand it is me who is being measured. 

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. ~Psalm 139:13-14

Look in the mirror and see the wonder of one created in the image of God. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” ~Ephesians 2:10

Daily Prayer

Creator God, what an amazing world. Just the idea that I am here amazes me. In the corner of this vast universe, You pay attention to me. And I pay attention to You. Sometimes. How can the Creator of the universe love me so deeply, and I take You for granted all too often. You know the beginning and the end. You set the foundations of the world and write Your story in history. We open Your Word and we find truth to live by and a future to hope for. 

Your church is the future, the body of Christ who will make the mystery of grace known in this world. I stand beside You, God, because You are the author of life and You have the Last Word. What You say happens. I will listen to Your Word, and I will follow it, because Your Word is worthy of my trust. How great is my God.

Amen

Posted on

Built To Last

Daily Reading

1Kings 8-9

Daily Thought

An Episcopal church in Manhattan, The Church of the Holy Communion, opened its doors in 1844 as a place of worship and a help to the needy. It had a good run, but by mid-20th century, neglect began taking its toll. In 1983, The Church of the Holy Communion was converted into the Limelight Nightclub, the once reverent spot into a house of decadence. Yet, it would sink lower still. In the Spring of 2010, the Church turned Nightclub was reborn as the Limelight Marketplace, with 35 upscale boutiques and restaurants, complete with stained-glass windows. What had become of the house of worship?

God warned Solomon there could come a time when, “Everyone passing by the Temple will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them'” (1Kings 9:8-9).

The first Temple, 960-586BC, Solomon’s, was destroyed by the Babylonians. The second, 516BC-70AD, by the Romans. Why then exert the effort, take the time, pay the price to build a house for God? Not because God needs the Temple, but because the Temple and its people need God. These temples lasted a long time, but they did not last forever. No building of man can.

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1Corinthians 3:16). That “you” is plural, not singular. The Christian life is community. Do not go it alone. This is the Church, the people of God. You are that house. Built to last, because the Church is not a building of man, but the handiwork of God.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are holy and righteous. I am not. You made me in Your image, so deep inside I have always known what I should be like. But, on my own, I wouldn’t do anything to change. Thank You for seeking me and inviting me to follow You. Thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Jesus said, “Follow Me.” God, I commit to following You with all that I am. Help me keep that promise. Do not allow me to chase after empty religion, but may my religion be the kind of religion that You embrace, that I will keep myself pure, unpolluted by the world, and that I will look after and serve the poor, the marginalized, the orphans and widows. You are, and shall always be my first love. With all of my heart, with all of my mind, with all of my strength, I will love You, follow You, and serve You.

Amen

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You Are That Temple

Daily Reading

1Kings 6-7

Daily Thought

God is at work in creation. Day one, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), and there is day and night. Day two, God separates the sky from the ocean surface, then parts the seas and brings forth dry land, day three. On day four, he places the sun, moon, and stars; on day five, he fills the oceans and skies with creatures that swim and fly; on day six, he creates the animals on earth, then he creates man; and each day was good. Then God rested. We know when he rested, he ceased working, but what had he built? Rest also means to reside, to take residence, and God had built His temple, a God-sized house, the heavens and the earth. From the prophet Isaiah, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?'” (Isaiah 66:1).

A temple does not contain God. No temple can, not even the heaven and the earth. A temple is that place where God resides to meet us, and for Adam and Eve, that temple was all that God created. From Adam and Eve sprang many people, and God chose one, Israel, to call his own. “Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, ‘Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel’” (1Kings 6:11-13).

Solomon would build him a temple, “The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?” (2Chronicles 2:5-6). Solomon built a temple not to contain God, no temple can, but a place for God to reside so his people could meet him.

Now, God has chosen the church, those who trust and follow his son, Jesus Christ, and said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1Corinthians 6:19-20). A temple does not contain God. No temple can. It is that place were God resides, so his people can meet him. You are that temple.

Daily Prayer

My God, I am home for Your Name, a place of Your residence. You created all things, You are God, the only God, the Maker of heaven and the earth, and You have made me Your temple, my heart Your home. That is hard to get my head around, the God of the universe knows my name. It is amazing and it is wonderful.

God, clean house, sweep out the sin and rearrange my priorities. Make Yourself first in my life and take all of me, heart, soul, mind, and strength. Leave no corner untouched. I will follow You, only You, the only God, and I will love You with all that I am. Live in me so fully that others will see You are home.

Amen