Building Blocks

How was Solomon's temple built? Both 1 Kings 6:1-38 and 2 Chronicles 3:1-9 provide descriptions.

One of the aspects from 1 Kings 6 stood out as I read: "The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe, not any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built" (1 Kings 6:7).

Pre-cut and pre-organized, the stones were taken from the quarry to the site of the temple.

In a like manner, God prepares and places His own for their use to Him.

First Peter 2 refers to Christ and those in Him in these terms: "And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ Jesus" (2 Peter 2:4-5).

This reminds me of Romans 12:1: "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship."

Christ is the cornerstone, chosen and set by God. God also chooses and sets us, not as the dead stones which made up the temple in the Old Testament, but as living stones who serve our Lord and His Father. Our sacrifices are made acceptable to God not by our doing but that of Christ Jesus.

In Revelation 21:10-27 we read of the New Jerusalem, its appearance and its residents. 21:22 notes: "I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temples." To which I say, "Amen, come quickly, Lord Jesus."

The Greatest Gift

The greatest gift is the most costly as well: God's only Son given Incarnate to dwell with men as man and then to bear in His Holy Person the wrath of His Holy Father as the Substitution for the sins of all They determined before time to bring to faith, repentance, life instead of eternal death--the sentence Christ bore with merciful willingness, even as His Father poured out the vials of His wrath on the One Who was due only eternal glory.

Who can fathom the cost of salvation borne by the Son in obedience to the Father, granted life to the chosen through the Spirit?

Neither myrrh nor frankincense nor gold can purchase the souls so valued of old.

The costliest gift planned from eternity,
Given in time, wrapped not in royal robes
But human flesh swaddled in humility--
God with us, God for us, God redeeming us for God,
God giving up His life, God receiving back His life, God for God yet for man.
Who can comprehend the plan the Godhead devised?
We can respond to such grace only with repentance and gratitude for such merciful acts of saving sinners.

Two Kitchen Sink Prayers

Sometimes I am more aware than others of my meetings with God just in the normal operations of my at-home responsibilities. It amazes me that He is as interested in my days and what I fill them with as He was when I worked outside my home. This always encourages me, as do these Scripture passages: Psalm 111; Proverbs 24:3-4; Proverbs 16:3. Make note and take note of those.

God is Sovereign

God is Sovereign
Of the universe
And of my kitchen sink--
Not just my future
But here, where I think,
Of the plans I make
And the tasks I do--
The small with the large
Are all the same to You,
And that brings me comfort
Along with responsibility,
Knowing You reign
Sovereign over all
Large and small
There and then
Here and now
The universe
My home.

God, Sovereign of the every-day,
Of the "small things,"
I meet You at the kitchen sink,
You give my days/prayers/heart/work/wings,
Guard and Guide
Who does reside
In everyplace and none,
By Your grace
With You I am one.

How Wonderful and Marvelous and Awesome

How wonderful and marvelous and awesome
To think that the same One
Who sovereignly oversees all creation
Gave for such as me His Son
And with that giving--breathless thought--
Dwells now with me day and night
Yet high and lifted up and worshiped in the highest heaven
Yet with me somehow here 24/7

Reigning over the vase expanses of universe and time
Yet He deigns to be mine--
Sovereign of all the little things
As well as all divine

It can't be fathomed,
No mortal mind can wrap around
Yet this is so I have found
And in this finding is comfort as well:
That the Sovereign One would with me deign to dwell

Is This YES Necessary?

Long ago I misunderstood Proverbs 24:10-12: "If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, 'Behold, we did not know this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will He not repay everyone according to his or her work?"

My misunderstanding caused me to say YES to every good opportunity which came along, until one day I collapsed at work. I don't know how I managed to get home, but I had to reconsider all of the YES answers I had given.

I had to cut back all of my commitments but one--I had to keep working. All of the others got phone calls explaining why I was cutting back. Only one place tried to put the guilt trip on me whereas all of the others were understanding.

I had to learn the hard way that not every YES is necessary.

Sometimes a NO, sometimes a NOT NOW, sometimes a YES--but all take discernment.

One question I ask is, "Am I the only person qualified to take this on?"

Another is, if I say YES, will someone else miss a learning opportunity they would have had from saying YES?

Then, if I say YES to this, what will I have to say NO to and what will that mean?

Furthermore, am I really helping in this situation or just enabling someone to not take responsibility that is rightly theirs?

Discernment is developed over time.

Reading Proverbs helps as does asking other Christians for their input.

To this day I have to ask, "Is this YES necessary?"

Considering Holiness and Humility

Holiness and humility are twin virtues it would seem,
And in the light of Scripture both gleam.
Both are Christ-like in their origin and goal;
Both only God can use, can cause us to be whole.
Humility is so hard because it slips away
As soon as someone comments on how humble any day.
And holiness is something we won't fully gain until
God glorifies us and then, like His Son, we can dwell
In His presence safely, eternally, well.
Until then, holiness and humility--twin virtues--are sought
That His glory is known, is known from that which is Christ-bought.

Philippians 2:3-11: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves, do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  For this reason also, God has highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Considering the Place of Good Works in the Life of a Christian

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul makes it clear that our salvation is altogether of God's mercy, love, and grace: "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:4-10, ESV).

Our pastor taught through Paul's letter to Titus several years ago. One expression which got my attention is that of good works. These are not saving works; that has been accomplished once for all by the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

Good works: Titus 2:13-14: "'waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, who are zealous for good deeds" (ESV).

Good works: Titus 3:8: "The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people" (ESV).

Good works: Titus 3:14: "And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful" (ESV).

What might these good works include? It depends on how the Lord has gifted each one of us, but they are all important to the full functioning of the body of Christ to the glory of God.

See Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 12: "For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to thing, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in  Christ, and individually members of one another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them" (vv. 3-6a, ESV).

But there are commands to all, whatever gifts we might have: "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope,.be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints.and show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own estimation. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, leave peacefully with all. Do not avenge yourselves , but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:9-21, ESV).

And of course these positives and negatives from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (ESV).

Lord, grant me by the power of your Holy Spirit to so love and and to so serve that those who see my good works might glorify the Father who is in heaven, as the Lord says in Matthew 5:16. Amen.

Some Thoughts about Spiritual Fruitfulness

True spiritual fruitfulness can only be that of the Spirit as we read in Galatians 5:22-23a: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

This fruit can be grown only on the true Vine, Christ: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.... Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:1-2, 4-5).

How is this fruit manifested as it is grown on this Vine and pruned by this Vinedresser?

Let's go back to Galatians 5 and pick up what Paul also wrote: "Against such things [referring to the fruit of the Spirit] there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another (vv. 23b-26).

Our walk--our daily life in Christ--reflects this daily crucifixion--humility instead of boastfulness, compassion instead of challenging, generosity instead of envying--"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."