Holy Spirit Power Within Us

"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14 (NASB)


Read Acts 2, and soak up the significance of what happened on Pentecost. We have been blessed with the same blessings those that "were gathered in that place" experienced that day. In the preceding chapter, Jesus had given clear orders to the apostles He had chosen. They were to be His witnesses. Were they to run right out and do this? No, they were to wait for His Holy Spirit, for this would be the source of power for them to go into the world with the Gospel.

Nearing the end of His earthly life (John 17), Jesus prays for Himself, His disciples, and all believers. We are included in that number. He desires that those the Father has given Him will be with Him and behold His glory which the Father has given Him, and that they would make it known to the whole world.The power to do that comes from the Holy Spirit. Through the Pentecost event the Holy Spirit was delivered to the hearts of men. Our bodies host His presence and His great power.

Let's look at one more instance where God's glory shines.

In Acts 3:1-22 we read about a man who has been physically challenged since birth -- born with abnormalities of the body that kept him from ever learning to walk. Where do we find him? Sitting at a gate of the Temple. The place where people go to seek God, we would think. But he's sitting there just hoping for the mercy of a few coins from those passing by going to do their duty at the temple. Along come Peter and John. They were observing him closely as they approached. When they had his attention, don't you know, he was just expecting them to toss some change. What happens? They command him to walk in the name of Jesus Christ! They grab his hand, pull him up, and he's walking and even leapping! Yes, as we would say, a few minds were blown at that moment. The result: The people were running toward Peter and John in total amazement. Peter's flesh might have entertained the idea of grabbing some of that gory for itself, but instead Peter preached to the people of the power of God that brought about this man's healing. The people began glorifying God. The priests, temple guard and Saducees applecart was toppled. And because of the people glorifying God, the officials couldn't make their arrest charges stick. This happened early after the Pentecost (God's gift of the Holy Spirit) event. Although, the disciples were seeing some wondrous results of the power of God through the Holy Spirit they had now received, I bet they were still being amazed themselves every time God worked through them.

According to the verses a couple of posts back (check Isaiah 66:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20), God's word to us here is that He can't be contained, but He is looking for those who are "Humble and contrite of spirit, and who tremble at My word." He's looking for lives changed when they encounter the glory of God. We've seen that happen in every one of these instances (over the last 3 posts), and there are many other examples in Scripture. In the first we saw the angelic beings bringing God's glory into focus. Then we saw Jesus' own ministry giving glory to His Father. And finally, after Jesus has been glorified in the resurrection, and returned in glory to the Father, we saw the very power of Heaven in the form of the Holy Spirit of God taking up residence within the lives of believers. Their enthusiasm spills out to a world thirsty for the Living Water, the Bread of Life, who when He is encountered brings humility, contrition and Holy fear.

God-Color Moment
Think and pray about the ways you have seen God work in your life and the life of those around you. Record an example of how God has showed up in the midst of a situation, and His glory was apparent to all who witnessed it. Were the reactions those of awe and trembling?

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011
Photo glimpse of God's glory above from www.multimedia-stock.com

God Shows Up in Glory Again & Again!

More instances of that which brought glory to God! Are you prepared to be awed?

In Matthew 9:1-8 Jesus is criticized for telling the paralytic and his friends that He saw their faith, and forgave the man his sins. To show that He had the authority to do just that, Jesus then healed the man. What happened? The multitudes gave glory to God. I doubt the paralytic and company set out for a worship and praise marathon that day. They were just people with a problem, seeking out this Man who seemed to offer hope. They trusted He could help. He did. God was glorified not just by them, but also by the multitudes! I wonder how long that spontaneous worship service lasted? How heartfelt was their praise? In all probability, this was no rote liturgy or the fifteenth chorus of "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." Instead, I'm guessing, their very actions were a broad display of hearts truly filled with awe and trembling, and lives being prepared to be glorious temples of the Holy Spirit. (Remember the Holy Spirit was given to us after Jesus ascended to heaven.)

Jesus raises the widow's only son back to life in Luke 7:11-16. "The dead man sat up and began to speak" (vs. 15). The disciples and a whole multitude of folks were with Jesus when they came upon this funeral procession. The result: he entire crowd was gripped with fear, and they glorified God for visiting His people! Did the mourners have any hope, or big plans to see some great miracle? Do you think they were walking outside the city gate with the body expecting this man to sit up and have a conversation with them? Very doubtful. And, what's more, when he did it brought incredible fear upon ALL OF THEM. Those with Jesus might have thought traveling around with this Guy was pretty cool, but when they actually witnessed His power they were definitely humbled and trembling as were those in the funeral party. I think there were some building blocks prepared for their temples that day.

One more awe inspiring story in the next post along with another God-Color Moment.

Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011
Photo -- One small glimpse of God's glory! Through the lens of my own camera. 

Walking Talking Temples of the Holy Spirit

"Thus says the LORD, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool, Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For my hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being declares the LORD, But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." Isaiah 66:1-2 (NASB)

Obviously, as we've already discovered our God is so incredibly large He could neer be contained in a "house" built by man. Yet we've already discovered that the apostle, Paul, admonishes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NASB): "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." No, He cannot be contained in a building of wood and bricks, but our hearts and our actions can certainly embody and proclaim His glory!

As I searched through the New Testament for specific instances of that which brought glory to the Father these are some of the examples I found, demonstrating that when He is present in our lives glorious things happen that we could never dream up. 

Luke 2:15-20 recounts the shepherds' visit to the Baby Jesus. Going about their routine lives in the fields by night, they had been visited by a host of angels. Did they expect to witness that spectacular display of God's creation? Highly unlikely. But their response was to leave their place of comfort, and go check this out at the risk of being mocked for believing some crazy vision was real -- or perhaps thought to have been smoking some funny weed.  The result: They returned glorifying God! Scripture doesn't tell us for sure, but I'm believing they returned to their work, their family, their friends, their same routine, but reflecting the glory of God and His heavenly light and colors to all of those around them! They were walking, talking temples of the Holy Spirit right in the middle of the ordinary stuff of life.

We will look at other examples in the next posts. Allow yourself to be awed by the glory of God.

Photo from canstockphoto.com
All other content Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011 

The Master's Teaching Seminar

 Were about to begin the next chapter in our study. Here's a brief overview.

Your Master's Plan: Check Out His Teaching Seminar

All through Scripture God's glory is displayed through the lives of real people. We'll begin this chapter by visiting the shepherds returning from their field trip to the manger, the forgiven paralytic, the widow's son restored to life, and John and Peter's encounter with the paralytic at the temple gate. The impact of their encounters with God provided an outpouring of His glory to the world around them. God met them where they were and prepared them to be used mightily in His plan. Their stories were recorded in the first century after Christ's birth. God is still using their God-color testimonies for His plans and to bring Him glory today in the year 2011. That is another rather mind-boggling revelation of the BIGNESS of our God!

Christ's power to make a difference in our world lives right inside our temples. . . our lives. . . our bodies. Unfortunately, we often put our focus on other stuff. It becomes all too convenient to set His place in our life apart for another "more attractive" alternative of the moment. Isaiah discovered that truth in His life. God provided for Isaiah's restoration. He does the same for us. When we run smack dab into our need for remodeling in our temples because of the sin/idols we allow to take His place on the thrones of our temples, God has already made all the provisions for restoration.

We'll also be looking at the provisions David had prepared for his son, Solomon, to build the temple of God in Jerusalem. We'll be drawing some parallels to the provisions God makes for our temple life through the blueprints Jesus laid out in His Sermon on the Mount. Pay close attention during His terrific teaching seminar.

Topics we'll cover in this chapter:

• God shows up in the midst of the situations of life.
• We are heirs, seated with Him at the right hand of the power of God.
• Will you be a willing participant?
• David's provisions for Solomon to build the Temple of God.
• God's provisions for His Temple in us.

Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

JESUS in COLORFUL CAPITAL LETTERS!

Quick review! We have learned that Jesus is the rock, the very cornerstone of our faith, the foundation of our temple.We have seen God pour forth water from the rock in the wilderness and provide us with Jesus, the Living Water. We noted that the temple was built on a rock outcropping used for threshing wheat. Wheat is used to make flour necessary for baking bread, and Jesus is the bread of life. We have learned that He desires for us (His children) to be salt to the world to make it thirsty for Him, and a light to the world to reflect all the God-colors of His love. Building our temple seems to come through obedience. He expected it of Abraham, Moses, David, and Solomon, and He expects it of us. Allow me to share a story that I believe will enlighten us. 

God expects much from us, because the world expects much from us. October 2002 my husband and I traveled with friends to Vermont expecting to be greeted by a glorious display of God's artwork in the vibrant color drenched autumn foliage for which He is so famous. What we found were trees whose leaves were turning brown and falling to the ground, but very little of the palette we had anticipated. While we were exploring a little woodcrafter,s gallery, the owner began to share with us about how long he had lived in the area -- 37 years -- and how he believed this was the worst fall season for color he had ever seen. They just had no rain all summer and the leaves were dying and falling off. We had not even mentioned our disappointment. We were oohing and aahing over his sleighs, tiny wooden jigsaw puzzles and other fine hand crafted wood items. He seemed to feel a need to share his sadness that his little part of the world wasn't showing off for its residents or anyone else.

As I was writing the last few posts, I was reminded of that little scene in that carpenter's shop. God brought to mind that when the world looks at Christians they are expecting to see a beautiful radiance of God-colors in our lives just as we had expected to see it in Vermont's fall foliage. Romans 8:19 (NASB) "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." The world longs to see something in us that stands out, shows off, and says JESUS to them in all COLORFUL CAPITAL LETTERS. This Scripture from Romans implies its deep disappointment when those God-colors are not evident in us. What I realized is that the foundation for the palette of vivid hues to be displayed in the autumn trees is rain water during the growing season. If we are going to display the intense hues of His very glory and presence within us to the world that is watching and looking for it, we are going to need to have growing seasons with ample supplies of Living Water.

I believe we are only going to be supplied with this water as we spend time with the Bread of Life. Those kernels of wheat were threshed on that rock floor. If we want to harvest the kernels of pure wheat to help us grow we must go to the source. We need the Living Water to grow the wheat. We need the Living Water to paint our God-colors as we mature. Baby leaves are green. Only the leaves of trees that have soaked up the rain water all summer mature to show the vividness of the flaming autumn forest. Jesus said in John 6:35 (NASB), "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." 

Full, watered, and growing, built on the Rock -- we've begun to lay the foundation stones of our temples. If mine is going to shake I want it only to be because of the praise of the angels, and God Himself dancing and singing and shouting over me; not because of the wind of a storm blowing through my life that washes me off the sandy land. If I can stand on the Rock through the storm, the world will see His rainbow in my life. Praying you are with me?

Photo from www.multimedia-stock.com
All other material Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

Rocks & Obedience

1 Kings 6:7 tells us that the stones and timbers were prepared away from the site and then moved to the location of the temple. Now consider the location of the temple on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1). These rocks were not only moved to the location, but they were moved up a mountain to be able to be used in the building of the temple. This mountain, we learn, was the threshing floor that Solomon's father, David, had purchased Araunah to build an altar of sacrifice to God against whom he had mightily sinned. David was offering this sacrifice on behalf of himself and the people.

A threshing floor is usually a rock outcropping where the whole wheat is beat, and then thrown into the air for the wind to blow away the chaff and for the choice kernels of grain to fall and be harvested. This same Mount Moriah was earlier the place of Abraham's sacrifice, when God provided the ram in the thicket as a substitutionary sacrifice as God tested Abraham's obedience in the sacrifice of his son, Isaac.

Let's also look at a promise made by God to David and to Solomon 1 Kings 6:12 (NASB): "Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute my ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel."

Rocks and obedience seem to be pretty important to God in the building of the temple to house His presence and place of personal sacrifice. In the past several posts you have been asked to look at Jesus' sermon on the mount where He spoke specifically about His expectations for a believer's life. He let the listeners (and us) know that if we heard all these things and didn't take them to heart and apply them in our lives our foundations were built on some very sandy soil, and they would fail. He urged them and us to build our foundations on rock! We learned that Jesus Christ is our chief cornerstone. We also are "living stones being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5 (NASB). We must be prepared before we are useful.

Photo from www.multimedia-stock.com
All other material, Copyright Lynn U. Watson 2004, 2011

Three Millenium of Earthquakes...

...and this temple's foundation still stands.

1 Kings 5:13-18 (NIV)

King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel -- thirty thousand men. He sent them off to Lebanon in shift of ten thousand a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. Solomon had seventy thousand carriers and eighty thousand stonecutters in the hills, as well as thirty-three hundred foremen who supervised the project and directed the workmen. At the king's command they removed from the quarry large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple. The craftsmen of Solomon and Hiram and the men of Gebal cut and prepared the timber and stone for the building of the temple.

Tyre and Sidon were cities in an area known in the ancient world as Phoenicia. King Hiram of Tyre in Lebanon was a friend to Solomon's father David. Solomon sent to him for help with the temple construction. One thing the Phoenicians knew well was how to work with stone and timber. They worked alongside the men Solomon had brought together to build the temple for the Lord.

As I looked for information on Phoenician architecture and building practices I found it interesting to note that they used enormous foundation stones. The findings of the Palestine Exploration Fund in their excavations have found that

"the temple foundation consists of blocks measuring from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, and from ten to twelve feet in height. The width of the blocks at the angles of the wall, where alone it can be measured, is from twelve to eighteen feet. At the south-west angle no fewer than thirty-one courses of this massive character have been counted by the recent explorers, who estimate the weight of the largest block at something above a hundred tons." *

One of the advantages of such enormous blocks is

". . . massiveness in the material conduces greatly to stability, and that, in lands where earthquakes are frequent, as they are along all the Mediterranean shores, not many monuments would have survived the lapse of three thousand years had the material employed been of a less substantial and solid character." *

Remember that in Isaiah's vision the foundation of this temple shook when the angels raised their voices in praise to the Almighty! WHEW! I'm being blown away again by the whole host of heaven and the SIZE of my God!!!



*Khalaf, Salim-George, "A Bequest Unearthed, Phoenicia" http://phoenicia.org, Solomons Temple page, 2004. Quotes & Photo used by permission.

Copyright Lynn U. Watson 2004, 2011 

Love & Obedience

 There is much more to learn about obedience in the days ahead in this study, but for now draw your attention to just this much on the topic. In His sermon in Matthew 5-7 Jesus asks for our obedience. He lays out for us the principles of life that when followed will bring us the blessings He offers in the Beatitudes -- the promises with which He began this well known sermon. We could probably think of hundreds of ways to escape obedience or make a thousand excuses for our lack of it in so many areas of our lives. Jesus made it clear that He expects obedience. The promised blessings show us how much He loves us. The expected obedience flows out of a pure and true love for Him and all He has done for us. Isn't that the very response we hope for from our own children? 


1 John 4:19 (NASB) says, "We love, because He first loved us." Our response of love to Him is our being and doing of all He has called us to . . . to be the salt and light in a very dark and deceived world according to the blueprint He has set out. Matthew 7:26, 27 (MSG) very boldly and clearly tells us the consequence of not building our foundation on the rock: "But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."

 Beautiful castle... lots of work... waiting for storms or other meanness to come and crash it... Let's build on the Solid Rock!  (Of course, this was done for fun... but allow it to be a visual for you.)

Please hear the words of that last Scripture, my friends. that is the very reason there are so many opportunities in the Bible study to assimilate  into the very essence of our being, the things we're learning and discovering right here! Don't miss an opportunity. The lessons ahead aren't going to be for "stupid carpenters" building their houses on the sand. Take the journey. We're going to lay a foundation and build a temple for His abode. We can do that because Jesus paid the price. We'll discover the building materials are right there in His Word. As you discover more of His love for you, you will choose to love Him more by loving more. You will be blessed!


Photo from www.canstockphoto.com
All other material Copyright Lynn U. Watson 2004, 2011

Rock Solid Foundation!!!

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock." Matthew 7:24 (NASB)

The verses we have read so far from Matthew 5 about being salt and light in the world come from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Read Matthew 7:28-29. What was the result of Jesus' teachings in this sermon?
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Look over the whole sermon Jesus just taught (Matthew, chapters 5-7). From the Beatitudes (the "Blessed are the... verses) to His exhortation for His followers to be the salt and light of the world right through to the parable of the two builders, Jesus has laid out the guidelines for a life tht reflects the God-colors of the universe. He asks for our obedience, and makes us this promise: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock." Matthew 7:24-25 (NASB). The crowd heard Him as One who spoke what He lived and lived what He spoke. They stood in total awe of His authority.

1 Peter 2:6 tells us that Jesus Christ is the very cornerstone of our foundation. The One we need supporting His temple. A couple of posts from now we will spend time discovering more about foundations and preparations for building Solomon's temple -- the site of Isaiah's spectacular vision. As we move through the study we will apply those lessons to prepare ourselves to be the sanctuaries we were meant to be -- temples fully reflecting the God-colors of His glory. For today, know that Jesus is the cornerstone and foundation for all of our life. When we hang unto His promise to us to forgive and cleanse us of all unrighteousness if we walk in His light, our foundation rock is SOLID!

Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

Splash in It, Soak it Up: The Living Water

"On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says. John 7:37-38 (MSG)

We've learned the first major element to produce a rainbow is light. That pure white light encompasses all the colors of the rainbow. Both the prophet, Ezekiel, and the Apostle John in Revelation describe rainbow imagery around the throne of God. We've also established that as Christ followers our bodies are the temple and Jesus occupies them. In John 8:12, as we saw in the last post, Jesus identifies Himself as the Light of the World. So, the Light of the World has residence in us -- body, soul & spirit -- and there's a rainbow!

In Matthew 5  before Jesus tells us that we are here to bring the light, he indicates that we have another role as well. Read Matthew 5:13. What else are we to be on the earth?
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Salt is seasoning, of course! Salt also has another effect us. It creates thirst! Water quenches our thirst. Read John 7:37-38. What is available to quench our spiritual thirst? Where does it come from? What hapens when we drink of this living water?
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Now just how cool is it to discover that this same Light of the World is also the endless supply of "Living Water?" Now go to Revelation 22:17  and discover one more fact about Living Water. What is that fact?
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Jesus seated on the throne and His glory were highly impacting events in the lives of Isaiah, Ezekiel and John. Our hearts are intended as Christ's home -- His throne. Are our lives so full of the gifts of the Living Water and the Light of the World He so freely offers, that others see our lives as rainbows? Do the rivers of Living Water that flow from our innermost being make them thirsty for the Jesus in us?

God-Color Moment
It's free! We just have to come and drink it! Drink deeply today. Go to Jesus and ask Him to fill you up with His living water. Allow yourself to be immersed in His presence. This lesson is short. That may prompt you to quickly go about your other business. Please stop. Take the time. Spend that time splashing around in the Living Water today. Soak it up like a sponge. Squeeze it into your heart and soul and go back for more and more. It's FREE! And Jesus wants to give it to you in generous quantities! Coming to Him and drinking deeply in faith allows rivers, not trickles, of that life giving water to flow from our innermost being. Coupled with the Light of the World also residing within us -- WOW! What a rainbow He wishes to display all around us for all of His world to see!
 

Rainbow Photo from www.canstockphoto.com
Water Photo from www.multimedia-stock.com
All other material Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

What Colors Do You Show the World?

The Message tells us in Matthew 5:14, "You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world." This image I have here is that our appearance is to be that of a colorful rainbow. It's pretty hard to hide a rainbow. Rainbows are way up there in the sky for the whole world to see. We can expose the world to the Light of the World. When His Light is shining in us it definitely attracts attention! Everyone is drawn to this wonder. God as Light and Jesus, the Light of the World and dispenser of living water provide the necessary elements for our rainbow. In the next post we'll discover more about Jesus in those roles.

God-Color Moment
We are to be a delight to the senses. Colors evoke so many emotions and remind us of so many things. How do your feel when you're sitting in a gray room? What do its colors d to your senses when you view a spectacular sunset? Roses of all colors send different messages to their recipients. Red ones are said to mean love, yellow friendship, and so on. Colors are such an important part of our lives. Think about them. Pray about them. Decide at this moment in time what colors you personally display to the world. Are they God colors? Do you lack color? What do you think those colors are saying to those you meet every day as you go about your business? What color does the checker at the grocery store see in you? What color are you when provoked by your unbelieving coworker? Do you show your God colors all day and save the yucky colors for your family? Spend some time deciding exactly what colors you are and what each of your colors represents to you.

This assignment is rather abstract. That is intentional! Each one will have his/her own unique interpretation. (Please don't let this be based on your fashion "season" or the colors you like to wear.) I hope each of you has a very different take on this, because it will be so interesting to share how you see yourselves and learn what different colors mean to others. Some may see you differently than you see yourself. That's okay. You may discover that you are displaying more God colors than you know.


Just look at the colors these parrots have on display! :o) Wondering what they might have to say to the world? They certainly are creations of God and incredible displays of the colors of the Light of the World!

I'm praying that there will be lots of comments on this post as you each consider your colors. It may also be helpful to have a friend or two or more sharing this whole adventure with you. Will you invite them? I'm counting on it!

You'll want to look back at this later in the study to see where your colors have intensified, what new colors you've added to your palette, and what new revelation you've received from the precious Spirit of God in this area of your life. 

This was mentioned in the previous post. I would like to take the time now to ask that any of you who have been reading this blog and would like to become a Christ follower, that you will take the time right now to pray. Acknowledge your sinfulness and need for a Savior. Ask God, because of the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, to cleanse your heart. Know that for the asking, you are forgiven. Then prayerfully purpose to live your life acknowledging Jesus as the Son of the Living God & the Lord & Savior of your life. Become connected with a local body of Bible believing Christ followers. Know that your life will still have many challenges, you will still stumble, and that Christ is there for you to walk with you, pick you up, and carry you through the journey. If you need encouragement and assistance in finding a church home please contact me. Also, please let me know of your decision that I may be praying for you as you begin this new life in Christ.

Photo from www.Mulitmedia-stock.com
All other content Copyright Lynn U. Watson 2004, 2011

Rainbows!

In the verses in the last post from Ezekiel we read: "As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance;" and from Revelation: "there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance." A rainbow surround the throne in both of these accounts. Rainbows evoke much intrigue in our culture. Little leprechauns are said to be able to find the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Those of a certain lifestyle persuasion in our culture have chosen the rainbow as their symbol. The popular Rainbow Brite and friends of the 1980's made a come back. Popular musical artists looking for something better out there use the rainbow metaphor in their lyrics. In all of these instances and many more, we see the world duplicating what God created and using it as its own.

A quick review from your elementary school science class: the basic elements that are needed for a rainbow to form are a source of light and water, a prism or similar item, which will both reflect and refract the rays of the light. Light itself is pure white and represents all colors combined. When the light hits the "liquid" medium it is refracted and reflected and breaks into all or some of the colors of the rainbow. The exact result is dependent on the angle at which the light strikes. It can be done in a laboratory, of course. Rainbows can be created by holding prisms, holograms and similar items up to a light source. Those are duplications of the real thing -- the "bow" in the sky.

Satan, himself, masquerades at an Angel of Light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The creative dynamic of this masterpiece of nature, however, belongs to God alone. Rainbows are such a vibrant display of His glory. It seems that if the world would place so much emphasis on light and rainbows, then God must have some intense purpose for them in the life of the believer.

The first mention of a rainbow in Scripture is in Genesis 9:12-13. According to this passage, what importance does the rainbow have for Noah and his family?
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As Christ followers, when we observe the rainbow in the sky, it is not only a delight for our senses, but also a beautiful reminder that God does indeed keep His promises. Find one of His promises to His children in 1 John 1:5-7. What is the promise we have according to these verses?
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God is Light! He is all the colors of the rainbow! Therefore, even the unbelievers unknowingly desire their share in the true God. The promise is that if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN. Our Ultimate Pardon purchased with the blood of God's Son, Jesus Christ, is the only source of true peace. How sad for the unbeliever chasing after any other rainbow than the One that lives within the heart of every believer. Jesus lives within each believer's heart, and by His own Words in John 8:12 (NASB) we hear, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." The world will chase it forever and never attain the pot of gold at the end of their rainbows unless they walk in the true Light. To choose to walk in that true Light they must, of course, be exposed to that Light.

I'm praying right now that as we proceed with this study, those who are not following Christ will see more and more of the true Light of the World and choose to follow Him. I'm also praying that for those who have already made the decision to follow the Light will allow It to shine with more and more God-Color glory.


Photo from www.Multimedia-Stock.com
All other content, Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011 

Rainbow, Radiance, Glory of the LORD

As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. . .   Ezekiel 1:28 (NASB)

Today we observe descriptions of the throne found in God's Word. In the next post we will look specifically at our reflection of Christ to those around us. What do they see when they look at our lives?
     Please begin by reading the following Scriptures:
     Ezekiel 1:26-38 and Revelation 4:1-3
Record all the facts about the throne that you discover in these two passages.
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What stood out most to you?
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Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

Your History of His Faithfulness

The children of Israel were familiar with the trials of life. Life certainly wasn't all peachy keen for them. They wandered in the desert for 40 years and grumbled a lot. Later, they reminisced, recalling how God had taken care of every detail of their lives. Exodus 15 is a written record of those memories. Read it now, and list the provisions of God's faithfulness to Israel during the wilderness years. Which ones speak to your heart at this particular time? Do you see those as glimpses of God's glory?
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God-Color Moment
Before continuing with this assignment read Psalms 66, 105, and 136. No matter what our circumstances we can always see glimpses of God's glory by rehearsing the history of His faithfulness thourghout our lives. If you examine your life closely you will see that He was faithful to you even before you knew Him and during those times you wandered in the wilderness. Spend some time now asking God to reveal to you the history of His faithfulness in your life. Write your own personal psalm of praise to Him for all those glimpses of His glory you have witnessed.

What Glory Fills Your Temple?

As a temple of God we should have as much of the glory of Christ surrounding us and in us as the temple in Jerusalem was filled with the glory of God in Isaiah's vision. What observations are you seeing of Christ's glory in your life right now? How does He reveal Himself to you through His Word? In prayer do you ask Him to show Himself instead of asking for the "stuff"? How awed are you at the magnitude of the universe? Have you looked for Him in the small stuff? What is stirred within you when you consider the complexity of nature over which we are powerless?

In the Memphis, Tennessee area where my family makes its home, we had the opportunity to experience that last one up close and personal. It was a few years back, July 22, 2003, to be exact. As the city awoke for the day, some thunderstorms crossed the Mississippi River from Arkansas into downtown Memphis. They were no longer just thunderstorms. As the storms crossed the river something happened and these became straight line winds, which blew at hurricane force. I believe the technical weather term is a derecho.

Within twenty minutes the entire city and county were totally crippled. A full seventy-five percent of the utility company's customers were left without power, an outage which for some lasted nearly two weeks in the heat of a humid Memphis summer. An area which boasts of its many, many old and, therefore, enormous trees found many of them uprooted and lying flat on the ground. On almost every block there was at least one home damaged if not destroyed by these uprooted trees or falling limbs. Grocery stores had to discard much of their perishable food. It took several days for them to restock, and that was after their power was restored.

Did we see the extreme power of God in all of this? You better believe we did. At first look that might seem more like His vengeance, and perhaps it was. But yet in His mercy, only a few lives were lost, most of which were from careless use of candles and generators after the fact. Only one lost life was a direct result of the storm itself. People worked together to clean up the mess. There may have been grumbling about the length of time the power was out, but utility crews were cheered and applauded by residents as block by block they brought the city back to life. We are privileged to see glimpses of God's glory in so many ways; and, YES, I believe we can even see glimpses of His glory in the devastating effects of nature.

Comparing that storm to the storms of life, there are some striking similarities. They usually come unexpectedly. They knock us down hard. We have the choice of throwing a temper tantrum, acting childish, and allowing the storm to keep us in a crippled state. Or we can look to God's faithfulness in the past and trust Him as slowly but surely, "block by block" with His guidance we put the pieces back together, and we walk into the future knowing He is there and He knows what we are going through -- He's even walking right there with us!

A Picture of God-Color Glory

One of the more beautiful things about sharing this Bible study as a blog is the opportunity to add little tidbits as we go along. Today is VALENTINES DAY. Found this gorgeous heart that I believe just radiates God-Color Glory! Hope it brightens your day today, and enhances your experience with the study. :o)




Photo from www.multimedia-stock.com

What's In Your Temple?

Do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV)

In the last post we pondered and imagined what the train of His robe might have looked like. Today's focus will shift from the train to the temple that it fills. In the introductory material we discussed the size of the temple and how much fabric it would have taken to fill the temple in Jerusalem. We considered that it would take us a life time and then some to truly examine every inch of that garment.

We are ready to consider another temple and what fills it. Read 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 1 Corinthians 6:19. How is the temple identified in these Scriptures, and how is it filled?
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Now read Isaiah 6:1-4. What else do these verses say about the temple?
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Did you catch that?! Our bodies are the temple! OKAY! So, with that in mind, and looking back at Isaiah 6:1-4 , if each of our bodies is a temple and the Spirit of God occupies it, then are flaming creatures with six wings flying over us? Do we fill the earth with His glory? Does the shouting of the angels shake our foundation? Does smoke (burning incense  = prayers of the saints -- Revelation 5:8) fill us up? Does the train of His robe fill our bodies?


That is all pretty mind boggling, don't you think? :o) Do we allow enough of Jesus in our lives for us to reflect that kind of glory to the world around us? What does the world see when it observes our lives? Does it catch little glimpses of that glory? Or does it see a jewel encrusted train filling our lives? Do you see His glory when you look in the mirror? I desire to see His glory in my life, and I desperately desire for others to see Him in me. Do you desire the same?


Photo from www.multimedia-stock.com
All other content Copyright Lynn U Watson, 2004, 2011


(For answering questions such as those in this post, to make notes and add your own thoughts, and to be able to look back later, you might consider writing them out in a journal, keeping a Word file or a notepad on your desktop computer, or making notes about the material right on your Kindle.)

Engaging Your Imagination

In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the LORD sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Isaiah 6:1 (NASB)

Isaiah's vision of the throne and the One seated upon it has totally captivated my imagination. (Can you tell?) In previous posts I shared about the amount of fabric it would take just to fill the temple and examining every detail of the fabric.

But the wonder of the train of His robe filling the temple wasn't enough. I began to wonder how the fabric was embellished. Was it woven around the edge in golden threads and inlaid with precious jewels? Was the entire piece of fabric encrusted in treasures of all kinds? Was the lining of spun silk? Were tapestries a part of this ornate garment? How many colors were incorporated into it? How long would it have taken for artisans and seamstresses to have completed this incredible piece? Do angels have a sewing guild to craft such priceless works? Scripture doesn't tell us these things, of course. It all had to do with my imagination, and filled with limitless possibilities.

God-Color Moment
My imagination has truly run wild with this. How about yours? Take some time right now to imagine this work of art that filled the entire temple. What do you see?   Spend some additional time today describing what you are envisioning. A masterpiece in prose, perhaps a crayon rendering, a pencil sketch, an embellished piece of fine fabric, maybe there's a song in your heart . . . not all are writers, artists, musicians, or stitchers, but please try to express what you are seeing . . . let this be an act of worship to the Creator of the universe.

Photo from www.canstockphoto.com
All other content Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011 

Isaiah "Saw" with Absolute Clarity

My morning devotion this morning happened to focus on the Radiance of God's Glory. Unintentional from my perspective, but oh so awesome when God chooses to bless in this way! :o) I feel compelled to share this quote.

The full meaning of the Hebrew word ra-ah, translated "saw" in this verse (Isaiah 6:1), is significant. It means to see something with absolute clarity. To worship God effectively we must have a proper view of Him, not allowing anything to obstruct our vision. That divinely focused view only comes to those who study God's nature and character as revealed in His Word. Anyone who plunges deeply into God's Word rises highest in their praises of His glory.

From "31 Days Meditating on the Majesty of Jesus"

by Jack Hayford & Dick Eastman

Blueprints for Our Construction Project

In the weeks and months ahead on this blog here is a map of where we are going... the blueprints for our construction project:

Chapter 1: Open House at Solomon's Temple

Chapter 2: Your Master's Plan -- Checking Out His Teaching Seminar

Chapter 3: De-Junking! Ridding Your Heart of Clutter

Chapter 4: The Truth About Walls -- Embellished Pillars as an Alternative

Chapter 5: Heirlooms, Keepsakes, & Treasures -- Expecting the Rare Find

Chapter 6: Installing a Spiritual Security System

Chapter 7: Color and Accessorize! -- Reveling in the Details

Praying at least a few of these have caught your attention! We are going to be having a great time with this and learning to be in closer fellowship with Jesus all at the same time! It will be awesome.

How Large Is Your God?

Humor me today please. I'm taking this whole "the train of His robe filled the temple" image just one step further. Remember I mentioned the seamstress in me, and I'll be taking this opportunity to expand on the a bit further. :o)

When our children were growing up, to supplement our family income, I spent many hours at the sewing machine creating custom garments for the public. Rachel, our first born, did not entertain herself well for very long. (How many of you have had one of those children?) This meant often times holding her in my lap while I sewed, or snatching moments to sew late at night or during her very short naps -- she didn't like those either. When she was old enough to sit up and get into things, her curiosity and investigative skills happened onto a new "toy" --  grocery sacks full of fabric scraps! Rachel would sit on the floor where I was working and carefully dump those sacks. She would slowly inspect every single piece of fabric in those sacks as though she were looking for a rare treasure. When she finished with those two sacks, I could fill them up and she would repeat the entire search all over again. She was thrilled with this little game, and it won me 45 minutes every afternoon of uninterrupted sewing time.

You guessed it! I decided to estimate just how many grocery sacks of fabric it would have taken to fill the temple . . . . my calculation: 151,875 or so . . . That's a whole lot of grocery sacks. Now Rachel had two sacks, and she went through each of them twice in 45 minutes. So, if she had 151,875 sacks, and was willing to go through each of them twice for 45 minutes, she would spend 56,953 hours or 2,373 days, or 339 weeks or 6.5 years of her life 24/7 at this. I'm sure she would discover some pretty cool things about the fabrics a she examined their intricate patterns and textures. If you will further consider that she could go through the same two sacks of scraps for a month or more before we changed out the mix -- well you get the picture -- this could be a life long, 24-hour-a-day activity and the discoveries would not be made this side of eternity.

In future posts we will learn about our bodies being the very temple of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus lives within each believer's heart. Like He did with Isaiah, God wants us to see our own personal sin/idol (that which puts distance between us and God), so that He can come in with His powerful cleansing and help us to rebuild those places in our temples so that we will reflect His gory in a powerful and colorful way to the world around us.

As I prepared to share all of this with you, God grew mighty large in my eyes!!! As you visualized the pictures I was expressing, did your understanding of His proportions take on a new meaning?

Like Rachel with the sacks of fabric, we could spend a life time examining the wonders of our God, and continuously be amazed at what we see revealed. If you can look at your life in light of the goodness and majesty of a magnificent God, then you can see the imprint of His faithfulness on every minute of it -- 24/7/365. Do you think this ENORMOUS GOD has some big plans for your life and mine? Are you ready to allow Him to prepare you to be used for His purposes?

Look at Isaiah 6:8 (NASB) again:
Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Do you desire to be better prepared to boldly answer when the Lord calls on you? Preparation, restoration, and renovation of our temples as God's throne is the journey we are on -- a journey that I pray will increase your heart to serve Him only and to do it with certainty and joy!

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

In the next post I'll be sharing the "chapters" that lie ahead so you will have a bit of a map. I will be spreading these over the months ahead. Remember that the entire blog is always here. You may come on board anytime. There's no time table except as you and God choose.

The Train of His Robe Filled the Temple

Read Isaiah 6:1-8 again, either from your own Bible or you will find it in the very first post in this blog. In the next two posts (and before we go on) I would like to focus on God's enormous proportions -- the picture that Isaiah is poetically creating for us here.

The Scripture says God was seated on a throne above the temple -- high and exalted. It then tells us that just the train of His robe -- just the train -- filled the entire temple. That amount of fabric totally mesmerized me. The seamstress (one of several hats I wear from time to time) in me felt compelled to figure this out.

A little research uncovered this fact: Queen Elizabeth II of England donned a train made of purple velvet for her coronation. The train measured 6.5 meters (about 21 feet) from her shoulder to the tip of the train. The train had been constructed from 22 meters (about 24.5 yards) of fabric. Supposing that they used three lengths of 60 inch wide fabric -- that would come out just about right -- the train would have been 15 feet wide and 21 feet long. That's 315 square feet. How does that compare with the amount of fabric needed for the train of God's robe to fill the entire temple? Before we even start doing the math, let me add that most velvet fabrics are loomed much narrower than 60 inches, which may make the figures we will be using on the conservative side.

Looking at Solomon's blueprints (see 2 Chronicles 3) for the temple, the measurements show that the inside of the temple was 90 feet long by 30 feet wide by 45 feet high. Multiplying that out, just the square feet of fabric to cover the floor would have had to be 2700 square feet. There are 15 square feet in each yard of 60 inch wide fabric. That's 180 yards of fabric to cover the floor. Now the temple is 45 feet high, and the train of His robe filled  the temple.

Must next calculation was how many layers of fabric it would take to get a stack 45 feet high. Velvet is pretty thick, and not accounting for the weight of it mashing the layers dow, I conservatively estimated six layers per inch. Forty-five feet equals 540 inches. Five hundred forty inches times six layrs to the inch is 3,240 layers of fabric.

Since each layer is 180 yards of fabric, we now need 583,200 yards of fabric to fill the temple. One mile is 1,760 yards long. That means we are talking about 331 miles of fabric. Consider, too, that He is seated high above the temple -- the train had to reach the temple before it could fill it up. We can only imagine how much more fabric that would require.

There is no conclusive evidence of what fabric this train would have been constructed, but hair of goats, sheep and camels as well as linen, flax, hem and silk were the common fibers of the day. Since Jesus is the King, and He is also the Lamb of God, I chose to learn a little about wool production. Soft fleece from the smaller sheep is produced at a rate of 2-6 pounds per sheep per year. There are two shearings each year. Since the average amount here is 4 pounds per sheep per year, if follows that for one shearing the average is 2 pounds. Are you still with me here?

Now I don't presume to know if 2 pounds of wool makes 2 pounds of yarn or not -- I'd guess it takes more ounces of the wool make the same measure of yarn, but for our purposes today, we're just going to say that the two measurements are equal. Just using an afghan pattern and dimensions and yarn weight to get an idea of how much wool it would take to create 583,200 yards of fabric, my calculations indicate that 4,665,600 sheep would need to be sheared. I can't even begin to imagine how many angels would have been employed to do the shearing, much less spin that wool and weave it! Again, this is all hypothetical, but allow it to paint you a picture of just how incredible Isaiah's vision really was, and why he saw his own shortcomings so intensely magnified.

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All other content, Copyright Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

Obedience of Faith

This quote came across my desktop this morning, and I believe it merits a brief field trip.

The really important thing in life is not the avoidance of mistakes, but the obedience of faith.  By obedience, the man is led step by step to correct his errors, whereas nothing will ever happen to him if he doesn't get going.  ~~Paul Tournier

As I've been presenting this Bible Study to you, there has been a recurring thought. The words sin and idol are heavy words. They make us uncomfortable. The discomfort, I believe, is because our sins and the idols we hold in our hearts create separation from God. When we stop to observe the true state of our heart and our relationship with our Creator and our Savior we choose whether or not to take steps of obedience in a new direction. The quote above summed all these feelings up so well, and it came at the perfect time!

Temple Under Construction

We are about to finally embark on this journey of discovery as we cooperate with God in a  temple remodeling project preparing ourselves to more closely resemble the temple that He desires to fill with His glory. We will dig deep into our past, way past our failures and shortcomings and straight to the heart of God, to discover His marvelous faithfulness in our own lives up to this very moment. As we intentionally picture His hand on our entire life, the glimpses we see of His glory in our lives will grow. We will be asking some serious questions about a specific sin in our own lives that is keeping us from being the person He has created us to be and from reflecting His glory in the tasks for which He has chosen us. And finally we will look at how He is preparing us to deal with specific sin in our lives.

Another reminder -- We can't change anything by our own power, and God won't ask us to change it all at once. We will be spending our time uncovering truths about God and about ourselves, allowing Him to prepare us for the construction work He desires to do in our lives. Prayerfully, we will be allowing Him to release His grace within us to transform our lives. Our obedience to His Word is rewarded when we reflect His glory for others to see.

To find Scriptural examples we will be looking at the preparations for the building of Solomon's temple. We will look further to see how those same principles aply as God prepared some Bible characters to serve Him is such a way that His glory was magnificently displayed through their lives. We will apply God's blueprints for construction work on our own temples, and learn to recognize and follow His call to serve Him with our lives.

We will consider the lives of Bible characters, just as human as ourselves, who sinned just as we do. Yet, God in His wisdom, offered His great mercy, love, and forgiveness to each of them. Through them He revealed His glory in some marvelous ways. Rahab, a harlot, observed God's faithfulness to His people. She made preparations that helped the Israelites, saved her family, and reflected God's glory as she took her place in history in the direct line of decent to Jesus. The Shepherds tending their flocks in Bethlehem, David and his son Solomon, Job, the woman at the well and others -- they all have stories to share that will enhance our remodeling work. We will be participating in some fun, creative projects and exercises during our time together that will hopefully help us to remember and apply the truths we learn.

Let's get started. I'm excited about the possibilities and all God has in store for all of us. I wish I could be at every construction site to see you and God working on this project together, growing more intemate with each other each day. I'll be praying for you for magnificent results in each timple. They will all be so different, and so beautiful, and all a part of the body of Christ -- what an incredible thought!

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All other content, Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

What Change Will God Make in Your Heart?

What does God have His finger on in your life? In what area is He calling for change? Where is your Christian walk being challenged? Does your temper control you? Are you engulfed in a sea of laziness? Is there a judgmental spirit keeping you from loving others? Are the monsters of addiction and indulgence holding you in their claws? Do you justify less than honest business dealings? You fill in the blank: ________________________  (Look at the list I've included at the end of this post. Some of those may trigger some thoughts on this for you. I suggest you really focus on one thing at a time. This study will be here for you to do again if you have other things in your life you would like to deal with, too. Pick the place to begin today.)*

You claim you've tried a hundred thousand times to change, and nothing happen. In your own power, of course not! Failure comes because the focus is on us and on our problems. What we focus on, we give power to control us. In other words, we are just plain powerless to change anything. If we want to see a real difference we will need to allow God to redirect our thinking.

All the power to change rests in the hands of the Holy Spirit living in us. We can do nothing by our own power. By learning to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, we will see the metamorphosis in our lives. He will teach us to make the choices (by His power) that will make us look different. Our focs will shift to others. We will make less destructive choices. We will be seeing God's plan for our lives.

Ephesians 2:10 (NASB) says, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." When we recognize and internalize this truth, and seek Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind, the power of Christ's resurrection will work in us to make a difference in the lives of others. Jesus would increase and we would truly decrese along with our interest in the many areas of self-indulgence that are a such a part of our lives. Others will see more of Jesus, and a little less of "Queen I" or "King I" on the thrones of our hearts.

*Here are some of the things that may be consuming more of your heart than is spiritually healthy: TV, internet, facebook, electronic connectivity of all kinds, food, clothes, cars, shopping, hanging out, sports, drink, drugs, easy credit, money, relationships, career, laziness, anger, judgmental attitude. There may be something else that God is bringing to mind for you. Prayer is a powerful tool. Please seek God to show you specifically where He would like to change your heart right now.

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

Mirroring the Light of the World

As God laid this Bible Study on my heart, and I began to really dig into Scripture and life to be able to somehow convey the truths God was giving me, my friend, Robin, and I were eating lunch in a beautifully decorated Mexican restaurant, which also had some quite yummy food. Piles of notes were lying in front of us -- and God was pouring out more ideas as we shared. Trying to find the place to start was very difficult and tedious and in need of much more prayer. We agreed to do that, and I would begin to write the first draft of the study as God would have me teach it at that time.

We finished our meal, and while waiting for the check, I looked up and really noticed the light fixtures for the first time. The shades over each table were gorgeous Mexican pottery pieces with bright colored glazes and awesome designs.

The bulbs were round and appeared, at first, to be clear. They were reflecting and shining with the design of the shade above them. Closer examination revealed that the bottom half of the bulb had a mirror coating that was allowing the bulb to reflect what was surrounding it from above. How like us. We will reflect what is surrounding us. The more intimate we are with Jesus the more we will, like a mirror, reflect the true "Light of the World" that lives inside each Christian heart. If we surround ourselves with junk, we will likewise reflect the junk. On this side of eternity each of us has lots of that junk that gets in the way of the Light of Jesus within us, the Light which we desire to shine so bright and clear others can't help but see.

(Sadly, those bulbs have since been replaced by those twisted corkscrew looking energy efficient bulbs. But that day the observation we made was the starting point I needed for this study. God answered that prayer so quickly!!!)

The Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 3:16) makes it quite clear that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit today. God resides within us. Who or what is on the throne of our temples? When we're honest with ourselves, we must admit that there are idols that come into our heart and knock Jesus off His rightful throne in our temples. In our world of gluttony in every form, we need to see Jesus, high and lifted up, and recognize (Hebrews 12:1) the depravity of sin in which the kingdom of self becomes entangled. This allows idols to set up residence where the King should reside. Is our focus on Him or on the stuff: TV, internet, facebook, electronic connectivity of all kinds, food, clothes, cars, shopping, hanging out, sports, drink, drugs, easy credit, etc. We become obsessed with so many things. WE even become obsessed with trying to change these things about ourselves in our own power, which means we focus on them even more, and we fail. The battle is ongoing.

In the next post we will focus on the specific thing God has his finger on in your life. I'm very excited to be making this trip with you, and I'm praying for each of you even though I may not know your name. God does.


Photo from www.canstockphoto.com
All other content Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

A Vision of His Glory

Isaiah 6:1-8 paints a most articulate word picture of God's glory as Isaiah beheld it filling the temple in Jerusalem. I had been drawn to and absorbed in this passage for quite some time. Seriously contemplating this vision reinforced in super-mega sized reality the microscopic size of man and his lack of power to do or be anything without the magnificent true God of Heaven.

In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the threshholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 

Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."


Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven."


Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"      

                                                                                                  ~~Isaiah 6:1-8 (NASB)

Totally blown away by the vision, Isaiah saw his unclean lips and those of his neighbors magnified to astronomical proportions. When we see God for Who He really is and realize we can't even comprehend His size, like Isaiah we are just as overwhelmed by our shortcomings. We would feel helpless to even think we could speak His name. We would be at the end of self, ready for our own sin/idols to be burned from our hearts, and ready to serve, reflecting the God colors of the light of His glory in our every day lives!!! (See Matthew 5:14, The Message)

I am excited to be sharing with you so much of the ways I have glimpsed God's glory, and how it has changed my life. Like Isaiah, I choose to say: "Here am I. Send me."

The words of a popular song by Mercy Me come to mind: "I Can Only Imagine." For those not familiar with the song, please visit YouTube. You'll find several videos featuring this inspiring song of worship and praise.

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011