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

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