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

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

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.

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