Consecrate Your Temple

Consecration is a theme I have been meditating upon lately.  Webster's 1828 dictionary defines it this way:  "The act or ceremony of separating from a common to a sacred use, or of devoting and dedicating a person or thing to the service and worship of God, by certain rites or solemnities.  Consecration does not make a person or thing really holy, but declares it to be sacred, that is, devoted to God or to divine service; as the consecration of the priests among the Israelites; the consecration of the vessels used in the temple."  The priests, articles of the temple, and even the temple itself were all consecrated for the worship and service of God.  But just because something has been consecrated to God does not mean it was always used for its intended purpose.

When we think of the temple, it's likely we do so with a sense of awe and reverence.  Think of that magnificent temple Solomon built with the doors covered in gold, awesome brass pillars, the solid gold lampstand and the altar of incense.  Imagine you are a priest, walking through the doors into the holy place, lifting your eyes to see the massive cherubim, smelling the fragrance of the incense, and before you stands the curtain separating the Holy of Holies where the Spirit of God dwells above the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.  And now imagine that it's been a really slow day because of rainy weather and quite some time has passed since any have visited the temple.  A bit bored, you and other priests decide close the doors of the temple and set up a indoor soccer game using the table of showbread and altar of incense as one goal, and the curtain of the Holy of Holies for the other goal!  Pretty ridiculous, right?  It seems an utterly ludicrous suggestion.  It would be plain wrong to degrade a holy, consecrated place to the level of a field of sport.

The temple was consecrated to God, yet throughout scripture we read of many occasions when it was profaned, neglected, and polluted.  While the tabernacle was set up in Shiloh, Eli's wicked sons Hophni and Phinehas had sex with women who assembled there (1 Samuel 2:22).  Eli allowed the lamp to burn out instead of keeping it lit perpetually.  The sons of Athaliah broke up the temple and dedicated God's things to Baal (2 Chron. 24:7), a false god.  Josiah was a good king who desired to fix the leaks and breaches of God's house.  When they began to repair the temple, the priest Hilkiah found the book of the law which had been lost (2 Kings 22:8).  Imagine losing God's Word in the temple!  The wicked king Ahaz polluted the temple, barred the doors, and set up altars to idols throughout the city (2 Chron. 28:24).  It took eight days for the Levites to carry all the rubbish that was left in the holy place to the brook Kidron (2 Chron. 29:17).  And what of Eliashib the priest in the days of Nehemiah, who allowed Tobiah, the avowed enemy of God and Israel, to live in a room inside the temple (Neh. 13:4-7)?  Nehemiah was furious and threw out all Tobiah's stuff.  When Jesus came to Jerusalem, He made a whip of cords and overturned the tables of the money changers, driving them and their wares outside of the temple courts (John 2:13-16).  Instead of regarding God's house as a house of prayer, they made it a den of thieves.

For those who reverence and love God, it is difficult to grasp how the temple of God consecrated for worship would be misused, polluted, and profaned.  As human beings, it is easier for us to reverence a physical place as holy ground rather than temples not made with hands.  There is the very real potential that the temple of the Holy Spirit can be profaned even in our day.  Do you know that born again Christians are now the temple of the Holy Spirit, having become His consecrated dwelling place?  Being holy does not mean that we need to walk in slow motion, call people "my son," or adopt mechanical hand motions:  it means that we have been consecrated for use by God, having been employed in his service.  We are to separate ourselves from sin and walk in righteousness.  The worship and service of God is our sole purpose in all we think, say, and do.  It is not our primary purpose:  it is our only purpose.  Through the Gospel and faith in Jesus Christ we have chosen to be purchased as voluntary slaves with Christ's blood.  We ought to be about God's business, for a servant is not above his Master.

Does this mean we can't play soccer?  No.  Whatever we do, we should do it heartily as unto the LORD.  But we ought to recognise we have been bought with a price and our life is not to be lived for ourselves any more.  No game, activity, or earthly thing may be allowed to compete with our allegiance and affections towards God.  What we love the most is evident by how we spend our time - or how we wish we could spend our time.  God has freely given us everything to enjoy, and we ought to glorify God in all we do.  Instead of living to please the dictates of ourselves, we are to walk in obedience to God.  We are to put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and put on the new man.  We ought to faithfully read the word instead of neglecting it.  We ought to keep the doors of our heart open to Christ instead of barring them.  We need to keep our light burning bright like a city on a hill that cannot be hid.  We must ruthlessly destroy any idols that exist in our lives and pursue the worship of God alone.  All sin is to be put off and no good deed for God left undone.  Paul sums it up well in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:  "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

When God looks at you, He is not focused on the image you see in the mirror:  He looks upon your heart.  In modern vernacular, the concept of "my body is a temple" is limited to the physical.  Your muscles or lack thereof is of little concern to Him.  God is not in awe of ornate buildings constructed for the purpose of worship, nor is He impressed with our physical bodies.  Isaiah 66:1-2 reads, "Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? ² For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist," says the LORD. "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word."  May we humble ourselves before the LORD, being consecrated for His use not in word only, but in deed and truth.  Let us wash our hands and cleanse our hearts from sin so we will experience the communion and fellowship God freely offers by His grace.  The curtain has been torn.  Put away the soccer ball and bow before your Maker, man!  There's nothing boring about that!

Hitting the Mark?

No matter how harshly we judges ourselves, I am confident we human beings are worse than our lowest estimation.  The best men may see themselves in the worst light, but we are not always at our best.  I am actually grateful for the amazing way the challenges of life draw out negative qualities and bring to the surface my obvious dearth of character.  When all is going according to plan, we might convince ourselves of our own goodness.  But what about when we are running late?  It is when I am running late all the slowest, most clueless drivers seems to abound.  Hmmm.  How about when you lose something?  Or when you pick the wrong queue again at the shops?  I can't even count the many times I had several queues to choose from and I chose the one with the sluggish trainee who has to call for price checks or assistance.  Because all the other lines seems to evaporate before they form, I would decide to change to another line, only to have the manager to be called to approve the purchase in front of me!  The people who were behind me in the previous line are now long gone while I stew there, believing that death itself could not be so miserable.

Even as the world is perfectly suited to support human, animal, and plant life, God has so arranged our lives to provide ample proof that we are sinners who desperately need a Saviour.  Time pressure, delays, sickness, pain, relationships, driving, waiting, and even shopping all combine together as a proving ground of our character.  I have come to the conclusion to which Paul arrived, that in my flesh no good things dwells.  Any praiseworthy or honorable traits which exist in me I only have received by the grace of God.  All the time God reveals areas of weakness in my life only His strength can bring victory.  Proverbs 20:6 says that most men will proclaim their own goodness, but Christians are not to be like most men.  Instead of taking the credit or the glory for any good work, we must extol and praise the name of Jesus as the source of any goodness found within us.

So the next time you are frustrated, lose your temper, or react harshly to your spouse or children, take heart.  God is gracious to allow us to fail so we might recognise our sin, apologise to those we have wronged, repent, and commit ourselves to God wholeheartedly again.  A small adjustment of the bow is the difference between hitting the target and missing it altogether, and small improvements in our attitudes and actions brings God more glory.  May we live a life that hits the mark!

Have You Been Forgiven Much?

"Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." 

Luke 7:47

It is no surprise to us that when judged according to God's perfect standard all are proved sinners.  God does not judge using a curve:  we are either righteous or unrighteous, holy or polluted, pass or fail.  There are two ways to gain entrance to heaven.  The first is to be born without a sin nature and remain perfect in thought, word, attitude, and deed without a single stumble, obeying the Law given to Moses in every tiny detail.  This means avoidance of all sin, offering the appropriate sacrifices at the right times, eating foods deemed clean under the Law, keeping the Passover, and on and on.  This is certainly impossible for everyone since we all have a human dad, the Temple is no longer standing, and we have all made countless mistakes!  The other way (and only way!) to be declared innocent by God is through the Gospel of Jesus Christ by grace through faith.  When we repent of our sin and trust in Jesus for salvation, we are forgiven, our sins are atoned for by the blood of Christ, we are proclaimed righteous, and the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. 

Jesus, however, was conceived in a virgin by the Holy Spirit.  He kept the Law and was flawless in word and deed.  His sacrifice on the cross was therefore acceptable before God, being the Lamb of God without spot, pure and holy unto God.  He once for all died for the sins of the world so whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.  A Christian is someone who has recognised their doomed condition due to sin and has owned it for the sake of forsaking it.  A self-righteous person is convinced that because there are people who appear to be greater sinners than him, repentance is not necessary.  He is proud, refusing to admit his need to be forgiven and reconciled to God - if there indeed is a God!

Prior in the Luke passage, Jesus had been invited to eat with a self-righteous Pharisee, a teacher of the Law.  A woman who was known as a great sinner came to Jesus, anointed Him with fragrant oil, wept as she wiped his feet with her hair and kissed them.  The Pharisee was indignant and judged Christ negatively, questioning the permissive response of Jesus:  "If this man is truly a great prophet, He would never allow such a sinful woman to touch Him."  Jesus, knowing the self-righteous and judgmental heart of Simon the Pharisee, called him out in front of all the dinner guests.  Simon didn't see himself as a great sinner.  Because of that, he had been only forgiven little.  The result of his lack of repentance was little love for God.  He had not been forgiven much, so he loved little. 

The result of repentance is an increase of love for God.  Having grown up in the church, I know a lot of "churchy" people.  I have seen it to be true that many who grow up in the church and live a "clean life" by worldly standards lack the repentance of those who have been great sinners.  I used to be one of these people.  All people are great sinners, but self-righteous folks don't see their own sin properly.  Because they do not deem their sin as grievous, they neglect and resist repentance - thinking it is a sign of spiritual weakness - or fearful of judgment by other self-righteous church people.  The end result?  Little love for God.  This lack of love results in little labour for God and judgments of others.  A lack of repentance brings a man to be a Pharisee who invites Jesus over for a meal but refuses to make the sacrifices great sinners freely perform with great joy.

If you love someone, you will do something about it.  Proverbs 27:5 reads, "Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed."  Because I love you, dear reader, here is a gentle rebuke:  if you do not do much for Christ it is because you do not love much.  If you do not love much because you have not been forgiven much.  If you have been forgiven much you will love much.  Much love results in much labour and sacrifice for God's glory.  Love for God will compel you to give up what is most precious to you for Him without hesitation.  Instead of being depressed about our faults, let us confess them and repent, agreeing with God once and for all.  The more our sins are forgiven the more reason we have to love Jesus and remain loyal to Him.  Our sins are great, but our God is greater.  May our love for Him increase so all will know we are Christians by our love!

Sowing Among Thorns

Last night I read and took to heart the exhortation found in Jeremiah 4:3:  "For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns."  I started thinking about the many references in scripture to thorns.  Thorns are a consequence of Adam's transgression (Gen. 3:18).  Thorns cling to clothing, fur, pierce skin, and cause pain.  Instead of providing food, thorny weeds only make more of the same.  When Jesus went to the cross bearing upon Himself the sins of the world, a crown of thorns was pressed into his scalp.  Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.  The results of sin, infamously destructive and deadly, are symbolised in the crown of thorns Jesus wore.

Jesus told a story often called "The Parable of the Sower."  Matthew 13:3-9 reads, "Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. ⁸ But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Later in chapter 13, Jesus explains the meaning of the parable to His disciples.  The good seed represents the Word of God (Luke 8:11), and each place the seed is sown symbolises various conditions of the heart.  Some seed fell on stony ground while other seed fell on good soil.  There was also seed which fell among thorns which choked the seed.  Matthew 13:22 contains Christ's explanation:  "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful."  It appeared to be good ground, but there were other seeds which produced thorns present in the soil.  Thorns sprang up with the tender shoots from the good seed and made them unfruitful.

If you have done any amount of gardening, you will have been confronted with weeds and thorn-bearing plants.  I have carefully cultivated a small garden plot, bought quality topsoil and amendments, only to have more prickly weeds than vegetables!  While this may be a testimony to my poor gardening, we can easily understand the point Jeremiah makes.  It would be a gross waste to sow seed upon dry, hardened, unprepared, fallow ground.  It would also be foolish to sow good seed among thorns because they would demand the nutrients young plants require to grow and be fruitful.  A distinction between Christ's teaching and Jeremiah's exhortation is that Jeremiah makes it deeply personal.  God through the prophet Jeremiah says to the people, "Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns."  This is an objective statement intended to drive home the point personally:  "You have unprepared hearts.  The consequences of sin marks your hearts:  lack of repentance, fruitlessness, hardness, and barrenness.  To think that God's Word will make the slightest impact upon your hearts in your current condition is utter folly.  Don't bother wasting your time unless you first humble yourself before God and repent.  Prepare yourself to meet with God."

As I read this, it struck me how we can fall into the same trap as the Jews to whom God spoke through the prophet.  They were God's chosen people, had been given His ordinances, and were offered fellowship with God.  But they had not first prepared their hearts to receive from Him.  They were caught up with the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches.  The problem was not a lack of good seed or effort in scattering it, but a lack of brokenness and repentance.  Their hearts were hard and the weeds - the consequences of pride, greed, unforgiveness, bitterness, and all manner of sin - grew unabated.  The good will not overcome the evil if the evil is not systematically, thoroughly eradicated.  The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and is the divine "Round Up" that kills sin in the very root.  But if we neglect to prepare our hearts to seek the LORD, becoming resistant to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can have a patch of thorns in our hearts which need uprooting before the good Word will have the desired effect.

Spiky weeds are an easy path to a green yard, but God wants more than green foliage:  He desires fruit!  When we are battling doubts, confused, or struggling with temptation, sometimes we think the answer lies in more Bible reading and listening to sermons.  Unless we prepare our hearts first by breaking up our fallow ground and clearing our hearts and lives of all sin, it will profit us little if at all.  Praise God that Christ is the Husbandman who gives us new hearts and renews our minds.  Let us heed the good Word:  plow up your fallow ground and sow not among thorns.  May the good result described in Colossians 1:10 be manifest in God's people:  "...that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."