Sanctuary

I have consecrated this house that you have built by putting my name there forever.  My eyes and my heart will be there for all time.  I Kings 9:3

God's eyes and heart are in his sanctuary.  What does that mean to us who enter?  How would it affect our entering, our worship, and our leaving if we grasped this fact?  We talk about going to God's house; but that keeps him at a distance, like some kind landlord.  We may even talk about his presence in our time of worship but what does that mean?  A good feeling?   A sense of holiness, reverence, awe?  What if we knew, really knew, that as we walked in the doors of our churches this morning, that we were walking where the eyes and heart of God were?  Just stop and think about that!

The eyes of God - seeing everything, nothing hidden.  When we are being looked upon by God, he sees and knows all those things we think are so cleverly hidden.  But he is also looking at us with such great love and compassion.  He is our Abba, our loving Father.  When he sees us he is delighted, overjoyed, looking on his children with more love than we can ever imagine.  So, as he sees those secret, hidden places in our hearts - our sins, fears, hurts, doubts - he's reaching out to us, calling us to come to him and receive his love, his healing, his forgiveness.  Do we really think about the loving eyes of our Father when we enter his sanctuary?

His heart is there, too.  We can't separate his Father's heart from his loving eyes; but to think of walking into the place where his heart dwells - walking into Love, himself, as well as peace, safety, comfort, welcome, true unconditional love.  This should bring us to our knees in worship and adoration!

In the passage above from I Kings, the temple was made holy simply by his name.  The holiness of the Name that is above all names sanctified the temple.  Apart from God's name, it would have been just a building; an incredibly beautiful building, but a hollow shell nonetheless.  

Have you made the connection yet?  Aren't we, like Solomon's temple, beautiful on the outside but hollow on the inside without the Name of God?  The Good News in Jesus is that we don't have to wait until the Lord's day to enter his sanctified dwelling place, to be looked upon through his eyes of love or to know his heart.  God's promise through the Old Testament prophets and to us today is that he will and does dwell among us; he is our loving shepherd, our God and  has made us his people, the sheep of his pasture.  We are the temple of his Holy Spirit, we are being sanctified by his Name, and we are the apple of his eye, dwelling, abiding IN God and God in us - always and for all eternity.

Walking in the doors of our churches, we gather with our brothers and sisters to praise, worship, listen and learn at the feet of our Lord all the while knowing the blessing of his life filling us, pouring out his love in us and through us, transforming us into the image of Jesus.  What a miracle!  What a privilege and blessing!

Rejoice!

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  (Philippians 4:4 ESV)

Rejoice in the time of trial, in pain, in frustration and anger, in loneliness and despair; not because of those things but because of who God is in the midst of hardships and trials.  The very fact that he IS is reason enough to rejoice; but the fact that he is with us to strengthen, bring peace and calm to the very core of our being should cause us to rejoice.  We are never alone no matter how alone we feel; in sickness, pain or loss, we are never alone.  This is not some pie-in-the-sky platitude, a pipe dream   God's presence is real and is closer than our very breath.  If you doubt, ask him to make you aware of his presence, to let you know his peace that passes all understanding - the peace that doesn't depend on circumstances; or ask him to fill you with his joy that is not evidence of your happiness but evidence of the very nature of the God who loves you.

Indeed, life is hard and is often unfair; that's the nature and result of living in this fallen world and often the consequences of our own wrong choices and sin.Those are the very things that can separate us from God. But God's word tells us to draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:8).  It's God's own desire to be close to us, in relationship with us; we are the ones that walk away.  God's grace, his love puts the desire in our hearts to reach out to him.

Rejoice that we are creatures of the Creator God who is always seeking the one who is lost, calling out our name, beckoning us to draw near, to seek him.  Rejoice that instead of facing hardships alone and without hope, we can trust in God who is mighty to save, who works in all things to accomplish his purposes for our good.  Rejoice that we are created for eternity, not bound to this limited span of time where there are tears and disease; but, instead, look forward to the new creation, restored to God's perfect plan where there will be no more tears, no pain and sickness, no death.  Rejoice that we will worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and with all creation sing, "Holy, holy, holy" before the throne of the Most High God.

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7 The Message)

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 NIV)

When It's All Been Said and Done

I had the words of this song by Robin Mark on my mind this morning during my quiet time.  It's a wonderful song to pray so I thought it was worth sharing this morning.  I tried to post a video so you could enjoy the music but being so very un-techie, I failed.  Here's a link to a you-tube video, though.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1llIIhBMCjU&feature=youtube_gdata

Hope the words are a blessing.


When it's all been said and done
There is just one thing that matters
Did I do my best to live for truth
Did I live my life for You
When it's all been said and done
All my treasures will mean nothing
Only what I've done for love's reward
Will stand the test of time

Lord Your mercy is so great
That You look beyond our weakness
And find purest gold in miry clay
Making sinners into saints

I will always sing Your praise
Here on earth and ever after
For You've shown me Heaven's my
true home
When it's all been said and done
You're my life when life is gone

Lord I'll live my life for You

The Man on the Cross

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  (Luke 23:39-43)

Two criminals sentenced to death; one mocked Jesus, the other somehow knew and recognized Jesus for who he was.  This man rebuked the other; after all, they were all under the same penalty of death.  But this unnamed criminal looked over to Jesus, called him by name, and asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom.  

Had he heard his teaching or seen Jesus' miraculous works?  Had he only heard about them?  Whatever the case, the seed of faith had been planted and this dying criminal prayed to the Son of God; his prayer was heard and answered.  He was saved from spiritual death as he was dying that horrible physical death.

It's quite a remarkable story - to think of this unknown criminal knowing who Jesus was and knowing there was a coming kingdom, even for the dying.  The Bible doesn't tell us how he knew.  I wish we could know more of the back-story but what we have is enough.  What really matters is the bottom line. This sinful man, at his death, was welcomed into paradise when he prayed his simple prayer:  "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Our loving Lord, even as he was dying, was reaching out to a lost sheep.  He was saving a condemned man even as the mockers were crying out for him to save himself.  This criminal was forgiven, set free and saved from eternal death.  

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:3-10)