He used the very best materials, the absolute best craftsmen . . . Solomon used the best of everything to build a place for God to dwell. He was super wise and had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Solomon had everything. But then something happened. He turned away from the Lord and God raised up an enemy for Solomon and eventually Solomon died. His entire family line died out, except the one that led to Jesus. He was doing good initially, then he turned his back on God and then Solomon died. Interesting pattern.
Let's go back in time to Adam. He and Eve had it pretty good. Walking with God everyday in the garden - their "temple." It was nice. They have everything they needed. But then they turned away from God, ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and death came into the world. Hmm. Basically the same pattern.
Now let's look at us sinful humans for a moment. Many of us never have it good at all, much less have everything we need. Some of us do. Regardless of the amount of material possessions we have, we all have turned our backs on God. It's called sin. And guess what . . . we all will die. Same pattern, over and over again. Blah, blah, blah.
But there is something we have that Solomon and Adam didn't. We have Jesus. Listen to this Old Testament verse, prophesying about the coming Christ and His Holy Spirit . . .
"27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." - Ezekiel 37:27
And now this verse . . .
"19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Hmm. When we allow Jesus to rule over our lives, God's Holy Spirit comes into us and, according to the what we just read, WE become God's temple. That brings me to my question of the day.
If our lives and what what we are doing with them are furnishings for God's temple, our bodies, how ornate are the furnishings WE have made? Are our deeds made of the finest gold? Or are they dirty and dusty, unworthy for our God to dwell in? Have we turned our backs on God? The Bible says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And is that is the case we will die one day. The death rate for humans is 100%. So, what is the point of living then if we all are just going to die?
This life we are living is an opportunity. God has given us an opportunity to live with Him in His temple, in heaven. He has sent an invitation to the world! It is through our faith in His Son that we have this chance. God paid the price for that "ticket" through sacrificing His one and only Son. To us the ticket is free. So . . . what are we waiting for?
Read this very slowly and soak in each word . . . The words of Jesus.
"16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” - John 3:16-21
If you haven't committed your life to Jesus today, what are you waiting for? We are living in prophetic times. That means time is running short. Please, make a commitment to Christ today. Clean up your temple and fill it with the finest furnishings available - God's Holy Spirit. Placing your faith and trust in Jesus will make YOUR temple spotless to God. Let Jesus do the cleaning. And then you will dwell with God, and He with you . . . forever. :)
Trust In Jesus - Third Day
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