Skip to main content

Consecrated Temple

This morning in our worship service, there was a very real, very palpable drawing of the Holy Spirit to come back to our first love.  A wooing, if you will, to return to the One Who loved us first.  A call was given to lay down the idolatry in our lives, casting down and putting away those things that we have made a priority over our relationship with The Living God.  Dethrone Flesh and let God be God of our lives.  At the end of the altar service, our Pastor, by Divine order, read 2 Chronicles 7:14. 

Before citing the scripture, let me first set the stage for you.  Solomon, the son of King David, has completed the building of the temple.  If you know the story of David, you remember David had a heart to build a temple for the Lord; however, it was God's plan for Solomon to build the temple as David's time was one of war.  Solomon would reign in peace and the Lord would "establish his throne forever."  (1 Chronicles 17)  In the 7th Chapter of 2 Chronicles (NIV), the temple has been completed and dedicated and now, in the night, the Lord appears to Solomon.  I urge you to really read this verse.  Often times, we hurriedly skim through familiar verses without letting the words sink into our hearts.  In doing so, we can miss the meaning entirely.  In verse 14, the Lord says:
"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
As my Pastor spoke, my eyes fell to the two verses following this one.  Though I have read them before, I never saw them quite like I did this morning.  Verses 15 and 16 (NIV) are recorded as such:
"Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.  I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever.  My eyes and my heart will always be there."
Ponder this.  We are living temples where the Lord abides.  He has chosen us, consecrated us and, therefore, we bear His name.  So, if we humble ourselves, repent, turn from our unrighteousness, our sins, the Lord, through this scripture, promises His eyes will be open and His ears will be attentive to our prayers.  He will ALWAYS be there.  Always. Forever. 

Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.  You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

People Pleaser

Hello, my name is Brittni and I am a people pleaser.  They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, right? Today, I realized this has been a huge stumbling block for me.  Many of the situations I have found myself in can be attributed to doing something I didn't really want to do because I thought someone else wanted me to or better yet, needed me to do.  I have compromised my own beliefs, taken responsibility for things that were not my fault, even made untrue assessments about myself all for the pleasing of someone else.  I called it being agreeable, keeping the peace.  Only, I didn't have peace.  How dumb is that? Joyce Meyer writes, "IT ALL COMES DOWN TO ONE THING…Motives… Why are we doing (or not doing) something? Are we being motivated by fear, personal gain or a sense of obligation? Are we being motivated by a desire to be in control, accepted or seen?  These are all the wrong reasons for doing something. Our motive for...

Joseph: Treasure Chest

I've so enjoyed the study of Joseph, thus far.  For me, it has been much like finding a treasure chest, cautiously opening the lid, peering in trying to see everything the chest holds.  Layers upon layers, depths upon depths, discovering and analyzing every part of his life recounted in the Bible like examining small gemstones or more accurately witnessing the most beautiful diamond being formed amidst the ugliest circumstances.  "Natural diamonds are formed about 100 miles beneath the earth's surface where carbon rich rocks are melted by the heat of the earth's mantle, a layer of liquid lava rock, and are compressed by the enormous pressure of the many miles of earth above them. As the earth churns, the heated rock may move upwards away from the heat and cool over time, which can form diamonds if the conditions are just right. It takes hundreds of thousands of years for the process to take place." (ehow.google)  To simplify--high temperature, high pressur...

Porcupine

Photo by Vadym “The porcupine, whom one must handle gloved, may be respected, but never loved.”               ~Arthur Guiterman Those who know me, even those who have followed my blogs, know I have struggled in relationships. Though it is true, many of the hellacious, short-lived relationships were the result of simply picking the wrong people--whether romantic relationships, friendships, even mentors. For this reason, it is particularly important to pray about every aspect of your life, not just "the big things." In all actuality, the simplest details overlooked can thrust you into the most difficult and most painful situations from which to extricate yourself. Often, this is where we experience being blind-sided. Through these tumultuous times, as we all do, I have developed a defense mechanism that I only discovered in the past few weeks. In my prayer time, a revelation came to me so clearly, I may as well ha...