Bold Prayer; May 20, 2021

Posted on May 23, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 18:37 “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Elijah’s motive was never his own fame or glory, but rather that the people would be returned to the worship of the Lord. I think just now is the first time it has occurred to me that the water poured on the sacrifice (verses 33-35) was part of the sacrifice, because after three and a half years of no rain, water was a precious commodity. In any case the contrasts between Elijah and the prophets of Baal were many and extreme, from number to activity to results. This prayer, contained in just two verses, has only one thing in common with what the prophets of Baal had prayed, and that is the request for an answer. (verse 26) They had prayed from ritual and tradition, but Elijah prayed from experience and relationship. It is interesting to note that the activities of the idolaters here are practiced in some religions even today, notably Islam and Hinduism, where people injure themselves as part of their worship. It is no more pleasing to the Creator today than it was back then! Even in some supposedly Christian groups there has been the practice of self-whipping, and it shows a sad lack of understanding of the nature of sin and the character of our heavenly Father. Like Elijah, we need to operate in the assurance of who God is and who we are in Christ, confessing and repenting of sin but not thinking our actions can add to the atonement that Jesus accomplished on the cross. We cannot earn salvation, even by suicide! We need to remember that God desires a relationship with us, as a Father to His children, and so press in to know Him better and offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) in pure and obedient living. If we will do that, our prayers will have the kind of weight Elijah’s did, just as James pointed out. (James 5:16-18)

This is quite a challenge to me. Prayer comes easily to me, and I have seen some occasionally dramatic answers, but nothing on the scale of Elijah. I too would like a miracle to turn the hearts of the people to the living God, but so far that hasn’t happened. At one point I was expecting a resurrection to take place to confirm the Word through me, but I haven’t seen one yet. Thinking back, at the point that was big in my awareness, had it happened, I would probably have been destroyed by the fame that would have resulted, and genuine repentance and discipleship would probably have been rare. God always knows best! As it is, I am to walk in ever-increasing fellowship with my Lord, praying boldly under the direction of the Holy Spirit and offering myself as an instrument for God to accomplish that which He has me pray, for His glory alone.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder. May my faith grow so that I may pray with full boldness, without trying to dictate to You how You are to save this nation. May Your name indeed be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Bold Faith; May 19, 2021

Posted on May 23, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 18:21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

This is one of the most famous, and dramatic, challenges in the whole Bible, and actually, in all of human history. It really isn’t so surprising that the people weren’t up to responding to it. What stands out to me is Elijah’s boldness, the absolute assurance of his faith. He had experienced enough of God that in this moment there was no room for doubt anywhere in him. God has an easy time using someone like that! It seems very obvious that he was hearing from God clearly at this point, and that was enough for him. This sort of thing has happened many times throughout history, with a wide variety of results. Sometimes the results have been glorious victory on the spot, as happened here, but sometimes they have been the martyrdom of the servant of God. I am reminded of the story of a missionary family that was kidnapped in China about a century ago by a local warlord and his thugs. They were in a “kangaroo court” of sorts, being accused of subverting people with false religion, and the adults were speechless. However, the 12-year-old daughter spoke up with great boldness, called a spade a spade, and declared that they would have to answer to God Almighty for what they were doing. The people were stunned, and for a moment it seemed that they might release the family, but then the warlord gave the order and they were all killed, including the girl. The reason we know the story is that at least one of the men present was never able to shake the memory of what he had seen and heard, and later became a Christian, choosing to follow the God the girl had proclaimed. Whether the immediate result is triumph or martyrdom should not be the issue for us. Like Elijah here and like that girl, we need to be totally dedicated and obedient, leaving the outcome to our Lord.

I’ve never been presented with a situation like this. The closest I’ve come was when an acquaintance came to the church drunk, saying he was looking for a particular person to kill him, but somehow he couldn’t find him. I wasn’t sure who he was talking about, but I thought it might be one of our members, who was a former gangster. I told him that if he really wanted to kill someone he could kill me, because I knew I was going to heaven. Obviously he didn’t do that, and it was enough of a shock to him that I was able to talk him down. I hadn’t planned on getting into that situation, obviously, but the Lord gave me the boldness I needed when I needed it, and I’m grateful. I don’t know what lies ahead for me, but I do know that my Lord is more than up to it, so whether I am or not is beside the point. I am to focus on daily faithfulness, and leave everything else up to Him.

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. These are interesting days, on many levels. Help me indeed “not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,” (Philippians 4:6) submit everything to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Gratitude; May 18, 2021

Posted on May 22, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 17:18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

People are interesting. Not so long before this, the woman had been expecting to die along with her son, either by starvation or suicide, (verse 12) but was rescued by God through Elijah. Now that her son has died, she forgets about that and blames his death on Elijah. We all tend to be like that. This woman at least references her sin, but still forgets that her very existence is by the grace of God. We do that all the time. We read books about “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People” and generally accuse God of being mean, even if not in so many words. That the woman was distraught at her son’s death is certainly understandable, but she completely forgot gratitude. In this particular instance God demonstrated His grace and power and responded to Elijah’s prayer, reviving the boy, but what about the situations where that doesn’t happen? Jesus was very clear that, living in a fallen world, we can’t expect everything to go smoothly all the time. In the same breath, he told us to take heart, because He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) As in so many things, the key is gratitude. If we take good things for granted, we fail to appreciate how good they are. It is always interesting to me to watch tourists and locals together, seeing how the tourists exclaim over beautiful and/or interesting things, and how the locals get tired of the tourists! We often have to leave home to appreciate our home! Too often, we don’t even appreciate people properly until they are taken from us, and when that happens, we are all too prone to blame God, as happened in this story. The key to greatest happiness is to ask God for eyes to see how good He has already been to us, not to demand this, that, or the other thing that we don’t currently have.

This is something I’m learning more and more the longer I live. I’ve already lived several years longer than my father did, and I’m about to pass my mother as well. That has given me gratitude for each day the Lord gives me to serve Him, even as I look forward eagerly to being with Him more directly for eternity. Around the time I passed my father’s age at death, 64, I was rather obsessed with it all, which was hardly easy on my wife. Likewise, she had a time not long ago when she thought she wouldn’t be here much longer. That wasn’t easy on me! However, even if either of us were to “graduate” today, we would still have 52 years of enormous blessings together to be grateful for. We have assorted challenges related to the advancing calendar, and the world around us is certainly a mess, so we really need to focus on our Lord who has already overcome the world, including our limited, physical bodies. His grace is indeed sufficient for us, just as He told Paul. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for yesterday and all it held. Thank You for keeping Cathy safe as she drove, despite her dizziness. Thank You that we had some medication specifically for that. Thank You for the progress she’s been able to make on the Japanese index for our songs. I do ask Your healing for the physical pain she’s in right now. She has entirely too much of that, in my opinion, but I don’t see everything, and I trust You. Thank You that we were able to make a hotel reservation to commemorate our anniversary coming up. I pray that there would be minimal distractions to our gratitude, as we rejoice over Your overwhelming goodness toward us. Thank You. Praise God!

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Listening to God; May 17, 2021

Posted on May 22, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 17:2, 5 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah. So he did what the Lord had told him.

Elijah is remembered as one of the greatest prophets, even though he didn’t leave a book with his name, like Isaiah and Jeremiah. Here we have the secret to his greatness: he listened to God, and then he did what God said, whether it made any sense to him or not. In this particular situation, Elijah had just spoken what would have sounded like a threat to a very unscrupulous king, so he was literally in danger for his life. Escape was a logical move, but where? God’s answer was in one way logical, but in another way absurd. The Kerith Ravine was suitably out of the way and hidden, but the idea that he would have Uber Eats delivered by ravens made no sense at all. However, Elijah listened and obeyed. Frankly, that’s something we have trouble with. In the first place, our minds and hearts are so full of other stuff that we have trouble distinguishing God over the background noise. In the second place, even if we feel we have heard God, we “fact check” Him! Actually, in a way that’s not a bad thing, because there are indeed a lot of lying spirits out there trying to get us off track. I’m reminded of an experience one of our daughters had. A young man she was working with on a Christian project said to her, “God told me to ask you to marry me.” She replied, “That’s fine, but He didn’t tell me to say yes!” It is helpful to consult with mature believers to confirm that we have heard correctly, but ultimately it comes down to being familiar with the Bible, to recognize whether what we are sensing is in harmony with it, and being open to the Holy Spirit, to let Him get past our preconceptions.

This is something I have experienced many times, sometimes consciously and sometimes unconsciously. In seeking to teach others about prayer I emphasize that prayer isn’t a one-way street; we’ve got to be listening to what God says to us, either in reply to what we have said or completely unrelated to it. Sometimes God changes the subject in ways that catch us off guard! I’m never to presume that I always hear God correctly, nor that I am the only one who can hear God. Maybe my daughter learned that from me! I recognize that I am never “worthy” to hear God, but many years of experience, not to mention the Bible, have taught me that He is gracious beyond all measure, and He does talk to His children. I also recognize that how things turn out doesn’t determine whether I heard Him correctly in the first place. We were hearing God tell us to move toward building a senior-care facility next to the church, so we did that. However, many things combined so that didn’t materialize. In the process, however, various people’s hearts were exposed, and we learned more about God’s provision and His faithfulness. I honestly can’t say whether the facility would have been God’s best, but I do know that He was present in what did transpire, and I’m to be at peace with that. I am to keep listening and keep obeying, so that I may be fully useful to Him for His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You also for the privilege of sometimes being a “raven” in supplying the needs of others. May I not try to dictate how You are to use me, but rather keep myself fully available and responsive, so that Your will may be done on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Fame; May 16, 2021

Posted on May 19, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 13:1 By the word of the Lord a man of God came from Judah to Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make an offering.

This particular story is interesting to me particularly because of the total anonymity of this “man of God.” That he was not a manifestation of the pre-incarnate Christ (as the “commander of the army of the Lord” in Joshua 5:13-15 is sometimes said to be) nor even an angel, is shown by the fact that he was later deceived by the “old prophet” who appears later in the story. He was used mightily by God, yet the only thing we know about him is that he came from Judah and was boldly obedient to God, at total risk of his own life. We tend to evaluate people on the basis of what other people say about them, but God knows absolutely everyone, and some of His greatest servants are totally unknown to the world at large. There are people today who are literally famous for being famous, out of no special virtue, ability or achievement. That’s about as meaningless as it gets! Sadly, this Information Age we live in teaches people to strive for exactly that, and gaining a following on social media is a major goal for many. The thing is, none of us are here forever, so being known and approved by God, who is forever, is unquestionably the better goal. I don’t doubt that the particular individual in this story is secure for eternity because of his faith and obedience, and there are countless more who don’t even have this much mention in human records. Our goal should not be the acclaim of men, but the simple words of our Lord, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:21)

I can hardly say I am immune to the opinions of men, but I have been saved from seeking that as a major goal in my life. It is nice to be known, to be acknowledged, and misplaced priorities are always a temptation. This is particularly pointed at this moment because my father’s biography has just been published. It is a slim volume, doubly so because it is bilingual in Japanese and English. Part of me wants to promote that book all over the world, but I am very aware that my father himself wouldn’t care about that at all. The only benefit he would have seen in the book would be if it encourages others to seek God and be faithful to Him. I have had people encourage me to write my own life story, and that remains a possibility, as an expression of the gift for words that I have been given, but my concern likewise would be whether it would encourage people to follow God. (On top of that is the simple question of whether anyone at all would be interested in reading it!) What remains clear, however, is that self-promotion is not to be a goal. I’m sure the man of God in this story is deeply humbled to even be mentioned in the Bible, if he is at all aware of it. I am to strive consistently and tirelessly to draw close to my Lord and please Him, whatever that means in this world’s terms.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I am fairly well known in some circles, in part simply for longevity as a Caucasian in Omura. I continue to pray that the many people who know me or know of me would be drawn to You because of me. So many seem to care nothing about you at all! May my life be a demonstration of Your existence, Your love, grace, and faithfulness, so that people will repent of their indifference and believe You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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National Repentance; May 15, 2021

Posted on May 18, 2021 by jgarrott

2 Chronicles 7:19-20 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.”

When we get to this part of the Bible, everyone likes to quote verse 14, reasonably enough. Around 40 years ago there was quite a movement, at least among Charismatic churches, led by Rock Church in Virginia Beach, seeking to draw America into a revival based on repentance. Obviously, it didn’t gain enough traction! (Though the election of Ronald Reagan might be taken as a consequence.) We are at a place where verse 14 could not be more appropriate and topical, but we’ve got to remember that this part is in there too. The past few months, with the extreme policies of the current administration, have shone light on all sorts of things that were already going on under the surface in the US, and what is being revealed is stomach-turning. The results on the world stage have been swift, with bad actors of all stripes being emboldened to the point that it’s hard to keep up with all the crises. Interestingly, just yesterday billwhittle.com put out a video talking about how we had gone back to the ’70s – and that is precisely the environment that prompted Rock Church to push verse 14! Those who care about God and morality need to stand up to all the junk and repent of their own part in it, because the inaction of the Christians has certainly been a contributing factor. Many, many nominal Christians have indeed turned away from the clear words of the Bible and gone after “other gods,” though we haven’t used that terminology. It is no coincidence that Karl Marx and Charles Darwin were contemporaries. Between them, their ideas have resulted in the physical deaths of hundreds of millions of people and in the spiritual destruction of even more. Their ideas have actively sought to remove God from His throne, and their replacement? Man himself. That is the worst kind of idolatry, because it appeals to our basest motives most thoroughly. America has had a unique place in world history, and the devil hates it, because it was founded on Biblical principles and has been the greatest missionary-sending nation. As James said so clearly, we have got to wake up, submit to God, and resist the devil. (James 4:7) Only then can we expect that he will flee from us.

When drawing up the Scripture list I deliberately put this in at this point for the sake of chronology, but I of course had no idea that yesterday I would see the video from billwhittle.com and interestingly, one from Fox News that talked about a school board meeting in Virginia where parents really are standing up and resisting the flood of filth. God’s timing is perfect, because He sees it all at once! The danger for me is in feeling holier-than-thou, getting proud that I see what’s going on. That would be the height of foolishness! Like Daniel, I’ve got to repent for the sake of the nation, understanding my own complicity on many levels. I am torn, because I care deeply about America yet I am sent to Japan, which I naturally also care deeply about. My political participation is limited in both countries, because of my physical distance from the US and my lack of legal citizenship in Japan, but nothing stands in the way of prayer! I am to live in personal righteousness and holiness and offer my prayers to God for Him to use them to accomplish His purposes.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder. It’s got me rather worked up! Keep me from depending on feelings or emotions, but rather help me be faithful on every level regardless of what is going on around me, so that indeed Your name may be acknowledged as holy and Your kingdom come as Your will is done, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!

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Sincerity; May 14, 2021

Posted on May 18, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 8:60-61 “…so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

Solomon’s words here, though true enough, seem calculated to insure a docile, obedient populace. If Solomon himself had remained fully committed to the Lord all his life, none of this would leave a bad taste in my mouth, but knowing “the rest of the story,” as the saying goes, it does. The roots of the word “sincerity” come to mind. It’s from the Latin, and literally means, “without wax.” Italy is justly famous for marble, but as in most things, there are many grades of that useful stone. Poorer grades often have gaps or holes, making it unreliable as a building material because under load, it can crumble. Unscrupulous merchants would sometimes fill those gaps with wax, making a smooth surface, and then sell the marble for a higher-than-warranted price, but time and a little bit of heat would quickly reveal their deception. Solomon looked perfect at the time of the completion of the Temple, but the cracks and holes in his character were there nonetheless. We need to remember that, as God had told Samuel not so long before this, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) That’s because He sees the end from the beginning, and He knows what each person will do with their life. Hypocrisy tries to put on a good front but sincerity is honest before God and man, always striving to do better but not pretending perfection.

I think I have tended to be blunt and “what you see is what you get,” but I can’t say I haven’t tried to put on a good front a lot of times. That said, I’m not to let “sincerity” be a cover for failing to strive to be better. I often quote Paul’s denial of personal perfection in Philippians 3, but I must remember that part of that is “straining forward” and “pressing on.” (Philippians 3:13-14) I am to confess my sins and failures, but I am never to wallow in them. When I fall down for whatever reason, I am to seek and accept God’s help in getting up and moving on. If I will do that, the gaps and holes that I had tried to “cover with wax,” so to speak, will be filled with His presence by His Spirit, and in Him there is no failure or deficiency at all.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me indeed be sincere and honest in all things so that Your presence may shine through me, drawing people to You for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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Sin and Repentance; May 13, 2021

Posted on May 16, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 8:46 “When they sin against you–for there is no one who does not sin–…”

Solomon really doubles down on the subject of repentance. Paul was hardly being original when he wrote, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) This becomes a problem for the believer when we shrug off our own sin and say, at least to ourselves, “Well, everybody sins.” I think that’s one of the things that happened to Solomon. The consequences for his sins hit his descendants more than they hit him, at least in this life, so he didn’t recognize the severity of his sins. Here he’s using defeat in battle and subsequent captivity as an example of the consequences of sin, but nothing so drastic happened to him personally, so he thought he was OK doing whatever he felt like. He didn’t realize that the emotional and spiritual emptiness so evident in Ecclesiastes was a consequence of his turning away from God. He needed to repent just as much as the hypothetical people he talks about in his prayer! We can be such experts at deceiving ourselves! (James 1:22) This is a major reason for the importance of appropriate, timely discipline in parenting. If we wait too long to apply appropriate punishment, the child will lose the connection between his actions and the pain. And yes, I’m talking about physical punishment, because “time-outs” and the like are far less effective. Abuse is never justified, but many discussions can be had on what constitutes abuse. It is only when we grasp that our actions bring us something that we really don’t want that we change our behavior. Personalities differ widely. Some people, from children to adults, are so sensitive that a strong word can bring them to tears, and nothing more is required. Others require something far more drastic! It is up to the parents to discern what is effective for which child, but they must remember that the goal is changed behavior, that is, genuine repentance.

I well remember when my parents applied the “time-out” method with me. (They called it a “thinking session.”) I would have to sit in a chair, isolated, for a specified period of time. Quite frankly, that never bothered me at all, because I had a very active imagination, and I would just sit there and go on adventures in my mind! One of the most effective examples of discipline I’ve been close to was the first time our older daughter “threw a fit,” lying on the floor and kicking and yelling because she wasn’t getting her way. She happened to be in our kitchen at the time. In a burst of divine inspiration, Cathy, while standing at the sink, drew a glass of water and dumped it on our daughter. In total shock, our daughter quit her “fit” and behaved, and she never took that course again. Interestingly, when her younger sister seemed about to do such a thing a few years later, she told her, “Don’t do that. You’ll get water thrown on you.” Our younger daughter never lay on the floor and kicked, either! I wish God’s corrections of me had been that effective! There have been times when I have recognized an unpleasant thing as being the consequence of sin, but all too often I’ve been oblivious. I see more similarities between me and Solomon than I like to admit! I need to acknowledge sin and practice genuine repentance, that is, fully turning away from the sin, so that I may be the son and the servant my Father desires.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the time of singing hymns with Cathy last night. Several were quite moving, and I woke up with one on my mind this morning. Help me indeed not deceive myself, but rather walk in the full obedience You desire of me, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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The Fear of the Lord; May 12, 2021

Posted on May 15, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 8:39-40 “Then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers.”

Throughout this prayer there are various calamities mentioned, brought on by the people’s sins. In each case Solomon asks for God’s forgiveness on the basis of repentance, and here he gives the overarching goal: that the people would fear God. That’s a worthy goal, but it is ironic that Solomon prayed this way when he himself obviously didn’t continue to fear God throughout his life. If he had, he would never have built shrines for idols and actually worshiped at them! (1 Kings 11:1-8) As is all too common with leaders of various sorts, he failed to grasp that the rules he proclaimed actually applied to him, too. (We see that in politicians all the time.) Solomon forgot the great truth he proclaimed here, that God knows the hearts of all men. If we know that and genuinely fear God, then we will strive to our utmost to be true to Him, and so love Him with all that we have and are. (Matthew 22:37) Unfortunately, the easier we have it, the less likely we are to fear God, and Solomon had it as easy as it came in those days. Actually, that’s a major factor in the slide in American morality. We have it so easy we make up things to be offended about! If our hearts are turned and tuned to God, then we won’t need calamities to make us seek Him, and the troubles that come simply because we live in a fallen world won’t be able to tear us down. (John 16:33)

As I am reminded from time to time, I grew up loving God but not necessarily fearing Him. That is a dangerous, deceptive situation! It puts us in the category of the people Jesus talked about in Matthew 7:21-23. Even using God’s power to perform miracles isn’t a guarantee we are in a right relationship with Him. I don’t want to be in that group! I need to remember that my very existence is dependent on the grace of God, and live accordingly. I have never been a “hellfire and brimstone” preacher, nor do I want to be, but I must not preach a “gospel” that overlooks the necessity of repentance. For myself, I must not forget to fear God, which is exactly what Solomon seems to have done. With my every breath, all the way to the last one, I am to love, honor, and serve Him, because He alone is worthy.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for Your grace to me in countless ways. Help me indeed respond to You as I should, in love based on who You are, so that Your purposes may be fulfilled through me for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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God’s Temple; May 11, 2021

Posted on May 15, 2021 by jgarrott

1 Kings 8:27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!”

I well remember when I used this Scripture in doing a dedication ceremony for the chapel at the “wedding palace” where I do weddings. I think I shocked the CEO by making him vow that the chapel would never be used for anything that would dishonor the name of Christ! I can’t be sure that vow has been kept, but I’ve been doing weddings there now for over 30 years. This prayer in general is notable for having a much higher conception of God than many of Solomon’s ancestors seemed to have. Solomon is clear that what would reside in the physical building would be the name of the Lord, and not He Himself. That made this the definitive Temple of Yahweh, and there was no other. It was only after Pentecost, with the Holy Spirit poured out on many believers, that people really came around to understand the omnipresence of God, and that, as Paul said, we ourselves are His temple. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 the inference seems to be that the Church, that is, the Body of believers, is the temple, but in 6:19 of the same letter Paul states explicitly that the physical body of each believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit. That takes Solomon’s prayer to a dimension he probably never imagined! The difficulty for us today is really grasping what all this means. It’s not just a figment of Paul’s imagination, because Jesus talked extensively in the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17) about being in us and us being in Him. Going back to Solomon’s prayer, isn’t that the definition of a temple, a residence for deity? At the very least, the name of the Son of God is on everyone who is called a Christian. Frankly, not all are worthy of it, and we all tend to dishonor that name at moments, but that’s what it’s all about. We tend to associate “church” with a physical building, just like Solomon’s physical temple, but just like Solomon said, God can’t be limited to such things. Our physical buildings should indeed be consecrated by consistent, genuine prayer and worship, but we must never limit our concept of God to physical locations.

This is an understanding I came to fairly early, I think, but I find the majority of people I deal with don’t have this clearly in mind. It is certainly true that God does manifest His presence in distinct ways at certain times and places, and we aren’t to discount that. People who enter our building here do seem to feel something, and we occasionally have people show up just because they want to pray in a place where they feel they will be heard. I am to remember that God is indeed everywhere, but at the same time seek to be a carrier of His presence so that people are more aware of Him when I am there. That might seem like conceit, but I have met people who were like that, and that’s how I want to be. I certainly can’t do it in my own wisdom and strength! I want to be such a clear witness (Acts 1:8) that people will be drawn to repentance and faith just by knowing me, for their salvation and God’s glory.

Father, thank You for the privilege of acting as Your temple, Your residence. I pray that I would be more and more consistent, more and more effective in doing that, so that You will be totally free to make any “home improvements” You want to, making me more and more comfortable and useful to You, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!

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