1 Chronicles 22:1-19
Monday, 5 October 2020
…… the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations.” -1 Chronicles 22:5
People invest a lot of time, effort and money when they build homes to live in. Every detail is looked into meticulously so that nothing will be left out and always hoping that the houses would be the attraction of the neighborhood. If we take such keen interest to build earthly homes that are here today and gone tomorrow how much more care should be taken to build our spiritual homes—our very lives!!!
This day’s devotion draws our attention to David’s passion, planning and preparation of God’s House—The Temple. 1 Chr. 22:5: David made extensive preparations before his death. Are we doing the same? Paul says God does not live in temples built by human hands, but now you and I are the temples of the living God and His Spirit lives in us.[ Acts 17:25, 1 Cor. 3:18]
So what kind of preparations must we do to house the PRESENCE OF THE LIVING GOD?
Here is one truth that we can learn from David, so that we would build our spiritual house in a manner that will glorify God.
He provided material for the building: 1 Chr. 22:3,14 – give us a detailed description of the kinds of material that were to be used for the temple. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 talks about the kind of materials believers use to build their spiritual lives—gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw. Now you may ask: “how does it matter what kind of material I use?” Well, it matters a lot because there will come a day when all our works will be tested by fire and on that day only the fire-resistant will stand the test; the rest will be burnt to dust. Even your very lives would be at stake, but you would have made a very narrow escape (1 Cor. 3:12-15).
Let’s look at what these materials are, we need to use to build our lives
Prayer- Prayer is the backbone of every Christian. Jesus when he walked on the earth called the temple “A HOUSE OF PRAYER.” Today you and I are that house! Will people who meet us say “There goes a man/ woman of prayer”? One great example is John Hyde of former years, who is fondly known as “Praying Hyde.” He used to spend several nights in prayer for lost souls. His prayers are answered even today as many as turning to Christ in Punjab, India. Is this a material you and I are using to build our life?
Fellowship- Another material we need to use to build our spiritual lives. God did not create us to be islands, but he wants us to be connected to each other thereby in Him we will build each other in His love to become a holy temple where He dwells (Eph. 2:22). He has endowed each one of us with varied gifts so that through our uniqueness and diversity we might display His glory to a broken world. Does the world see this unity in us?
The Word- Our Christian foundation is the ‘Word of God.’ We can never replace studying the Word with any other form of literature. The one thing that made the Bereans noble, was their keen interest in studying the Scripture (Acts 17:11). Are we taking time to use what is GOD- BREATHED to build our lives (2 Timothy 3:16)?
If you have not yet begun to build your life in Him, do not delay, His return is at hand!
Quote for the Day: “The Christian does not go to the temple to worship. The Christian takes the temple with him or her.” -Ravi Zacharias
Listen: ‘Know ye not’