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How life is Built, or How a Temple is… the oft overlooked secret
devotional thought of the day:
7 The stone blocks for the building of The Temple were all dressed at the quarry so that the building site itself was reverently quiet—no noise from hammers and chisels and other iron tools. 1
2 “About this Temple you are building—what’s important is that you live the way I’ve set out for you and do what I tell you, following my instructions carefully and obediently. Then I’ll complete in you the promise I made to David your father. 13 I’ll personally take up my residence among the Israelites —I won’t desert my people Israel.” 14 Solomon built and completed The Temple. 1 Kings 6:7, 12-14 (MSG)
74 You are not happy because you make everything revolve around yourself as if you were always the centre: you have a stomach-ache, or you are tired, or they have said this or that… Have you ever tried thinking about Him, and through Him, about others? (1)
It is ithe plan of the Masterbuilder that all of the business of making rough rock into perfectly fitting, polished stone be accomplished in the stone quarry. There, beyond this place, beyond that door, is only the assembling of what has been done here. (2)
I have read of Solomon’s building of the temple many times, the dedication of that temple is one of m favorite portions of all of scripture. The gathering of God results in God’s presence being so manifest, that smoke fills the temple, and no priest can offer any sacrifice. The people of God pray, and are forgiven. Others come and pray, and God makes Himself real to them. God and people.
Yet in the midst of the work, verse 7 gets overlooked, it gets lost in the details, in the glory, in the imagery. I never even bothered to ask why the work was done in the quarry before.
Thinking on it now, as the son of a man who build tons of stone walls (literally) it amazes me. To so carve the rock as to be sure of its fitting, to so care for the work as it is transported to the temple mount, to then be fitted into place, perfectly. It is mindblowing to think of this with lasers and high power saws and polishers, but this work was done with chisels, and hammers, carved lovingly by hand. And in the temple, even as it is being build, reverent silence…It is built in peace, the joining mortar laid, the stones carefully put in place. Peace, quiet, solemnity.
No wonder the building of the temple of God in its fullness happens outside the walls, outside even the city, the noise of the hammers pounding not heard within its walls. The only noise to be heard there, the tear of a thick curtain….as the Holy of Holies is revealed without its glory. Without the ark, for that which fulfils the covenant, that glory is hanging, nailed to a tree. The Body given, the Blood poured out, the sins forgiven, forever. And peace reigns as the shadows come, and darkness falls…….
To often we don’t wait to get to the silence, to see the glory of God – to know His peace. We are too busy with our issues, with our ailments, with that which pounds and shapes us, Fr. Josemaia is right, we focus on the now, and we don’t see the temple being build, we don’t see God put each one of us in place.
We don’t see the plan, the beauty, the glory coming together because we choose to live back in the quarry, rather than to see where God has put us in His living temple. To trust Him at His word, at His promise. To realize that we aren’t in the quarry, really, Hear how Paul says it…
1 Since you have been raised up to be with Christ, you must look for the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. 2 Let your thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are on the earth, 3 because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. 4 But when Christ is revealed—and he is your life—you, too, will be revealed with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NJB)
Though we may think we are not finished yet, those who believe have in many ways left the quarry, and are sitting here, in the temple, just waiting for Christ to put us in place. That is where our life is, and we are encourage to see it that way. Our life, shaped and designed and lived out in Christ. We’ve taken some pounding – He has taken more for us. We are in His presence, in a place where the pounding has already been done. We have been delivered and saved… and my prayer for you, is that you realize this more and more, and live in the peace and serenity that is found in Christ. For be assured,
6 And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 (TEV)
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 531-534). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
(2) Northumbrian Community, Celtic Daily Prayer (devotions from Finian readings for April 5th
UnderCover Boss: What if God became One of Us?
UnderCover Boss:
What if God became One of Us
Hebrews 2:14-18
† IHS †
May the grace, mercy and peace God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ has planned to be part of our lives become more and more the reality we live in, as we realize God became one of us…
What if God became one of us?
Whatever the reason they agree to give up their comfortable lives, their homes and their families, the end result is staggering. CEO’s of everything from restaurants like Hooters to portable toilet suppliers; from hotel chains to retail stores and airport shuttles. They go on the show, and are changed by doing the basic things their people do every day.
At the end of the show, if you have never seen it, the boss calls them into the corporate office, for a little chat. He’s given money to help them change their lives, scholarships, promotions, new roles. But the big change is in their lives, as they stay in simple hotels, and live like the rest of us. The changes they can cause in their peoples lives are nothing compared to the changes they find in their own lives, in their own work.
In the television show “Undercover Boss” there are great lessons for us all to learn, as we realize we aren’t dealing with just numbers, but with real people that are around us. People with real challenges, People that become important, as we realize our lives are impacted by so many different people, people whom we don’t really know.
I owe credit for today’s sermon title to Kay, who looked at my sub-title – and thought of the show. But can you imagine if the Boss came undercover, and lived life as part of your world, your work?
How would that change your life at the end of the day, when you are called into His office?
What would happen today, if God became one…of us?
Do we realize God knows what our life is like?
Some of you, the theologians and scholars in our midst, are probably thinking that God has. Remember the baby in the manger, the miracles, the transfiguration and cross and grace and Resurrection?
Yes, I do… but I meant today.
What would happen if the person next to you tomorrow at Starbucks was Jesus? Or the person you encounter about 10:00 at work or the nurse taking your blood pressure at the doctor’s office?
What would that be like? If that person was “the Boss”?
The real question behind this is one we need to seriously ask ourselves. Does God know what our lives are like, and more importantly, does He care? Or are we just another piece in His puzzle, another number on a spreadsheet, some of us in the assets column, some in the liabilities?
Does God know each one of us, and does He care?
How we answer that question will determine a lot of things in our lives. Especially how we relate to each other, and well of course to Him.
God’s answer is seen in the reading from Hebrews 2 this morning
Reason #1 to Come – You can’t help if you aren’t here
We often hear, and talk about, the role Jesus has and had, in delivering us from the power of sin, about the grief and shame we know, because we fail to do the things we are supposed to do, and we can’t stop those things we do the negative and things we think and have anxiety about. It is true, that Jesus came to take care of those things, to deliver us from guilt and shame and the anxiety that sin causes.
But the author of Hebrews looks at another aspect of Christ’s coming here, to deal with our fears and anxieties, including that of death. Hear the words again, “14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
it is amazing in the show to see what the bosses learn, not about their job, but about their people. The things that handicap them, the things that could be done to make their lives easier. When at the end of the show the Bosses help the people, the emotional level is so high, they realized the Boss is human too.
The apostle John said that Jesus, the logos of God, came and dwelt among us, and that they beheld His glory, A glory that shatters the darkness, a glory that is demonstrated in a love that took on death for us. A glorious love that shattered it power over us, and freed us from the fear and anxieties we have about it.
That’s what the cross does, it puts everything in perspective. It tells us Jesus Christ, truly God, truly man, has been here. He has come.
If that was all it would mean, for Him to come, there is much to rejoice in, but that isn’t all.
Reason #2 to Come – to run to our aid..
I want you to look at the last verse of that reading, where it says:
18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
The word translated help, is a bit more powerful than that, though I don’t know any word that adequately would cover it. It combines the concept of a scream or a yell – and an immediate run to give aid. That’s the word picture, Jesus, not looking perfectly groomed, but rushing headlong to our aid.
Since He knows our lives, since He lives with us, since He is… here.
Unlike most of the undercover bosses, Jesus knows us completely.. He knows the ups and downs, and how to survive, for He lived and still lives in us. He didn’t come here to make a television show, or to make His company more profitable, or perfect. He came into our lives to stay, to bring mercy, comfort and love and peace.
He is here, and He has promised that we will never ever be forsaken, that He will be with us to the end of the age.
Undercover Boss? Not really, not at all. He desires we reveal His presence to every person, so they can know for sure, that He has become one of us, even more, through His death on the cross,
God didn’t just come to be one of us, but God came to be one with us.
God has come, and dwells among us.
That’s what this is all about…this service, this church, our preschool.
Helping you realize His presence, in every moment of our lives…..
and knowing this, the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. AMEN!.
What are you being forged by God for????
Devotional Thought of the day:
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:8-10 (NLT)
2 But who will be able to stand up to that coming? Who can survive his appearance? He’ll be like white-hot fire from the smelter’s furnace. He’ll be like the strongest lye soap at the laundry. 3 He’ll take his place as a refiner of silver, as a cleanser of dirty clothes. He’ll scrub the Levite priests clean, refine them like gold and silver, until they’re fit for GOD, fit to present offerings of righteousness. Malachi 3:2-3 (MSG)
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. 13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” 14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 (NLT)
It usually sits up on my bookshelf at home – close at hand, but above the reach of little hands.
When I look at it, I cannot help remember what it was, think of its journey, admire what it has become, and the skill of the craftsman (Jim Adams of JDA Knives) that forged it.
You see, it may be an unusual hobby for a pastor, but I collect knives. (and a sword or two) And my JDA knives are quite special.
You see, that knife has had a lot of pressure over the years… it started out as a railroad spike, keeping a a railroad tie and the track joined together. An important job, but one with the pressure of the trains passing over it, the weather and heat and cold trying to dislodge it from what it was set in place to accomplish – keeping people and things heading toward their destination.
When it was time to be taken up, when it’s role was complete, it was tossed aside…useless perhaps…. or at least in minds other than Jim’s.
He took it, saw something, thought of a conversation and a need, and with heat, and pressure and force, took this old rusty knife and changed it into something.. beautiful, useful, practical (it’s wicked sharp). He has a craft that few do, and this knife is a masterpiece. He gave it to me one day… just walked in and wanted me to have it… I am still a little in shock. But very grateful.
The Eph. 2 passage above is one of my favorites, not just because of verses 8-9 – but because of 10. Many people focus on the first two… and quote them without completing the thought. But they just talk of the need for refining – for repurposing and the fact that God does it. But 10, ahh, that speaks of the finished product, a beautifully crafted instrument that our lives become..with all the sin and dross taken care of, with the rust and pitting rubbed out (like in the second passage). God’s masterpiece, His poiema ( we get poetiy from that) His Opus Dei – the work of God. He takes what is washed up, used, abused and turns it into something wonderful, something that He uses for a purpose.
We have a new purpose, a new mission, a new message to communicate. God uses every bit of us to do so,
The pressures we’ve dealt with, the storms we’ve endured, the sufferings we have wondered if we would survive…
And through all the heat, the pressure, God is at work forging someone who will be used for the greatest work..that of revealing Christ to others… of giving the hope that knowing God can bring, the awe that the Master Craftsman of life does care, does love, does know us, and will turn our lives into something beyond our ability to comprehend… He will make us a blessing to others…
So my question to all that are enduring heat – wondering why? even wondering if He is there…
Will you lean upon Him? depend upon Him? Let Him forrge you masterpeice….
And what is He forging you for????
Related articles
- A Second Call to Biblical Teaching/Preaching… appeal to Christ and His word… (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Like Clay in the Potter’s Hands (markatstpauls.wordpress.com)
- The Refiner’s Fire (unveilinghope.com)
