Acts 7:44-60

 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)

The temple was lovely and beautiful (Psalm 84:1) because a lovely and beautiful God dwelt inside it. So it is with us in this age of grace; it is not our physical characteristics that make us lovely, it is the Presence of a beautiful God within us. God does not dwell in a temple made by human hands, but He does dwell in bodies created by Himself inside mother's wombs and recreated by Himself by the washing and rebirth of the Spirit (Titus 3:5). 

We are jars of clay; we come from the dust of the earth and we return to the dust of the earth. We are changeable and molded easily by outside pressure. We are used for several purposes throughout our short lives, some noble purposes are some not. Yet God, in His grace and wisdom chose to put the Treasure that is Himself inside these jars of clay. 

I think of Gideon and the torches his men carried with clay jars over the torch (Judg. 7). At the right time, they broke their jars and blew their trumpets and the LORD brought about a great victory. This is the method we are to use today. We are to break our jar of clay, for we are to die to ourselves and the more we break ourselves and reduce ourselves, the greater the light of the Treasure within us will shine. The light shone the brightest in Stephen as his clay jar was destroyed by his enemies. May we decrease and God increase in our lives this day. 

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1 Kings 6

"How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!" 

Psalm 84:1 (NIV)

This temple was beautiful. We have no picture, only descriptions, but the descriptions of the stonework, the cedar work, the gold laid over all the cedar, the doors with their gold hinges and the bronze work, all speak of a wonderful building. Unlike our present day method of bringing leftovers for the church to use, only the best of materials were used. This was not a church building - no it was the temple of the Living God, the place where God would put His presence; where He would live among His people, so only the best materials and the best craftsmen would do! But when you gaze around at the beauty of all creation, you realize that the temple was just a shack to God. You begin to realize the depth of the love that the God who created the universe, the Master Builder, the Craftsman had for His people, that He would live in a shack built by human hands. When you think about the audacity of building a structure out of materials that waste away for the Eternal, Invisible, Immortal God, you begin to understand the sense of blessing that David and Solomon had and you then to understand Psalm 84:1. It was not the physical properties of the temple that made it lovely, rather it was the Presence of a beautiful God. 

"Better is One Day", Matt Redman, via YouTube

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Luke 4:1-13

"...But Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day." 

2 Samuel 23:10a (NIV) 

We want to take new ground. We want to add to the kingdom of God. We want to see God's kingdom advance in a mighty way that is obvious to all. Yet, we should never underestimate the importance of a DEFENSIVE STAND! The kingdom of God has come to our lives; will we take a stand and defend the border of the Lord's kingdom on this earth? 

Our Lord was on the defensive in the wilderness. He deprived Himself of food and water. He withdrew from all other people, creating an opportune time for the devil to temp Him. When the spiritual attack came, He stood His ground, resisted the devil with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and the devil left Him. 

In David's day, the enemy swarmed the border of the kingdom of God on this earth, and all the men retreated, except ONE. He stood his ground with his sword in his hand and the text tells us that the LORD won a great victory that day. 

Friend, do not underestimate the importance of the STAND in your life. Protecting your righteousness in Christ, standing strong against the enemy as he tempts us and tries to overthrow the kingdom of God in our lives; using the Bible to resist the devil. Great victories would be won for our Lord if each of us would only take a STAND! 

"The Stand", Hillsong United, via YouTube

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Hebrews 11:32 - 12:4

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." 

Matthew 10:28, 29 (NIV)

 Many people serve Satan; they torture, rape and murder other people. This is what Satan loves. He was a murderer from the beginning (Jn. 8:44). Our Lord is instructing his disciples not to be afraid of people like this who will threaten them and eventually kill all of them, except John. 

I have trouble envisioning not being afraid when faced with a murderer, but the Lord is not telling them not to be afraid. Rather, He is telling them to be afraid of God rather than Satan and his servants. There is a difference between our bodies and our souls. We know a lot about our bodies, less about our souls, yet our Lord knows about both. He knows that having your soul destroyed is way worse than anything that will happen to your body. Out of this instruction comes one of the most precious truths ever uttered by our Lord. 

May we be encouraged this day by the precious truth that nothing physical dies outside of the will and care of our heavenly Father.

"His Eye is on the Sparrow", Big Mama, via YouTube

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Revelation 12

"So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." 

1 Corinthians 5:4,5 (NIV) 

How could an under shepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ hand a child of God over to the dragon described in Revelation 12? You say, "Well, he tells you how; come together in an assembly before the Lord and hand him over." That is the actual practical method, but my question is: "how could this possible be an act of love carried out by brothers and sisters who love this man in Christ?" The devil is our enemy; he deceives us and brings ruin and destruction into our lives and yet he does it in a sly and devious way, in such a way that we don't even realize what is going on. You may know brothers and sisters like this. They are deceived. Their actions are those of followers of Satan and this world, and yet their lips tell you they love God and follow Jesus. How can this be? Deception. The angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) has deceived them. What they need more than anything else is to come to their senses. Just like the prodigal where it had to take the bottom, disaster before he realized that he was wrong and that he needed to be with his father. Paul is not concerned that Satan can destroy this man. Paul knows that those who are the Lords will always be the Lords. Paul desires that this man be brought to his senses and withdrawing spiritual protection from a person is the last act of love that brothers and sisters can give to someone who is deceived by the angel of light (this would be very hard to do). May we always listen to that still small voice. May we keep short accounts with our Lord. May the grace of God be powerful in our lives this day. 

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Luke 17:1-18

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) 

What are you facing today? What is wrong in your world? What are your circumstances? Rejoicing, praying and giving thanks are easy to do when the good times roll. But in those times we call 'bad times',  it is hard to do our heavenly Father's will. Praying seems like a no brainer - only God can help us, so most of us will pray, though sometimes we get so angry with God that we stop praying altogether. Rejoicing in those times seems a stretch and even a little contrary to Romans 12:15 and Ecclesiastes 3:4, though we know that there is no contradiction in Scripture, rather it is our sin nature affecting our ability to receive the Word of God. But giving thanks should be possible, in light on all that God ha done for us in Christ. I can't find any biblical example of people thanking God for the trouble that is upon them (even Job, who said we must accept good and bad from God's hand, didn't thank Him for the trouble). After the trouble was over though, some, like Joseph, were able to see the good in the bad. God is not asking us to thank Him for the bad and evil things that are happening - NO. He is asking us to thank Him for the good that He has done for us in Christ Jesus. We have every spiritual blessing in Christ! Let us fix our eyes on Him and turn our minds toward what we have in Christ by thanking Him in our circumstance today. Giving thanks is an action not an attitude. Act now! 

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Isaiah 59:16 - 60:3

 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." 

Isaiah 60:1 (NIV) 

Isaiah is looking forward to a future time of blessing. In the book of Ephesians, Paul is looking back on the point of our salvation and says: "For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." (Eph. 5:8). These two verses describe the purpose of our salvation, which is to bring glory to God through our lives and words on this earth during the short time we are alive. Darkness covers the earth, and yet the LORD has shone His light in our hearts; He has appeared and darkness has fled. ARISE and SHINE for the Lord is within you. ARISE and SHINE for you are a child of the LIGHT! 

We use to teach the children a song called, "Arky Arky" - sort of a silly song but the chorus is gold: "Rise and shine, and give God the glory glory...children of the Lord". Will we rise up and shine with the light of the glory of God today? Practically speaking, this is will only happen if we on purpose surrender to the Holy Spirit daily; walk in step with Him, agreeing with Him as He leads us and speaks with us. Isaiah has told us that the LORD has put His Spirit within us, and then He tells us to ARISE and SHINE. The decision is ours. What will we do? May we decide to keep the light on. May we trim our lamps. May we decide to live a Spirit filled life today. 

"I'll Leave a Light On", Matt Maher, via YouTube

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