rushing wind

Posted on September 17, 2004 by Dana

What if my heart does not feel like an ark of the covenant? What if my body does not feel like a temple of the Holy Spirit? Our feelings often work against faith, so the great need is to simply believe what God says.

Living out the life God has given us often corresponds to what we truly believe. Is it just theory that God writes His law on the minds and hearts of His children or has He really done it? Is it just theory that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit or does He really live in me?

Satan has no right to any part of God’s temple. We have been bought at a great price and our Master has all authority. Zeal for His house (us) still consumes Him!

“In the temple courts he found men selling cattle sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of chords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market.’ His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” John 2:14-17

May we be bold enough to give Him free reign over every part of us! Then we can honestly sing the old hymn by Adelaide Pollard:

Have Thine own way, Lord, Have Thine own way
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay
Mold me and make me after Thy will
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Filled with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ, only, always, living in me!

The late Keith Green sang this prayer:

Rushing Wind blow through this temple, blowing out the dust within
Come and breathe your breath upon me, I’ve been born again.
Holy Spirit, I surrender, take me where you want to go
Plant me by your Living Waters, plant me deep so I will grow.

Jesus, You’re the One who set my spirit free
Use me, Lord, glorify Your Holy Name through me

Separate me from this world, Lord, sanctify my life for You
Daily change me to Your image, help me bear good fruit.
Every day You’re drawing closer, trials come to test my faith
But when all is said and done, Lord, its been worth the wait.

Jesus, You’re the One who set my spirit free
Use me, Lord, glorify, Your Holy Name through me.

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” Acts 2:2

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arks & temples

Posted on September 10, 2004 by Dana

“Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you…” “Have them make a chest of acacia wood… There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you…” Exodus 25

The Ark of the Covenant was housed in the mobile tent Moses was commanded to build. People knew God was there. Those that did not treat the ark or the tabernacle with great respect perished in dramatic ways.

For nearly five hundred years the tabernacle was the dwelling place of God. Then King David proposed a more permanent structure. Though God did not permit David to be the builder, his son, Solomon, erected a magnificent Temple in Jerusalem.

Once a year, the high priest went into the presence of God, behind the curtain in the inner sanctuary called the Most Holy Place. There, at the Ark, atonement was made for the sins of the people. Year after year the priestly duties were performed. After about five hundred years, Someone walked by the temple and made a startling prediction: “I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Earlier, this same Jew had made an even more outrageous statement: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will build it back.”

The One who said these things knew a radical change was at hand. No longer would the Presence of God be in the Most Holy Place of a building built by men – the Presence of God was in Jesus! He knew He was to be the perfect Sacrifice offered once for all men. He knew that when He died the thick curtain that protected the Ark of the Covenant would be “torn in two from top to bottom”. He knew He was providing the way for all men to have access to His Heavenly Father. Jesus also knew His body was the Temple that would not stay in a tomb.

We know these things, but do we keep in mind God’s ongoing story? Today the new covenant established by God is not contained in a holy chest of wood – it is written on human hearts! “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest.”

For centuries archeologists have searched for the Ark of the Covenant. Yearly, thousands of tourists visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem only imagining how beautiful that building must have been. But arks exist today! The arks are the hearts of those who believe in the Son. And temples live today! Each member of the Body of Christ is the dwelling place of God. Let us thank and worship this One who has given us so much.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” I Corinthians 6:19-20

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secret

Posted on September 3, 2004 by Dana

I told Susan last night how “grown-up” John was looking. He’s only six months old, but he has changed so much. I don’t think John has set too many goals at his young age, but he is maturing rapidly. I know the secret… it is the life the Father has put in him.

So what is the secret to my maturity? Do I need to work harder? Do I need to strive with more diligence? Do I need to pray more? Do I need to set higher goals? I think the secret to maturity for Christians is the same as John’s… it is the Life the Father has put in us.

“Abide in Me and I will abide in you.” “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things…” “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”

The Spirit of the Living God, not my own effort, brings the maturity the Father desires. The mature in the Kingdom must remain child-like by depending on the One who aims to mold us into the image of Christ. As Jesus relied totally on His Father, so we are to rely on Him.

The Holy Spirit gives us our goal and reminds us where to keep our focus. “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith…” The Holy Spirit tells us there is a prize worth any cost. “But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” The Holy Spirit encourages us to constantly talk to the Father. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” The Holy Spirit gives us energy and power to do the work we are called to do. “To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me.”

‘Thank you, Lord, for Life.’

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:13

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maturity

Posted on August 26, 2004 by Dana

Baby John will be six months old next week! Can you have a half-birthday party? John can sit up, roll over, and eat baby food! No longer does he just drink milk; he enjoys spinach, carrots, and sweet potatoes! (he doesn’t like peas too much…)

“We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…” Hebrews 5:11-6:1

Milk is important, but we need more. Jesus is the Son of God, born of the virgin, Mary. He lived an obedient life, He died on the cross, and God raise Him to life on the third day. The elementary teachings about Christ bring us the message of salvation. This is where we start, but where do we go next? How does a baby grow? What is the solid food?

Christ is the solid food! “I am the Bread of Life!” We never need less of Christ, so how do we get more? What could not be explained to these Hebrew Christians? Examine the preceding paragraph:

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

Since the writer taught about Melchizedek later in the letter, perhaps the solid food has to do with the life Jesus lived on this earth. Perhaps only the mature can understand the prayer life of the Son of Man. What stirred His emotions to bring forth ‘loud cries and tears’? Did He offer up prayers for a broken world? Did He weep for the lost sheep of Israel? Did He petition the Father for me and you? Can we learn to pray as He did? Why did the writer say He was heard? Perhaps only the mature can understand submission. Jesus lived in total surrender to His Father. How easy it is to talk about the Savior, but will we let Him be Lord over every area of our lives? Will we live in ‘reverent submission’?

Perhaps only the mature can understand the mysterious ways of God. ‘He learned obedience from what He suffered.’ Is He really a perfect Father? Why does He teach in such painful ways? If God chooses suffering as a part of my journey, will I run or will I persevere? And when Jesus reached full maturity… He laid down His life. The path of maturity is not found in just hearing about this One … true life is found in following Him.

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Philippians 3:10-12

Let’s press on.

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thief

Posted on August 20, 2004 by Dana

My bother, Brian, first spotted the thief as we followed a blue car to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of South Africa. He was sitting on the side of the road eating a sandwich as we drove by. After parking in a spot by the ocean, three of the four members of a French-speaking family climbed out of the blue car, leaving a young lady in the back seat. We parked beside them and my daughter, Kinsey, and our friend, Sherill, hopped out of our car, leaving the back door open. In an instant there was chaos. The thief appeared between the two cars, just a few feet from Kinsey and Sherill. I’ve never seen such quickness as the two girls dove into our car. All the doors of the blue car were closed, but the thief was not deterred. He opened the front door and hopped in. The lady in the back seat screamed as she found herself alone in the car with a baboon! As quickly as the ape jumped in the back seat, the woman climbed out the back door. The father approached the car to confront the imposter, but when the baboon bared his teeth and growled, he quickly retreated.

The monkey grabbed a leather purse out of the back seat and leapt out of the car. Realizing her purse was being stolen, the mother and her son yelled some words I did not understand (and probably should not repeat) and ran after the baboon. The humans had no chance catching the thief as he headed for his familiar hills, but it was good they gave chase. As the monkey ran, he unzipped the purse and started tossing things out. Finding no food, he finally dropped the purse and ran away. We applauded the two chasers as they walked back to their car with the recovered goods.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”

So what would have happened if the mean baboon jumped into the back seat of my brother’s car? There would have been no retreat! My brother, all 5’6” 150 pounds of him, would have made that monkey wish he had never been born! I am not bragging about the strength of my little brother… I’m describing the heart of a father. His four-year-old son, Noah, was in the back seat… something far more precious than any leather purse. My brother would have fought that enemy to the death in order to rescue his little boy… and Uncle Dana would have helped!

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away…”

‘Know that I still fight for those that follow Me. I live to intercede for you! Yes, you live in an evil world, but take hope, I have overcome the world! Yes, the devil roams around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, but you belong to the Good Shepherd who never sleeps and never runs away. Listen to My words and believe what I say.’

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” John 10:27-30

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