New Thoughts (12/14/10-12/17/10)
This seems likely to be an unusually brief study, which should hardly surprise given the brevity of the passage at hand. The verse could be taken to be little more than a marker, indicating the change of a day, a bookend to separate the events of that first triumphal entry from that which transpired the next day. There, too, we find Mark inserting a quick note that night was fallen and the Son went down over the Mount of Olives to Bethany, if you’ll pardon the poetic moment, there.
But, let’s stop and savor this verse just a bit, for we know God did not waste Mark’s or Peter’s time in having it included. The first thing I will look at is simply the name of this city to which Jesus has come – Jerusalem. We know it, of course, as the city of peace, particularly from the discussion of Jesus as the successor to Melchezedek found in Hebrews. The Prince of Peace has come to take His throne in the City of Peace to become the King of Peace. All of this is fit and proper. But, as I was looking at the Greek underpinnings of the verse, I found it interesting that the name of the city was transformed to Hierosoluma as it was transliterated from its Hebraic roots. The choice was no doubt one made for the affinity of sounds. Yeruwshalaim to Hierosoluma is not a great leap phonically speaking.
What caught my eye, though is the root word that one sees in the Greek name: heiros. This, you might notice, is the root of the term used of the Temple in this passage, and it has the meaning of being sacred. Zion! The Sacred City, that place upon which God has placed His name. I would not wish to repeat the oft-repeated mistake of the Jews and place so much trust on the place that I felt myself free to do as I wish, supposing God would never touch His own place. But, I would not wish to treat that reality too lightly either. The weight of Scripture must surely cause us to recognize that there is indeed something particular to that city, the City of Peace, the Sacred City, the Capitol City of the Kingdom of Heaven by God’s own decrees.
Indeed, we find that it is to this place that the King shall return, His feet set upon the twin hills of its foundation. This is all the more striking given the woe that Jesus pronounced in arriving at the city. Utterly destroyed! Because they would not accept the things of peace in this city of peace, then destruction would be the price of their rebellion. It would come by earthly hands, to be sure, but it would remain the judgment of God handed down. Yet, this was not the end of Jerusalem’s story. Not at all. The City of Peace remains, though it be not so peaceful. The special place of Zion in the eyes of Zion’s God remains. It is yet the apple of His eye. It still has a highly significant role to fulfill in the unfolding of His final chapters in history.
So, here we are at the end of Jesus’ first day back in Jerusalem. He has completed His triumph, proclaimed His victory. And now, we have this very brief visit to the Temple, and part of me sees this and thinks it rather anti-climactic for such a day. All of that excitement and then, a quick look about and back out? It’s like a scene from one of those summer vacations, hours spent to get to some purported attraction which turns out to deserve little more than a cursory glance. What a disappointment! I wonder if maybe thoughts along these lines were in the heads of the disciples at the time.
So strong is that urge to keep the excitement going that I see that I had originally moved up the schedule for the Temple cleansing to have it on this same day, ignoring the clear markers in the text that tell me it was the next day that this occurred. One senses the climax and simply wants to build towards it, but that was not the plan God had laid out. No. The event of His Triumph was to suffer no competition for our attention. The proclamation of the King’s arrival at His throne was not to be marred by what must be done in His house now that He was home.
I’m jumping forward a bit to that event even now, I see, but this is important. Do you see the connection, why the temple was cleared out as part of this ascent to the throne? It’s very much in keeping with the succession of kings, isn’t it? It’s not enough to have won the battle that brought you the throne. There will be those in the shadows, conniving to reclaim what they lost in that battle. There will be those who seek to bring rival claims, who seek by whatever means to depose the newly settled King. Truth is, the usurper upon the throne of Christ had also been using His house, and had defiled it no end. There is then this aspect that He is establishing His rightful rule in that act of cleaning the temple out. There is far more happening there, and we shall arrive at that in time, but this thread also weaves its way into the narrative of tomorrow’s actions.
For today, though, there is another purpose to the visit, atop that of the King surveying His newly re-acquired palace. For, truly, the Temple is the Palace of God. The manse of Israel’s then king would hardly do for One whose majesty so far outstrips that of any and every earthly magistrate. There is something else going on, as well, though, that I think must have our primary focus. As well as being the Palace of God, the rightful Residence of the King, this is also the House of God, the place the Father set His name to be known and His authority to be acknowledged and revered.
In light of that, what I see happening is that Jesus the Son has purposefully chosen to come honor the Father on this day in which the Father is honoring the Son. That whole triumphal procession was the Father’s purposeful display of the glorious Son, making His majesty known, proclaiming His right to reign over all the earth. “This is My Son in Whom I AM well pleased!” How important for Son Jesus to know that as He approached the momentary separation to come! How important to be wholly assured that yes, Father loves Me as He underwent the terrible anguish of knowing this same Father had turned from Him in light of the sins of the world which were laid upon Him. He made Himself a curse for us that we might find Life in Him, and the strength to endure, I think, came at least in part from this reassurance that whatever lay ahead, in spite of that turning away, the Lord God of Hosts was with Him yet, and ever would be.
I really want to look at this matter of honoring the Father, though. Jesus the King has just made His entry into the capitol city of His conquered realm, into the Sacred city established as such by His Father and ours. What, then, is His first reaction? Does He assert His authority as King? Does He take vengeance upon those enemies who had so long occupied His lands? No. He goes to the house of His Father to give glory to the One Who truly made this possible.
There is instruction for us in this. I would note that Jesus did nothing to belittle or discourage the accolades that were accompanying Him in His approach. Indeed, He made it quite clear that nothing could have stopped those praises from coming to Him anyway. But, at the end of it, when the display was over, here He is, for all intents and purposes delivering the full load of glory that had been laid upon Him back to God the Father.
For our part, we often overdo the attempts at being humble, refusing all manner of praise with polite self deprecation, or carefully worded replies along the lines of, “it’s all God. I didn’t do anything.” But, I wonder: is this what God would have? Seriously, do we really suppose it is stealing His glory to say, “thank you?” He has, after all, created us with this very real need for affirmation. Is it really so off, then, that we should express our appreciation for those affirmations when they come? Or, to look at it from the opposite side, is it really so humble to insist loudly that we assign all credit to God alone? Clearly, this is the truth of the matter, and whatever else may be appropriate, we do well to acknowledge that in ourselves. But, there is joy in the event anyway, a joy granted us by our Father in heaven. When we have done something, even knowing that it is by His grace alone that we can do anything, there is yet the joy of having done, of having played one’s part, and that correctly. Is it attempting to diminish His glory if we rejoice in that? Is there evil resident in the words, “I did it”? Is there necessarily anything righteous in the words, “It’s all Him”? I wonder if there isn’t a greater righteousness in innocently enjoying the moment before one goes on to thank Him with equal innocence for having brought the thing to pass.
There is, after all, nothing ostentatious about this visit. Jesus goes to the temple. He does not insist on His rights, by entering the Holy Place, though it is His place. He comes into the courts of the Temple like any other believer, and though we are told only that He looked all around, I feel certain we can know that He was also giving every honor to the Father. The very fact that this is His first stop in the Capitol honors the Father. The fact that it is His only stop before retreating back to Bethany for the night only increases the honor done. Far from being anti-climactic, this stop at the Temple is the climax.
It is, in its own way, the end of the sojourn. The King is back home. The Son has returned to the house of His Father, and the fellowship which has been perhaps more tenuous in these last few decades, though still strong and intimate is now restored somewhat closer to its higher standard. He is one step closer to the unimaginable (for us) intimacy that He has known for all eternity.
I imagine that there was a rather heady mix of emotions roiling within the Son in this brief moment. There is the thrill of victory so close He can taste it. There is the troubling knowledge of that which remains to be done. There is the joy of homecoming. There is the wrath at the condition in which He has found His home left to Him. Indeed, I would go so far as to suppose that all of the passions of these last three years of ministry are come to a boil as He surveys this place, as He gives honor once more to His Father, as He knows that for this hour He must hold those passions within. Now is not the time. Oh, but what this builds in Him for the morrow! Seriously, those were no sudden flashes of wrath in Him. Those were things that had been on the boil for some time, and then opportunity presented itself and the restraining hand of the Father was removed. For a few hours, the King would have His due.
One further aspect of this visit deserves greater attention, for it has greater application for us today. The point is simply enough made. If Church was a priority for its Head, it certainly ought to be for the body. This is the thing I found coming to mind with just about every angle from which I looked at the verse. Jesus made the Temple, the house of the Father, a priority. To what degree can it be said that we do the same?
I can take this question on two different levels, the corporate and the personal. Yes, we have our houses of God today, the particular churches we attend. At the very least, we certainly ought to have such, and if somebody reading this cannot make that statement, I must urge you with the backing of Scripture to correct that condition. We are made for fellowship! We are too weak to play this game of standing alone.
Yes, I know, we are not alone for the Holy Spirit is ever with us. But, it is His teaching, my friend, that says not to forsake fellowship. You need the encouragement of a body of like-minded people, and do you know? They need your encouragement, as well. Frankly, whether or not you can make it on your own isn’t really the primary point. To suppose it is would make one rather selfish. The greater point is that by refusing to be part of such a fellowship you are depriving your brethren, your fellow citizens, the other soldiers in your squadron of the benefits which you could bring. Each as his gift to bring to the task, and we are told to utilize those gifts for the benefit of all the body. How can you do that if you won’t even attach yourself to the body? Come! Cease that selfishness. Beat down that pride. If you are a servant of the most High God, then for your own good and for ours do as He says!
To my point, though: that church we attend is deserving of a place of priority in our lives. This runs a little bit counter to prevailing thought today. We are told insistently that home must have priority, and there is certainly teaching presented in the Bible that would indicate that we are to take familial relationships very seriously. We are to honor parents, cherish our wives even as Christ cherishes the Church, and so on. On the other hand, we are also told that if we are not ready to abandon all that for the sake of the Christ, we cannot follow Him at all. How to resolve this? The first step is to take to heart the instruction to do whatever you do as unto the Lord. This is a mindset issue that may change very little as concerns outward actions, but changes everything as concerns our inner worlds. The second thing we must recognize is that for all we are to honor and serve family, they are not to be placed on pedestals, not to be set in the position of becoming our idols.
What, then, is the answer? I am inclined to say that home and church are supposed to hold places of equal priority for us. I say that with one caveat, in that I am assuming a believing household. But, even where that is not the case, our instruction is to persevere with all patience so long as doing so does nothing to require of us actions contrary to God’s rule. Within these bounds, though, the two deserve equal priority because in a very real sense, the two are both our household. True, we are unlikely to bed down, take our meals, or perform our morning ablutions on the church premises. But, the church is family, and the house of God is our house. How can that not have priority with us?
Honestly, the issue is very rarely that the people of God put too much emphasis on the house of God. It’s not unheard of, but it is scarcely to be thought the typical issue. Far more likely that God’s house suffers neglect, either in its upkeep, or in its valuation in our eyes. I am not suggesting, to be clear, that we ought to accept our own impoverishment for the purposes of keeping the place magnificent. I do not suppose God blesses us with housing in order that we should neglect the things He has given us. But, likewise, I do not suppose He has blessed us with this place where we can come to worship and to share the encouragement of our family of faith in order that we should neglect that gift either. Not at all! What He has given, we surely ought to cherish as the gift from our Father which it is.
Is there really such a need for us to rank these gifts one against the other? Truly, I cannot see why there ought to be nor how such a ranking could seriously be achieved. These things, family and church, are both gifts from our Father, and what do we know of Him? He gives only good gifts. Indeed, not only are they good, they are good and perfect (Jas 1:17). We have precisely the physical family we need. We do not have the perfect family, for every family is composed of people every bit as imperfect as ourselves. Fallen men can hardly hope to achieve some pristine, sin free state simply by congregating in the right number or the right configuration. Yet, we are given this gift of family. I honestly don’t care how utterly dysfunctional a family may be in your case. It remains the gift of a Good and Perfect God, and His gifts are always good and perfect. May not seem that way to you, at least not just now. But, really, what do you know?
This same thing ought to be said, or be able to be said, of our church family. There is something of a distinction here, although it was not so in its original design. This, too, is a byproduct of the church’s composition, it being yet another collection of fallen mankind. But, look at the original model. Look back to the time when, whatever sects or factions there may have been, there really was but the one faith. There was one temple to which men must come on the appointed days. Those who attempted to setup alternatives declared themselves enemies of the faith by that very act. God said ‘Here is the place,’ and they insisted, “No, but we will seek You from over here instead.” Wrong answer! Synagogues were one thing. Places set aside for the earnest pursuit of God were one thing. But, on the few days of the year that were thus commanded, it would be the Temple, or it would be nothing.
Note the provisions even for the Passover that we see on the horizon from this passage. If you can’t be in Jerusalem on the specified day, what was the accommodation laid out in Law? It wasn’t that you could just go ahead and go through the various requirements of that feast in whatever city you found yourself. No. You could come at a later date – also prescribed – and be in Jerusalem at Temple per the original order. It is Here or you have no part. It was that direct.
Coming into the Christian age, this same unity of the physical manifestation of the house of God persisted, not in physical location of that house, no. For we understand that the physical plant of the Church is not the point, although it is to a purpose. The building to which we go, though we still speak of it as the house of God, is not understood to be a place where we are somehow more easily able to make contact. For, we have been given to understand that it is we, the men and women of God, who are the true temple. It starts from Jesus, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). It continues strongly in Paul’s teaching, he being the planter of so many churches. “Don’t you get it? You are a temple of God! The Holy Spirit of God Himself dwells in you! God most assuredly will destroy the destroyer of His temple, for the temple is holy. AND THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE!” (1Co 3:16-17). Flee sexual sins. Every other sin is a matter outside the body, but this: this is a sin against your own body, and don’t you know? Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who indwells you, Whom you have from God. You are not your own. You were bought at great price. So glorify God in your body (1Co 6:19).
And at the same time, the international fellowship of the Church, ‘having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself the cornerstone’, is being built even to our own day into one holy temple in the Lord (Eph 2:19-22), “in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” Marvelous! The personal and the corporate: They cannot be separated.
So, yes: Through the earliest centuries this unity of the Church remained a physically manifested reality as well as spiritual. There was one denomination, and one was either of that Church or one was against it. One was either true to the True Faith, or one was anathema, a heretic fit only for the ban. However, the corrupt and corrupting influence of man upon even so perfect a gift led inevitably to the plethora of denominations that we experience in our day. Some of these are more serious in their foundation than others. Some of the reasons for divergence were matters that ought not to have even caused a stir. Others were the grave result of earnest pursuit of God’s direction. But, at root, there remains this greater Truth: The real Church remains one as God is One, as there is One Spirit, One Father, One Savior, One Lord over all. There is not so much as a single congregation out there who ought to think that their entire membership are also members in that One Church. There are very few, I should think, in which no such dual membership applies, and if there are, then the True Christian ought surely to flee with alacrity from such a place!
But, what I want to set forth is this: The particular congregation that God has set you in is every bit as much a good and perfect choice for you as was your family. This is not to say that it shall ever and always be the right place for you. I am hardly an advocate for church hopping, not by a long stretch! Yet, there are seasons, and there are changes to any congregation over time. There are a number of possible ways to view the transient nature of church fellowships. A more innocent perspective is simply that particular denominations or congregations are suited to particular stages in our growth. Comes the time that we have outgrown the current setting, and must seek a new setting in which we will obtain the spiritual nourishment we need to continue growing. At the other end of the spectrum, there is the point at which one perceives that the direction of the fellowship’s progress is not toward heaven; the doctrine being promoted therein is not sound doctrine, the Truth of God is not given prominence, is not granted its due place as the foundation for all practice. When the direction of the church is at odds with the direction of God, again I say: Flee with alacrity!
But, my friend, do so with fear and trembling! Be very certain that it is God’s Truth that is being betrayed and not your own opinions. It is a very, very serious matter to break fellowship with a church, however many may be in the neighborhood for you to choose from. It is family you are dealing with, and in many ways, family with stronger ties than the one you were born into or married into, or even that family which has sprung forth from your own flesh. To be a member of a particular church body – and think about that term: a member of a body – is not much different than marriage. Indeed, thinking of that terminology of member and body, it should be clear that if anything, the bond should be stronger! At the very least, it must be as strong. We are to become one flesh with our spouse, after all, which is a union inseparable, isn’t it? Well, what member of the body is not joined to it as one flesh? At least, what member that retains life? If the member is severed from the body, the body will likely continue on, so long as it was not the Head which was removed. But, the member? A foot cut off is no longer a useful foot. It is dead flesh, and will reek of decay in short order. Likewise the hand, the nose, the ear or any least part of the body. Removed from the body, it dies. It is inevitable.
This is the strongest image we have of our relationship to the Church of God. And yet, we have so many in our day who want to profess themselves Christians, followers of Christ, who will have nothing to do with any congregation, any fellowship, any organized collection of believers. How can that be? Feet which have confined themselves to the closets, that’s what these must become; hands left wedged between fence posts. It’s a sad thing, worse than sad. It’s a stench in the Father’s nostrils.
Wow! Each morning I am certain I’ll hit the end of this particular study, and each morning I find I am not yet done with it. So, tomorrow, I want to pick up on the thought of the priority we must surely assign to the temple within us. That is, after all, the big question, and it is one we need to be answering on a daily, even an hourly basis. To what degree is this God I call mine a priority?
I need to consider that question not in the abstract, not in the ideal, but in light of such evidence as I have. How might I go about measuring that evidence? I’d love to point to these times of study and claim them as proof of the priority I assign to being with God. There’s even some truth to that. But, the clearer measure would be found in the tone and tenor of these times. It seems to go in seasons or cycles or some such thing. There are those periods when it seems to lead to moments of prayer and praise as I sit here, soaking in the thoughts provoked by His Word. There are other times when it seems I am pursuing my own thought trails more than examining the Scriptures. I’m not certain that’s a bad thing, necessarily, but the value of it is certainly of a different nature.
I find, upon examination, that I can be overly impressed with myself in light of this habit of mine, which is not a good thing. I can, for instance, get caught up with how much time I give to a passage. I tend to be aware of just how long I’ve been at a given study, and I’m quite happy to tell others about that. What of it, really? I mean, so what? There is no intrinsic value in the fact that I’ve been studying the Gospels for however many years. Oh, believe me, there’s great value in having spent the time, so far as understanding and appreciation of the material goes. But, in the scales of heaven, I’m not so certain it matters a great deal. It is not the measure by which to test my valuation of God. For, as much as I hold that these are times by which I honor Him, there is ever the possibility, even the probability that I am but deceiving myself, suppressing the Truth, and convincing myself that I am a far better man of God than reality would concede.
OK, well then: what about prayer life? Does my prayer life give indication that I acknowledge or even realize my utter dependence upon the God of my Salvation? I would say this is probably one of my weakest areas, although I see some signs of change there. But, a daily practice? A morning and evening practice? No. I can’t claim that except to suppose that somehow study and prayer are synonymous, and that is not a supposition I would make.
This would be to me the habits of the man who truly sets God as the priority in life. I would expect that the first thoughts of his day would be for the God he serves. It might or might not take the form of a friendly, “Good morning, my Lord,” or it might be more akin to that model prayer Jesus laid out for us. I would expect that the day would close in similar fashion, with a prayerful review of the day’s accomplishments and failures, offering thanks for the former and seeking forgiveness for the latter. I would expect a certain hunger for service in such a man, a tendency towards wresting opportunities for the proclaiming of the Good News out of the events of the day. I would expect a very outward focus of faith’s fruits. I would expect a commitment toward charitable activities. I would expect all of this not being done as if under compunction to do so, but out of a clearly evident love for the God Who Saves.
You know, we spent all that time going through Francis Chan’s book, “Crazy Love”, with all its push for a life of abandon to Christ, or at least that was the feeling I was left with. It’s as though we could not possibly be loving God as we ought to unless we are giving absolutely no thought to self whatsoever. There’s the example held up of the guy who, though he could have afforded a place of his own, opted out of that lifestyle and chose to remain in his parents’ home so that the money he saved in doing this could be contributed to the efforts of ministry. OK. But, somebody’s supporting the cost of his decision, yes? And, in the case of his parents, assuming that they have willingly and happily supported their son’s choice, are they not equally worthy, equally loving, in having done so? I think they are, but then, it’s not my measurements that matter, is it?
I don’t know to what degree we can really look at the outward actions, the visible, public persona, and have a true measure of the spiritual health of an individual. Clearly, there are those activities, those fruits, which are so anathema to the life of faith as to be sufficient proof that such life is not in the actor. On the other end of the scale, there are those whose fruits of righteousness are so plentiful, so consistent, and so clearly beyond themselves to produce, as to give what must surely be sufficient proof that Life does reside in them. But, there’s a whole range in between, wherein the fruits that appear to be fruits of righteousness are in reality no more than Pharisee games. There’s a whole range wherein the things we suppose to be proof positive of a hardened heart are in reality matters of absolutely no consequence in God’s sight. They are our mores, our standards, not His.
But, let me put myself back on that very scale I have laid out. Do my habits reflect to me the habits of a man for whom God is the priority? I would have to say that by my own measure, the answer is no. My first thoughts of a day are most often, “Why am I awake this early? Again!” This, most often followed by, “perhaps I can get back to sleep?” But, no. It seems God has brought me into a phase of my existence in which that possibility very rarely finds fulfillment. This body has developed its own rhythm, and all the willing I might bring to bear will not convince sleep to return once the body has decided it’s time. May as well be up and about it. But, prayer? Nah. First thought’s for the coffee maker, second for the computer, and third – this time of year anyway – for the thermostat.
Even, truth be told, as I turn my attention more to these studies, or the briefer readings that tend to precede them, I am not that very inclined to pray. Maybe later. But, probably not. I am not, let me stress, suggesting this is a good thing, or even an OK thing. It’s not. It’s a status report. Of course, by the time I step back out of these periods in morning study, the picture is often quite changed. Comes the shower, and with it, the spontaneous songs of praise. Often, though not so much of late, there are also those whispers from on high, pointing out aspects of what I have been considering which I have missed, or which deserve further exploration on the morrow. Such sweet times, those! Would that my water heater could handle longer showers that I might commune the more! But, then, I’d never get to work in the morning, would I?
So, there is something there which I might hold up as a balance to the lack of what I would consider prayerfulness in the morning. Then, the busyness of the day has a terrible habit of occluding all thought for my Savior, unless I hit some sort of wall in trying to sort out one problem or another. But, there are those times… There are those times when I’m walking through the parking lot, or down a hall, and the refrains of one or another of my more favored worship songs is rolling through my thoughts and, occasion permitting, across my lips. There’s one that seems to do so with particular frequency, to the effect of, “You are God. There is no other. You are God, there is none like You. You make known the end from the beginning, and from the beginning, You made man. You do all things well, You will do just as You please. From ancient times ‘til now, You’ve set forth Your decrees.” It proceeds along, a marvelous contemplation of the God I serve, a recitation of His many wonderful attributes. Most often, this one seems to come to mind as I’m making my way into the office in the morning. It really does set a fine state of mind to start the day.
Yet, I must also take this aspect of my measure. How often, when my beloved wife seeks prayer for this or that, do I find myself put off by it? Too often. Oh, I’ve my reasons on occasion, not necessarily valid reasons, but reasons none the less. At other times, it’s just pure flesh reaction. It’s the demand, the assumption, and the authoritarian rebel in me just jumps all over that. How dare you insist that I pray right here, right now! I was about to do something else, and now you’re going to make me stand here and pretend to be all peaceful while you go on and on and on. My time is too valuable for that! Oy. No, my time has absolutely no value whatsoever when set over against time with God, time cherishing the wife He has blessed me with. There’s a spot that needs a lot of work.
As to closing the day off in prayer: I’m trying. Truth is, this absurdity of awakening well before the sun has an inevitable effect on my capacity to remain awake much after it’s gone back down. No matter how hard one tries, there remain only 24 hours in the day, and the body will insist on at least six or seven of those for recharging. I may not really care for the six or seven that body of mine has been choosing of late, but so I have been made by my Maker, and I shall make no complaint. It’s certainly peaceful enough down here in the wee hours. Just the two of us, You and I. Remember the song? Oh, sure. Has nothing much to offer to a me and God relationship beyond just that one line, but I’ll take the line.
So, what’s the summation? Is God a priority for me? Yes, but not to the degree I would have Him be. Clearly there’s nigh on infinite room for improvement. Yet, there is sufficient evidence of His primacy in my thoughts and in my character to keep me confident that indeed, this body is a temple of the Holy Spirit Who abides therein.
I cannot fathom how it is, Lord, that You can do that, abiding in the likes of me, when You cannot abide sin, yet there it is. You are so clearly with me throughout my days and nights. The evidence of what You have been working in me is so plain to see! Even in recent weeks, Lord, the difference in reactions are surprising even to me. I mean, things that would normally have me frustrated and even irate I am taking in stride for the most part. How can that be? I know it’s not my doing, that’s for sure. That leaves but one other possibility, and that possibility is a certainty. You are God! You do all things well! You have decreed change for this temple of Yours, and change has come! You have decreed love for this temple of Yours, and love has come! You have determined that there shall be a renewal, a remodeling, a remaking of this man, and so it is. Your Word is faithful and true, powerful to accomplish all that You would have it to accomplish, and incapable of failure. Glory to Your name, Jesus! Glory to Your Authority! You reign in splendor, more magnificent than imagination can even give expression to. To what would I compare You, or to whom? There is none like You. Every metaphor must fail, every simile fall short. Whatever words I might choose to describe You, they would never suffice. You would always be all that and more so. Perhaps that, too, is a name by which I should recognize You: The God of All That and More So. You are so much more than All I Need, my All Sufficient One! Exceedingly and abundantly more!
Holy Spirit, I thank You, this morning, for having come and looked around. Feel free to overturn and chase out whatever needs such treatment. It is, after all, Your home. By all means make Yourself comfortable, even if doing so makes me uncomfortable for a time. Do Thou abide!
