The Building of the Temple in Our Lives

The other day I was sitting down to read my Bible and was very unsure about where to read. I love the Old Testament, but do a lot more reading from the New Testament. Either way I found myself flipping to the same places I always read from and being drawn to the familiar stories. So I decided I would go somewhere I had rarely read from. So I opened up to Ezra. I have only read from Ezra in order to pass tests for my Bible classes here at Evangel or to find some supporting pieces of evidence for one of my theology papers. But as I read through it I really felt God begin to speak to my heart. I only got through about half of chapter 3. The reason I only got about half way through chapter 3 was because verse 12 really captured my heart. Before I talk about this verse it is important to understand the history leading up to this verse. The people of Israel had been divided into two kingdoms and both kingdoms had been exiled to either Assyria or Babylon. They were taken from their promised land and forced to live under a foriegn goverment and a foriegn set of laws and values. Ezra was written after the people came back from exile to their promised land. Many of those who had left the lands that they were exiled to were part of a new generation who had not experienced life before the exile. They were a generation raised under foriegn values and norms. They had never experienced the fullfillment of the promised land or the ability to worship in the Temple. But among those who had come back to the land after the exile were those who had experienced that life. They had witnessed the presence of God in the Temple and seen the promise fullfilled before their eyes. Going into exile was a time of trial and heartache for many. When they returned from exile their land was left uninhabited and not taken care of and their temple, their meeting place with God, destroyed. I think that this experience for them is much like the experiences we have today in our spiritual lives. We have a promise from God, a calling, and we see it being fullfilled before our eyes and suddenly things take a turn and we have been completely relocated in terms or our purpose and calling according to our thought's about it. We feel like the Israelites, unbearable heartache or overwhelming doubt. And just like the Israelites, when we are returned to that place of our calling, our view of it is either skewed or it seems different than before. I think this is because we try and rush back into that place and expect things to be the same as when we left it. We don't see the value of the experiences we had outside of those times that we considered part of our "calling". We don't wait on the Lord and focus on how he is going to use us now in the present and completely disregard them. All we can do is think about how we are going to get back to that place or how we are going to find it for the first time. This is when verse 12 really strikes a nerve. The people were gathered around watching as the foundation of the new temple, the meeting place with God was laid. Those who had experienced God before wept at this occasion and those who hadn't shouted with joy. How many times are we moved like this when we see the presence of God act in our lives after a time of trial? Do we recognize it? Or do we just see it as another happening in our lives? I want to be moved like those people. Not neccessarily with tears and outward emotions, but a sense of awe and wonder at the power of God. I want to be able to recognize the building of God's purpose and the presence he has in my life. My challenge is to think about the things God has done or is doing and the reactions that take place. Do we have awe? Do we just stand and watch it as simply a new plan that holds little significance? Do we see the presence of God and a place to meet him or only a building that was once destroyed and is now being rebuilt? How do you respond to the moving of God in your life?

The Good Samaritan

Battered, wounded, alone, left for dead. The man in the story of the Good Samaritan illustrates the place that so many of us are at. When I read the story of the Godd Samaritan my immediate response is to focus on the actions of the Samaritan or the men who passed by the poor beaten man. But looking back I find that I relate so many times with the man who was beaten. torn down by overwhileming stress and the doubts that cloud my vision, I find myself in the same place. The difference is I continue to struggle to stand back up on my own bruised and sprained legs relying only on my fading strength. I walk up to the very thing that has beaten me down in the first place and allow it to happen again just so I can keep face. Then the cycle starts all over. I never allow the Good Samaritan to nurse me back to helath. Instead I react to the others traveller's that ignore my existence. I try to pull myself together in order to portray myself in a porper light for these people. I pray that we, myself included, would allow ourselves to be taken care of and strengthened. I pray that God would press upon us the desire he has to be our Good Samaritan. The desire he has to place us on his own donkey and to take us to a safe haven where he can renew our strength. I pray he presses on us in a way that makes us wait for him and his mercies.

(Luke 10:25-37)