Built up By and Through the Word

Jesus is the Temple. And we go to Him to worship and find our direction and our comfort and our mercy and our grace.

“¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” – John 1:1 (ESV)

Not only is Jesus the Temple where we worship, He is the Word of the LORD. I (we) have the pleasure of having the LORD with us always in Jesus. When we make our way to Him for worship we are not just entering the place where the LORD will “find” us, we find Him there as the word and can rely on Him for our everything.

“³²And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” – Acts 20:32 (ESV)

Here we find Paul speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus. He is laying out to them that they have all they need in Christ, and that he will be leaving them never to return again. Even as he will not be there to guide and carry them through the trials they will continue to face, He reminds them that they are not alone and that it was not he who was building them up and will continue to do so, but God.

We too often I believe feel as though we need someone at our side building us up and when we do not, we feel as though all is lost. Paul takes special care to ensure that the church at Ephesus know that they are not alone. They have the LORD by their side as He has always been and will always be. I (we) have to remember that as well. The LORD is always by my side and building me up.

“⁶Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, ⁷rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” – Colossians 2:6 & 7 (ESV)

Above you see that Paul reminds the church of Colossae of the same. They have the Temple that is Jesus and the Word of the LORD to build them up. They are not left to themselves trying to make it. They have Christ by their side at all times, when they received Him and as they move forward in Him.

I am not alone. I may be by myself physically, but alone I am not. Christ is always with me as the Temple and the Word of the LORD. He provides me with all I need to make it in this world. He is my provision and certainly a blessing to me. He builds me up when I am in need, not just in the past, but now and in time to come.

What are you in need of to be built up? Are you looking for that one to be with you and when they are not, you feel all alone? What if you turned to Christ to be built up as He was with you before, is with you now, and will be with you always to build you up?

Jesus is the Temple

This morning I am reminded that indeed Jesus is the temple of worship. But isn’t it something that even knowing this, we are taken aback and do not fully understand.

“¹⁹Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ ²⁰The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ – John 2:19-20 (ESV)

At the temple the people were changing money and selling animals for offering and other goods. Jesus took exception to this practice and took action, to which the people asked Him of the authority He had to take such action. Jesus answered. The people, as we all do in the moment, looked to the physical and not to the spiritual. Their literal interpretation was one of skepticism and they were not seeing the true picture as noted in the next two verses.

“²¹But he was speaking about the temple of his body. ²²When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” – John 2:21-22 (ESV)

Jesus was speaking of Himself as the temple and not of the literal buildings known to the people as the temple, but His disciples knew.

“⁵⁷And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, ⁵⁸’We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.”’ ⁵⁹Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.” – Mark 14:57-59 (ESV)

Now let’s carry forward to Jesus before the council after his betrayal and arrest in the garden. There were witnesses that came forward to testify against Jesus that only provided false witness. In one of these recorded testimonies, it was said that Jesus said “He” would destroy the temple. If you look back at verse 19 from John chapter 2 above, Jesus was referring to the people destroying the temple and on top of that, He was speaking of Himself as the temple which is noted in verse 21.

So where does this leave us. Well, Jesus is the temple. Scripture is clear that the temple is not of man, but of God. God sent His Son to be the savior for us all. He sent Him to be known and be our place of worship. Jesus came and allowed Himself to be destroyed by the people and even so, He rose again, in three days to once again be our place of worship.

I am grateful to have a temple where I can devote my worship. That temple is not the building where I attend church services, but Jesus. No matter where I might be or what circumstances I may encounter, the temple that is Jesus is always available for me to worship.

What is your view of the temple? Do you attribute the temple to a building or structure? What if you were to see that Jesus is the Temple and you can attend worship there with Him always and whenever?

Worshiping God

This morning I was hit hard by the questions in my MasterWork study that surround worshiping God. Where I am in full agreement with and look forward to what worshiping God will look like when I arrive in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem, I have been challenged with how I am worshiping Him now in this world.

The book of Revelation clearly points to what life will be like when we arrive and spend eternity in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem. It will be majestic and there will be singing and rejoicing and feasts and fellowship and all sorts of engagement as we worship the LORD and He dwells with us.

Where I was hit hard this morning was not in learning something new in the study or text from Revelation. I was struck by the simple question of how can I do that even now.

This was a gut punch to me. Not that I do not worship the LORD and spend time with Him, but what about the rest of the time in this world. Am I rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all things. I am not so sure that I am.

I admit to getting caught up in the ways of the world and focusing on those things that are impacting me now, or at least that is what I am telling myself. I have my attention on work, finances, preparing for retirement, stability, and a whole litany of things that are of this world. Where they are things of concern in this world, I have to remember that the LORD will provide for all of them and that I should not worry about tomorrow as tomorrow will take care of itself.

“³⁴Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:34 (ESV)

“³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33 (ESV)

My focus should not be on tomorrow, but on today and the filling of it with worship of the LORD. I am to be seeking His face each day all day. I am to be rejoicing always, praying continually, and giving thanks in all thing. I have to bring my expectation of worship in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem into this world and my all time here.

“¹⁶Rejoice always, ¹⁷pray without ceasing, ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

So, yes, we will be in constant worship of the LORD when we are in the New Heaven, New Earth, and New Jerusalem. In all that we do we will worship and celebrate the LORD and His life giving and sustaining grace and glory. I have to bring that into today and not just reserve it for later. I am to do as Paul indicates in 1 Thessalonians, rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all things. My relationship with the LORD is now and not just reserved for the eternal kingdom.

What is your view of worshiping God? Are you reserving the continual worship for the eternal kingdom? What if you were to follow the direction of Paul and even now rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all things?

Our God is Alive, Idols are Not

I have written that there is none like God. This morning I was reminded of that once again and shone more about idols and how they are not alive and that God is.

“⁵To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

and compare me, that we may be alike?

⁶Those who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales,

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

then they fall down and worship!

⁷They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

they set it in its place, and it stands there;

it cannot move from its place.

If one cries to it, it does not answer

or save him from his trouble.”

— Isaiah 46:5-7 (ESV)

I read the verses above and see that idols are just things. They have no life of their own. They are created by a man and then have to be cared for by man. They have to be carried and placed and then moved if the need arises, by man. There is no expectation that the idols are able to care for man, it is the other way around for sure.

“³Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from before your birth,

carried from the womb;

⁴even to your old age I am he,

and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.”

— Isaiah 46:3-4 (ESV)

And there we have it. God is alive and will be until my end. But even at my end, God remains alive until your end, and then end of the next generation, and so on. He “will carry you” and “save”. This is something that is not in the character of idols. They require man to carry them and save them from them. Idols are dependent on man whereas with God, man is dependent on Him.

I for one, and am joined by my brothers and sisters in Christ, am thankful to worship The God who is alive and will care for me, carry me, and has saved me. I need it all and cannot waste my time caring for idols that require I care for them as they cannot even do that for themselves.

Where are you worshiping? Are you pouring yourself into idols that you end up having to carry from place to place? What if you worshiped the living God, who carries you?