“Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.” Daniel 10:7
God’s presence always brings fear and trembling. We immediately recognize our dirtiness compared to His holiness. It brings reality to our need for Him.
Even those with Daniel that couldn’t see the angel were struck with fear and awe. Daniel was the one in the presence of holiness, the one worshipping, but the others also felt the effects. The presence of God is so awesome that even those that deny it are affected by it.
If the presence of God always brings this type of “discomfort”, then why do we work so hard to make church services so comfortable? Don’t we want the presence of God in church? We can’t have the presence of God without the reality of His holiness compared with our un-holiness and the discomfort that the conflict between the two brings.
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“Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” I Corinthians 3:11 & 16-17
This passage is often used to persuade us to take better care of our bodies (and it does speak to that), but it comes right after Paul talks about Jesus being the only one who can lay “any foundation”. In the previous chapter he wrote about spiritual truths being spoken with spiritual words. It would be somewhat out of character for Holy Spirit inspired writing to “mix metaphors” like this. While it’s perfectly valid to apply this thought to physical bodies, I think Paul is also addressing the mind and spirit as God’s temple.
Once the old spirit (temple) is destroyed; the new one needs a brand new foundation, but too many Christians lead defeated lives because they don’t let Jesus lay that foundation. We struggle to build the new foundation in our own strength…or we foolishly try to hold the entire building up on our own back. But, ultimately it crumbles under the weight of the world or under it’s own weight. Just think of how ridiculous it would be to try to bodily brace-up the walls of your house during a hurricane or lift your house on to your back to keep it from sinking into the ground.
Jesus is the only foundation that can stand the pressure of the storm and the weight of the world. Or even the weight of the situations we put ourselves in. There are more books on self-help, self-improvement, how to be a better parent/spouse/friend, or whatever, now more than ever before. Many of them are even based on theologically sound interpretations of scripture. But, we also have more failures in leadership, relationships, families and finances than ever before. That’s because they are the walls that may help give form to our spiritual temple, but the foundation needs to be Jesus.
And Jesus is revealed in scripture…in the Bible…completely revealed. While it may be good to read and even heed all of those self-help-improvement books, the foundation that will outlast them all is the foundation of Jesus “found” through scripture.
“For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.” Galatians 3:18
I’m not here because of the law or a contract; I’m here because of a promise. My dad made a promise to my mom when they exchanged wedding vows. There might be restrictions for those that are married, but I’m not a result of them. I’m here because of love and the promise of love.
In the same way, Jesus didn’t come because of Old Testament law, He came because of the promise God made to Abraham. God loved Abraham and Abraham trusted God because of that love…Abraham had faith in God’s love. Jesus came to fulfill the law, but His coming is born out of love and God’s promise.
People, Christians, try to view Jesus as the completion of the law, but He transcends it. To simply complete the law implies a business transaction. But, Jesus didn’t come just to pay a debt, He came to set us free…free to have life in Him. Jesus love doesn’t only set captives free; it brings dead people back to life. He gave me everything, even my life. And because of that everything I have is His.
Hosea paid for Homer’s freedom, not because it was financially beneficial. Homer wasn’t a benefit to Hosea. He paid the price for her because he loved her. God didn’t choose Israel because it made good business sense; He did it because He loved them. Jesus didn’t die for me to get a return on His investment; I’m not saved to balance the books. He did these things to set me free to worship Him. He didn’t do it for Himself, because I have nothing He needs, but because He has everything I need to fulfill the law, to be free, to be ALIVE!
It’s a love thing…the world wouldn’t understand.
“And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.” James 2:32
“Abraham believed God…” He didn’t just believe in God, he believed God. Few people acknowledge the difference. The vast of majority of US citizens believe in God…or more accurately in a god. In fact, the majority of earthlings believe in some type of higher power, but very few people believe God.
Recently, at The Salvation Army’s Star Lake Music Camp, I shared this thought at one of the daily devotionals. In front of a room full of musically gifted and rather intelligent teens I asked who believes in God. Pretty much everybody raised their hands. Then I posed the question, “who believes God?” Some of the hands remained in the air. But, others were in that awkward position of neither up nor down…neither warm nor cold. The young faces looked back at me with that timeless teenage expression of…huh?
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“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring glad tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7
My running shoes look pretty good sitting over there in the middle of the floor. My wife doesn’t think they look good there, but I do. They’re white with some blue and silver accents…and that familiar swish.
I like everything about them…the nylon mesh, the thick round laces that hang off the sides all nonchalant and laid-back. I even love the way the toe turns up…in my mind’s eye I can see my foot rolling along the sole and off the toe with every stride. You can tell just by looking at them that they were made for running. They look like the “want” to run.
They have reminders of their purpose written on them in case I forget. The word “RUNNING” is printed on them in three different places. On the internet, putting words in all caps is the same as yelling. As I write this I can hear my sneakers yelling, “RUNNING!” at me from across the room. The word “RUN” is even printed on the neon orange in-sole as a final reminder when I put them on, “hey, buddy, once you lace us up we’re taking off whether you want to or not.” Everything about them says, “GO!”
I’ve been away from blogging for the last two weeks because we’ve been at a music camp in the northwest New Jersey. Yes, believe it or not you can have a camp in New Jersey. This one is in a little ‘burg called Bloomingdale. It’s in the foothills of the Appalachians…nestled quietly in the part where Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania meet.
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