wait on Him... Isaiah 8:17...

I will wait for the Lord,

who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob,

and I will hope in him.

Isaiah 8:17 ESV

Isaiah... God's voice in the midst of a rebellious people...

Do not do as they do... God told Isaiah...

Do not fear what they fear... you fear Me... 

The Lord will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense...

a rock of stumbling... to those in Jerusalem...

(Isaiah 8:11-15)

Sometimes... people... as a community... move so far from Him... He hides His face... His presence... from all... as discipline...

The rebellious fall... break... become enraged... when God turns His face...

they rail against Him even more... find Him useless... 

But the faithful... like Isaiah... finding themselves in the midst of the fallout... do not fear... do not fall... they continue to wait for... hope in... the One whose face is turned...

To them He is a sanctuary...

their source of hope...

I look at today's cultural climate...

and wonder at the similarities...

so for the faithful... this word is for you...

Don't do what this people do...

don't fear what they fear...

fear Him...

wait for Him...

hope in Him...

and He will be your Sanctuary...

while everyone else... stumbles...

any idols hidden in your heart...?

The teacher defines an idol as...

...anything that I run to under stress and pressure if it's not Christ...

---Michael Wells, Living the Abiding Life

And I have to think... What do I run to...? under stress and pressure...? that's not Christ...?

A recent Bible study question... had me consider idols... or potential idols... in my life...

Hezekiah pleased God when he spiritually cleaned house, got rid of idols, and smashed and cut down all the signs of spiritual compromise in the land. When you look at your spiritual life, what could you clean out, cut down, or smash so that you can walk more closely with God?

---Randy Frazee, The Story Participant's Guide

Off the top of my head I couldn't think of anything... so I asked God... prayed a short prayer...What do I need to get rid of... smash...?

Well an answer came... very quickly...

I even questioned it... thinking... Really...?

The answer to my question was a television show... one that's been cancelled... but is available on Amazon Prime...

A series I decided to re-watch recently... from beginning to end...

I really wanted to finish... and was it so bad...?

Then I realized... the last time I turned it on... was when I was weary... stressed... seeking escape... and solace...

I didn't run to Him... I ran to her... The Closer...

Needless to say... I haven't been tuning in by myself... and I probably won't finish it... and at this point... recognizing the spiritual issues... I don't feel the need... or desire to... anymore...*

So what about you... what idols do you have lurking... in your heart... in His sanctuary...?

Are you willing to look...? to let Him show you your idols...?

Then He brought me to the entrance of the court,

and when I looked there was a hole in the wall.

He said to me, "Son of man, dig through the wall."

So I dug through the wall, and there was a doorway.

He said to me, "Go in and see the terrible and detestable

things they are committing here." I went in and looked,

and there engraved all around the wall was every form

of detestable thing, crawling creatures and beasts,

as well as all the idols of the house of Israel.

Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing before them.

Each had a firepan in his hand, and a fragrant cloud

of incense was rising up. Then He said to me,

"Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel 

are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol?

For they are saying, 'The Lord does not see us.

The Lord has abandoned the land.'"

Ezekiel 8:7-12 HCSB

Maybe... we feel abandoned by God... when stress... pressure... creeps into our lives...

Maybe... we think He doesn't see... or doesn't care...

Maybe... what seems fine to us... is detestable to Him...

Are your ready for Him to guide you... on a dig into your heart...?

Ask Him to reveal idols... potential idols... in your life...

Come into agreement with Him...

It's time... to purify our passion...

Clean up the sanctuary of our heart... for Him...

what does it take... to prepare a sanctuary... for Him...?

What does it take... to prepare a sanctuary... for Him...?

He gave instructions... to Moses... for His dwelling place on earth... the tabernacle...

Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle,

and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

Exodus 25:3 ESV

Three of the things... the people were called to contribute for its construction... caught my attention...

"You shall command the people of Israel that they bring

to you pure beaten olive oil for the light,

that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn.

Exodus 27:20 ESV

The first... to catch my eye... pure oil...

And I wonder... What is this a spiritual picture of...? this oil that burns...?

I believe... it's passion...

To prepare our hearts... as a sanctuary for Him... we need... pure passion... passion for His Word... for His people... for Him...

"They shall make an ark of acacia wood. ...

You shall overlay it with pure gold,

inside and outside shall you overlay it,

and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it.

Exodus 25:10-11 ESV

The second item required... pure gold...

Not only was the ark to be covered in gold... but all the utensils... lamp stands... and the table for the bread... were to be covered in pure gold...

So what is this gold covering about...? spiritually speaking...?

The thought came... The pure gold overly... represents our righteous actions...

Our presentation to the world... what people see... should be... pure righteousness...

Living a life of right relationships... being Christ-centered... rather than self-centered... a fountain of grace...

Then there's the incense...

And the incense that you shall make 

according to its composition, you shall not make for yourselves. 

It shall be for you holy to the Lord.

Exodus 30:37 ESV

This incense is to be unique... not used for any other purpose... other than for the Lord...

I believe... the incense... represents... our worship... 

He alone... is worthy of worship...

Worship comes in the form of praise... adoration... dependence... all expressed with a heart of prayer...

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!

Psalm 141:2 ESV

These are three of the requirements... three of the items needed... to prepare a heart as a sanctuary for Him...

Checking our hearts... for where we are with these... is the first step... in cleaning up our hearts...

Is our passion pure...? what are we passionate about...? Him...? or the things of this world...?

Our actions...? are they righteous...? full of grace...? or are they divisive...? prideful...? self-centered...?

What do we worship...? Him alone...? is He the One we count on to fulfill our lives...? provide for our needs...?

Hmmm...

Just some thoughts... about preparing a sanctuary... for Him...

whose house are you building...?

With mind filled with thoughts of sanctuaries... and righteousness... a passage read for Bible study... has me thinking...

This is what the Lord Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord's house.'"

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains in ruins?"

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build my house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the Lord. "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the Lord Almighty. "Because of my house which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house. ..." (Haggai 1:2-9 NIV)

---The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People

Now that was then... the people needed to give attention to the building of the physical temple... before they built their own homes...

And it makes me wonder... what about now...?

Do you not know that you are God's temple

and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV 

How much attention... do we... as Believers... give to our hearts... the place where He dwells...?

Are you cleaning up your mind... will... emotion... that He might have a well-built home in your heart...? am... I...?

Or am I more concerned about my own home... my surroundings... and comfort...? what about you...?

When we have not made a priority... of building up God's dwelling place... nothing satisfies... nothing is enough...

You expected much... but see... it turned out to be little...

Do we dare consider... when we find ourselves unsatisfied... it may be because we have not spent enough time... energy... on our inner life... our heart... making a place for Him...?

It makes me wonder... about my concern over the physical distractions in my home... those piles of paper I've let get out of hand... What kind of spiritual... emotional... clutter... is piled up in my heart...?

My attention is being drawn... toward spending more intentional time... making Him at home in my heart... becoming a sanctuary... for Him...

A change in mind-set... a change in perspective...

because when this is right... 

everything else... falls... in... place...

...seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,

and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

Whose house are you building...? His...? or yours...?