The Names of God - Sanctuary

Sanctuary 

And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  Isaiah 8:14 (ESV)

Until this writing, I had come to despise the word sanctuary when used in conjunction with God or the Church. So many have come to believe that the room in which congregations assemble, referred to as The Sanctuary, is where God actually abides. This could not be further from the truth. But yet, we do not allow children to be boisterous or condone slouchy dress because it is “God’s House.”

I love this passage in Isaiah where God says, “I will become a sanctuary,” not live in one. I heard Grady Nutt speak when I was a freshman at Samford University. He made the statement, referring to Jesus in the tomb, “People have been trying to put God in a box, but the problem is He won’t stay there.” It’s convenient to “know” where God is, in reference to The Sanctuary. We can go see Him when WE want to. We also are not bothered by Him when WE want to do our thing. The truth is, He IS the sanctuary. He allows us to abide IN Him, where we have fellowship as friend with friend. We are always in Him and He is always with us.

When The Church decided it needed a building, they took the model of temples built to worship Greek gods, like Apollo and Athena. These places of worship to pagan gods were referred to as “sanctuaries.” The reason for this is the “god” was a statue. It actually did “live” inside the building used to worship it. I’ve been to the model of the Parthenon in Nashville, TN. In it is a replica of the statue of Athena. Why would we want to copy ways of worship given to pagan idol? We have a living God, worthy of our fervent worship; a God not bound by walls; One who desires a life-giving relationship.

It's time for The Church to return to its roots. Focus on being the Body of Christ in the earth, taking Jesus to our community, our world, by sharing the love given to us by our Creator. We cannot do this by locking God up in a “sanctuary,” but instead allow Him to live through us, His “lively stones.”

That brings us to the other part of Isaiah 8:14. In addition to being our Sanctuary, He also declared He would be a “stone of offense and a rock of stumbling.” Look at how Peter described this as it relates to The Church:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4 – 5 (ESV)

As we, the Body of Christ, present the Gospel in living, breathing fashion, we become the “spiritual house” (a type or picture of the temple) where God’s word causes people to see their need for a savior. They become “offended” to the point of repentance; they “stumble” at the sight of their own futile attempts to reach God by their effort. The Church is not the “sanctuary” of God. God is the ”sanctuary” for The Church. “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28 ESV) In Him we “are to grow up in every way into Him who is the Head, into Christ…” (Ephesians 4:15 ESV)

We do not “visit” God at church on Sundays and other special occasions. Instead, we are to abide “in Him” every moment of every day; totally consumed by the awareness of His presence and the reality of His will being formed in us. Let’s work on getting our mind adjusted to exactly who is in the sanctuary. We are the ones in The Sanctuary, not God living in our building.

The Journey – Day 19

 The Journey – Day 19

I’m settling into camper life. It’s strange to be aware of how much water you use on a regular basis. If I was not in a campgrounds connected to a water source, I would have depleted my water supply the first day. I never knew I took long showers. The grey tank is filling up in about 3 days. Even though I’m constantly connected to the water source, the disposal still has to be done manually – and frequently. If you don’t drain the tanks they will back up into the camper. Not a great idea.

This is a kind of picture of God’s love. He is constantly giving to us. If we try to consume all of the love He gives we cannot contain it. We cannot keep it in reserve. We have to process what we can in the moment and pass on the rest to others. We were created to be a conduit, not a holding tank.

Find ways to share God’s love with others. There are folks all around us every day who need grace, mercy, kindness, a listening ear, or a word spoken in due season. Be their resource for what they need from God today. You will be blessed in the process of being a blessing.

Sunday Morning Blessing

 Sunday Morning Blessing

May the Lord bless you and keep you;

May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may God hold you in the palm of His hand. (an Irish Blessing)

May you always know the love of God,

The warmth of family,

The fellowship of friends,

And the kiss of your love.

For with the love of God comes forgiveness for error, 

Grace for the journey,

And peace continually.

With the warmth of family comes love without limits,

Acceptance without merit,

And care for a lifetime.

With the fellowship of friends comes joy in good times,

Shared tears in sad times,

And someone to lean on in hard times.

With the kiss of your love comes feelings of belonging,

Connectedness to someone who loves you without reserve,

And a hand to hold as you pursue life.

The Journey – Day 15

 The Journey – Day 15

It’s been two weeks since moving to a campground, living in an RV. It is still a process to become acclimated to this new lifestyle. Some habits die hard.

I joined a new gym, Planet Fitness, which is working out ok. I’m getting into a new routine, or more accurately, working my old routine into a new setting. Staying focused on priorities is my greatest challenge. Right now, everything seems to be a priority. However, I see a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully, it will open up to a beautiful, lush valley, filled with colorful flowers, a million shades of green in the trees and meadows below, and the sweet smell of new beginnings, leading to a whole new set of mountain peaks to climb.

I’ve written about this many times over the years, but for me, this is one of the greatest events in scripture. When Moses successfully orchestrated the release of Israel from Egypt, they made a path for Mt. Sinai, the place God set as a meeting place. One of the first things God told the people was this: Today is the beginning of days for you! With one statement, God changed their calendar and made that day “January 1” in a new year. He is God, so He can do this anytime He wants, for anyone He wants.

It was a new beginning which took 40 years to complete the process. I don’t know if I have 40 years left, but I don’t want to waste time in the wilderness before entering into the next season of life. I’m still searching for “the promised land” which God has prepared for me, but I believe it will be revealed in due time. Right now, I will focus on Him, learn more about Him, spend my days becoming like Him, and one day break out of the tunnel into the beauty described above.

The Journey – Day 12

 The Journey – Day 12

I met one of the campers here on Saturday. Her name is Jan. She and her husband live here permanently. We had a nice conversation. I mentioned I write. I shared some of the thoughts from a previous blog post, where I mentioned people are here for various reasons. Some have stopped over for the night to get some rest. Others wound up here unintentionally and are stuck, waiting for something new to occur.

Jan spoke up at this point and said, “That’s us. We didn’t plan to be here.” They sold their house and bought a camper. The intent was to spend their retirement years traveling. Then her husband had a stroke. Now they live at a campground while she takes care of him, which is a full-time job. It’s quite sad.

This is a stark reminder that you never really know what is going on with those you may encounter every day. It would have been easy to assume Jan was enjoying retirement, traveling around the country, living the life they had always dreamed.

Jan spoke of a relationship with the Lord. Her eyes sparkled when she shared with me the intimacy that she has with her heavenly Father. I gave her a copy of my book, The Names of God. She was very appreciative, but I’m pretty sure she could probably teach me some things on God’s character, because she spoke as though she knew Him very well.

I look forward to meeting other travelers here, to hear their stories and learn more about the dreams that brought them here, or those which will perhaps take them from here.

The Journey – Day 7

The Journey – Day 7 

Learning new habits is easy when you separate yourself from everything familiar. I found it easier to do things like eat meals at home instead of going out so often. I discovered I don’t need TV when there is not one to watch. Reading has become more natural since there are fewer people with whom I can converse.

I’m actually thinking of things I want to do instead of always looking to do things for others. I still have a heart to serve. Giving is way of life for me. But now, I have the option of doing what I want instead of always yielding to the desire or wishes of others. It is no fault of the others. Many times they don’t even realize I’m giving in to their preferences. I have simply chosen to suppress my wants in order for others to have theirs.

This is ok until you reach a place where you no longer feel you have the right to what you want. Your needs go unmet, leaving you with feelings of unworthiness, being unfulfilled, even hopeless. I immediately heard the voice of many sermons expounding on the altruistic nature of living the Christian life. If we are to truly give up “everything” for Christ, why do we still make choices about what happens to us? We choose to earn money instead of being dependent on others to give us what we need. We buy a car because we choose to drive instead of walk everywhere we go. We have a preference on things like hairstyle, clothing, and personal care items (toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc.). We can claim the name of Christ and still have an identity, including preferences, feelings, desires, etc.

I’m not playing the martyr card here. I made the choice to live the way I did. I gave up my right to have what I wanted because I thought it was more spiritual. I now understand my motives were based more on pride than on humility. I misunderstood the concept of priority vs. relinquishing. 

The key to living Christlike has to do with placing our relationship with Him first, then sort everything else out, including our own wants and desires. You don’t have to add a spiritual “spin” in order to justify them. Oh, how I wish I had learned this sooner.

As You Go

 As You Go

As you go, life is in front of you.

Keep pursuing, dreaming, planning.

Each step with purpose, walking in destiny.

Each moment cherished.

As you go, memories remain.

Let them teach you.

Let them comfort you.

Let them inspire you.

As you go, allow yourself some space.

To grow into what you have yet to become.

To make mistakes.

To love yourself until you believe it.

As you go, know you are loved.

By family who care for you.

By friends who find a treasure in you.

By me, because I cherish you.