sanctuary

Little Sanctuary 

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Ezekiel 11:16
“Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”‘”

The children of Israel were facing the darkest time in their history. They had endured great hardships in the past when enslaved in Egypt or wandering in the wilderness, but nothing compared to the darkness of being taken captive by Babylon, and knowing the city and Temple would soon be burned to the ground. If anything ever seemed to point to the end of relationship with God, that did. I am once again amazed at the mercy and grace of God, as He promises through Ezekiel, that in their darkest hour, He will be a little sanctuary to them.

The idea of a sanctuary is not just a hiding place from trouble, but also a meeting place with God. During the wilderness journey, Moses took his tent outside the camp and turned it into a sanctuary, where all who wanted to meet with God could come. As time passed, they erected the Tabernacle that was designed as a meeting place.

Moses was told in Exodus 25:22 “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”

God promised the Tabernacle would be a place where He would meet with them and speak to them about everything. Now as the Temple is being destroyed, God promises to still be a meeting place for His people. No matter how far you have fallen or how dark things may appear, Jesus has made it possible for you to have a hiding place where you can meet with God. It is not necessary to travel to get there. Right this moment, wherever you are, you can access the little sanctuary and encounter the Lord.

Pastor Jim

 

Slippery Slope 

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Psalm 73:2
“But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.”

This psalm is the personal testimony of a man who almost fell away from the Lord. When he speaks of slipping, he is not talking about a little slip, but rather about throwing in the towel, and giving up on following the Lord.

His condition began when he bought into the lies of the devil. Jesus exposed who Satan really is when He described him as the father of lies. His lies are always the same. He brings into question the goodness of God, and makes sin look like something it is not. He did it to Eve, when he convinced her that God forbid the fruit in order to keep something good from her; persuading her that the fruit was the secret to really enjoying life. He did the same with the Psalmist, when he convinced him that God was keeping good from him, and those who rejected the Lord, were the ones who were gaining in life. From this skewed perspective, he describes the ungodly, “Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; they increase in riches” (Psalm 73:12).  He also spoke of the sinner as having no pain in death, great strength, no sicknesses, and living in abundant riches; all of which was and is completely untrue.

When the devil makes us think God is keeping good from us, he can also convince us that life is better away from the Lord; that is when we start to make compromises. We allow things into our lives that we had once laid down at the cross. Those things do give an immediate sense of pleasure, but like all sin, the pleasure is soon gone. We are then left ensnared in something that is robbing us of the abundant life Jesus provides. As scary as this may be, there is a solution.

The Psalmist declares, “Truly God is good to Israel, to such as are pure in heart” (Psalms 73:1). He was rescued when he remembered the goodness of God. When he took his eyes off others, and put them back upon the Lord, he was reminded of the character of God.

Just as it is in the nature of the devil to lie, it is the nature of God to give good things to His children. James reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). Because He is good, He can only do what is good. In fact, the term ‘God’ is derived from an old word meaning ‘good’. Paul explained, having given us His only Son, He will freely give us all things (Romans 8:32). God will hold back no good thing from His children. If there is something I desire, and do not have, it may simply be that having it would not be good for me. It is so easy to lose perspective and begin to see the world through the eyes of the Psalmist. Thankfully, he explains what led to the lies being uncovered.

He declares, “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me— Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end.” Psalms 73:16-17

The sanctuary was the meeting place with God, where the people of God gathered, and the truth of God was declared. If you are struggling, tempted to go back to the things of the world, rather than forward in your relationship with the Lord, get to the sanctuary. Get around the people of God, where the Word of God is being declared, and let Him remind you of His goodness.

Pastor Jim

 

Hungry? 

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Psalm 63:1-2
“O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.”

Have you ever had one of those times when you are craving something, but you are not sure what it is? When that happens to me I tend to keep trying things, in an attempt to satisfy a craving that I cannot define. What is true with physical hunger, is also true in the spiritual realm. God created us with a need for Him. This need evidences itself with a desire to find meaning in life, answers to what lies beyond this life, and a craving to worship.

Man is incurably religious due to his built-in hunger to know God. This hunger to know God is sometimes clouded by the sinful world in which we live, and by personal experiences. Many, knowing an emptiness within, fail to recognize that it is a spiritual craving to know God. They attempt to satisfy it with relationships, substances, or experiences. Often, these very attempts to satisfy the cravings within, become addictions or leave us scarred. Instead of satisfying our need for God, they fill the spiritual hole within us with junk, which may take a lifetime to get out.

After meeting God, David went on to declare that his soul was satisfied. Meeting God does that. Once you have come to God through Christ, you no longer need to hunt around for spiritual satisfaction, you are satisfied. However, if you have truly met Him, you develop a new hunger. This is a hunger that keeps you coming to Him for more.

David did not write this Psalm as an unbeliever who just met the Lord, but as a godly man desiring to know God better. David gives insight to properly fulfilling our built-in hunger for God. He says, “So I have looked for You in the sanctuary.” While it is true that God is everywhere, and we cannot hide from Him, it is also true, there are places where we will have a greater chance of meeting with Him, and hearing from Him. It is much easier to hear, when we gather with the people of God in corporate worship. David, knowing his hunger was for God, made his way to the sanctuary, where he was sure to meet with God.

Pastor Jim

 

Growing In Christ

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Psalm 48:9
“We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple.”

images-2.jpegWe learn two very important things about following Jesus from this one verse.

First, the Psalmist talks about his location. We find him in the midst of the Temple. The Temple was the center of worship for the Old Testament saint; as the church is the center of worship for us. The children of Israel were required to travel to the Temple three times every year, for seven different feasts. No matter how far away they lived, this pilgrimage was necessary, for it was at the Temple they would hear the Word of God, be involved in corporate worship, and enjoy fellowship with the other believers. Our personal growth in Christ has a lot to do with our location. When we choose to frequently fellowship on a regular basis, we will find that our growth is enhanced. When we neglect it, our growth is stunted. The writer of Hebrews, recognizing the importance of regular Christian fellowship, wrote, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

Second, the Psalmist gives us a glimpse into his thought life. He tells us that he meditates upon the lovingkindness of God. Our thought life is crucial to our spiritual growth. If we fill our minds with images, or imaginations of things that are sinful, it will not be long before we find ourselves practicing those sins. James explained the way sin comes to fruition in our lives, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15

If we want to succeed in following Jesus, we need to guard our thought life. We need to love God with our minds by not letting ourselves go down those roads with our imagination.

Pastor Jim