The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 6:1-11 (day two)

 But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. vs. 8

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:10-11

Isn’t it so gracious of the Lord that he remembers the hopes and dreams of King David? Solomon is also quick to acknowledge that the vision of a Temple was his father’s dream. This kind of generational legacy is not lost on the Apostle Paul. He reminds us that we are all playing a crucial role in the working out of God’s plan. We may have a great vision, and it is important that we give voice to it, but that does not mean that God will use us to complete it. Frustrating? Possibly, but remember the promise God gave to David. The role we ultimately play in this may not exactly fit our plan, but remember what a privilege it is to play a part at all.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day seven)

I’m normally a silver-linings type of guy, but there is something dark in this passage that caught my eye.

“And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.” Vs 6

Animals lined up to be slaughtered, a massacre in the midst of a celebration. One can only imagine the amount of sacrificial blood that was shed on this day. It seems unnecessary. You are having this grand celebration and decide to have this ritual in the middle of it all? It sounds out of place… until we take into consideration the Presence of the Lord. A Devine encounter will always result in genuine repentance. As the people came into the temple they were overwhelmed by the Spirit of the Lord, which up against Perfection highlighted their imperfections and need for forgiveness.

Christ took on the massacre so blood is no longer on our hands; He only asks that we continue to draw near to His presence. Our encounters with Him will always result in genuine repentance.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day six).

God descended upon Mount Sinai in smoke and fire. When Moses completed the assembly of the Tabernacle, God covered it in a cloud and his glory filled the tabernacle, so much so Moses could not enter. The same cloud hovered by day, and glowed with fire by night above the Tabernacle. In the desert, when either would move, then the people would take up camp and follow God’s lead.

So, when God’s presence filled the temple with a thick cloud during the dedication of the temple, it had little to do with God blessing the temple building, and more to do with expressing his continuity:

I am the God who revealed his glory to Moses.

I am the God who made a covenant with you on the mountain, and gave my Word to you.

I am the God who lead and provided for you for 40 years in the desert.

I am the God who fought all your battles in Canaan.

I am the God of your fathers.

I am the unchanging God. And I have made a way for you to know me, love me, meet with me, and move with me.

Emmanuel [God with us]

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.  John 1:14

 

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day five). 

“All the men of Israel assembled themselves to the king at the feast, that is in the seventh month. Then all the elders of Israel came, and the Levites took up the ark.” 

Can you sense the unity?  Can you sense the community?  Can you picture the full participation of the leaders and people gathering for this time of worship and celebration? There is something tangible and overwhelming about being with God’s people. God’s presence. I am reminded of this truth most Sunday’s these days. At least one family or member will make their way back in person to worship or Bible study for the first time in a long while (some over a year). I love just watching and listening to them react after worship. Excited. Inspired. Emotional. Encouraged.

When it’s time (God will guide each of us in His timing) to gather in person, will you come with joy and expectation?   We are praying our gathered times will be marked by His overwhelming presence and a real sense of unity and community.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day four)

When the Hebrews praised the Lord in the Temple (verse 13), they used a familiar phrase.  David had used it often in the psalms…”the Lord is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  (Chapters 106, 107, 118, 136)  The prophet Jeremiah used it later when he foretold the restoration of Israel from the Babylonian exile (Jeremiah 33:11).  Since Scripture is inspired by God, this phrase must be pleasing to God.  In our Re:Verse this week, God’s response to this corporate praise from the Hebrews was to fill the Temple with His presence.  He literally inhabited their praise.

Sounds like a good idea to use God’s own words to praise Him!  Using the words of Scripture to pray back to God is pleasing to Him.  In prayer, in songs and hymns, or in worship…God responds to His praise.  Do you want to acknowledge God’s love…God’s goodness…God’s character?  “The Lord is good, His lovingkindness is everlasting!”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day three)

“There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb.”

There was nothing in the ark but the word of God delivered to human beings. There was nothing in the ark except a description of the good life recorded in language people could understand. There was nothing in the ark save the revelation of the only kind of life that will last eternally. The point is that the physical, geographic point in the temple where God would dwell with human beings contained the only thing it needed to contain: God’s guidance to a life that lasts through all uncertainty, all adversity, all hostility. God would meet there with the high priest and tell him, “Remind the people, train the people, love the people with these words. They will live when they learn this way of life.”

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 (day two)

…the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud…vs. 13

What fills you up? Not in the sense of cuisine, but what occupies the most space in your heart? The idea of the presence of God filling a space so completely that there is room for nothing else is overwhelming. That, however, is the hope of our relationship with Jesus. When we give him our hearts, are we simply rearranging furniture, or are we turning over the keys to the apartment? I continually struggle to turn over those stubborn areas of my life to Jesus, but my desire is that when I am confronted with them I will act in a way that prefers him and not me. Have you taken an inventory of what occupies your heart lately? Have you tried turning over everything to him? When he fills you, there can be no room for anything other. May we continue to work for a full heart of Jesus.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Chronicles 3:1-17 (day seven)

On this day last week, our church gathered in worship to celebrate our Savior defeating the grave, but the celebration didn’t end at 11:59pm April 4th…

Matthew 27:51 tells us that the veil was torn from top to bottom, a symbol that the holy of holies was now open. If we read the footnotes in our re:verse  passage this week, verse 8 could literally read, “Now he made the [house] of the holy of holies.” The purpose of this room was to be a house for the presence of the Lord, so where does God move to in Matthew 27?  His new “home” is you. His new “home” is me. His new “home” is inside of all who call upon His name.

1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Not only are you the new temple, you are the most holy place where God will make His “home.” We have seen Solomon going to extraordinary lengths to build a home for the Lord. To what lengths are you going to prepare your home for the Lord?