A Magnificent Temple

Scripture:

II Chronicles 2:5 "This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods".

Observation:

Solomon has just become king and immediately asks the Lord for wisdom to lead the people of God correctly. He quickly begins gathering supplies to build God the Temple that David, his father, wanted to build for God. As he is preparing the work force and supplies, he says, "This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods".

Application:

Solomon wanted to world to see how awesome his God was. He built God the most beautiful temple the world had ever seen as an honor to the Lord. I see two applications in this verse. The first is physical, the second is spiritual. In the physical, Solomon wanted the world to look at this building that was built in honor of the Lord and say, "the god of the people of Israel must be awesome!" It is awesome to walk through the cathedrals in Europe and see the same magnificence. Today we through us a church as fast as we can, decorate it as cheaply as we can, because we don't want to be accused of spending too much money on a building and not on the people. I believe God can be honored in architecture! What we do for the Lord, must be done with excellence. Secondly, I believe this speaks spiritually. The NT brings out the fact that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. If we really believed this, it would change the way we take care of our bodies. We should honor God by presenting to Him a body that bring Him glory. We should want to make His house great!

Prayer:

Lord, I want my life to bring you honor and people to say, "Jeff's God must be awesome!" Help me to walk in excellence in the simple building you have given us to worship You in currently. Help me to treat it with respect and make it as nice as possible because to a degree, it represents You. Also help me to provide You a wonderful temple in my body. Help me to bring my body into subjection an every area. help me get in shape and take better care of the body You have given me. Thank You for convicting me this morning.

I Love You,
Jeff