ARE YOU HIS SANCTUARY?
When the Lord gave me this devotional thought last year, it forced me to take a long, hard look at my own life, my sanctuary where I was inviting the Lord into, and several changes were made in my life. I pray it affects you the same way.....We can ALL do better, AMEN?
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to THIS world, but be ye TRANSFORMED, by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God"
Are You His Sanctuary?
Take a mental stroll for a few moments as we think about a sanctuary...Webster's Dictionary describes it as "sacred, a haven"
Now think of your place of worship, the building where your church services are held. On the outside, the average church LOOKS like a church right? There maybe a cross, stained glass windows, built with a church style design, usually some type of sign in front, giving the name of the church, pastor's name, message for the week etc. The grass is neatly and uniformly mown, landscape is beautiful and well cared for. But a passerby still doesn't know what the services are like, or what "type" of worship services the church conducts, until they actually see the inside and experience the worship service.
Are we on the same page so far? Ok, let's proceed further...
Once inside, you familiarize yourself with the spiritual beliefs and practices of the congregation, and you see the layout of the main part of the church, the "sanctuary", where the services are held. You would not expect to enter your church and dirt and trash is all over the floor, toilets are stopped and smelling foul, stains on the pew cushions, windows broken, with birds and squirrels hopping around the place, pages of torn Bibles or hymnals everywhere, huge holes in the roof where sunlight is gaping through.
But it gets worse!
There is no choir or praise team, no musician, and no minister to preach!!! Everyone is just sitting around not praying, just chatting about sports, recipes, sales at the mall, children's after school activities, soap operas, video gams etc. A sanctuary isn't supposed to be like that right?
No, quite the contrary...because people dedicated their time and attention and love for God's house, to making sure everything was right in His house when you enter, everything has been prepared for your arrival...the floor is clean, windows are shining, seats are clean, Bibles and hymnals are in the pews, the sanctuary is warm and toasty in winter and cool in summer. You look around and find a place to sit and meditate and pray before service begins. Everywhere you look, adults and children are interceding in prayer, ushering God's spirit into the sanctuary, inviting His presence into their midst, sharing testimonies, the choir is preparing to march in, the minister is ready to preach the Word of God. You meet people and see a real awareness of their zeal for God.
Now comes the punch line, so to speak....
When people look at your outer appearance, is it the same thing that's in your heart?
And is what's in your heart, and what comes out of your mouth what people expected? Or will it come as a total shock to them? Can you say the same things in church that you say on the street, or on the phone, or across the back fence, or the privacy of your home? Do you act one way at church and another way behind closed doors? Does anger find you cursing, or seeking revenge?
Do lonely, stressful, depressed moments find you drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, using drugs? Are you gambling, fornicating, backbiting, lying? Are you covetous, do you slack off from praying just to watch that "favorite" TV show? Is your Bible study time suffering while you surf the Internet, or chat with online friends? Do you share gossip more than you share God's Word? Perhaps you are just harboring some negative thoughts about some people and situations. Are there certain people you would discuss the Word with, and certain people you would not? Do you stay home from church to sleep, or catch up with family and friends? Does your family wonder if you are REALLY A CHRISTIAN?
Like that hypothetical church sanctuary, is YOUR "sanctuary" (meaning your heart, mind, tongue, lifestyle) prepared for service to the Master? Have you dedicated your will to God's will? Have you decided to ask the Lord to make your life pure and holy? Will the experience people have when they step inside your life, draw them immediately to realize Jesus lives in you?
Can the world see Jesus in you?
Are you a living sacrifice?
Are you a sanctuary for God to abide?
©2009
Evang. Ethel L. Buchanan
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to THIS world, but be ye TRANSFORMED, by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God"
Are You His Sanctuary?
Take a mental stroll for a few moments as we think about a sanctuary...Webster's Dictionary describes it as "sacred, a haven"
Now think of your place of worship, the building where your church services are held. On the outside, the average church LOOKS like a church right? There maybe a cross, stained glass windows, built with a church style design, usually some type of sign in front, giving the name of the church, pastor's name, message for the week etc. The grass is neatly and uniformly mown, landscape is beautiful and well cared for. But a passerby still doesn't know what the services are like, or what "type" of worship services the church conducts, until they actually see the inside and experience the worship service.
Are we on the same page so far? Ok, let's proceed further...
Once inside, you familiarize yourself with the spiritual beliefs and practices of the congregation, and you see the layout of the main part of the church, the "sanctuary", where the services are held. You would not expect to enter your church and dirt and trash is all over the floor, toilets are stopped and smelling foul, stains on the pew cushions, windows broken, with birds and squirrels hopping around the place, pages of torn Bibles or hymnals everywhere, huge holes in the roof where sunlight is gaping through.
But it gets worse!
There is no choir or praise team, no musician, and no minister to preach!!! Everyone is just sitting around not praying, just chatting about sports, recipes, sales at the mall, children's after school activities, soap operas, video gams etc. A sanctuary isn't supposed to be like that right?
No, quite the contrary...because people dedicated their time and attention and love for God's house, to making sure everything was right in His house when you enter, everything has been prepared for your arrival...the floor is clean, windows are shining, seats are clean, Bibles and hymnals are in the pews, the sanctuary is warm and toasty in winter and cool in summer. You look around and find a place to sit and meditate and pray before service begins. Everywhere you look, adults and children are interceding in prayer, ushering God's spirit into the sanctuary, inviting His presence into their midst, sharing testimonies, the choir is preparing to march in, the minister is ready to preach the Word of God. You meet people and see a real awareness of their zeal for God.
Now comes the punch line, so to speak....
When people look at your outer appearance, is it the same thing that's in your heart?
And is what's in your heart, and what comes out of your mouth what people expected? Or will it come as a total shock to them? Can you say the same things in church that you say on the street, or on the phone, or across the back fence, or the privacy of your home? Do you act one way at church and another way behind closed doors? Does anger find you cursing, or seeking revenge?
Do lonely, stressful, depressed moments find you drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, using drugs? Are you gambling, fornicating, backbiting, lying? Are you covetous, do you slack off from praying just to watch that "favorite" TV show? Is your Bible study time suffering while you surf the Internet, or chat with online friends? Do you share gossip more than you share God's Word? Perhaps you are just harboring some negative thoughts about some people and situations. Are there certain people you would discuss the Word with, and certain people you would not? Do you stay home from church to sleep, or catch up with family and friends? Does your family wonder if you are REALLY A CHRISTIAN?
Like that hypothetical church sanctuary, is YOUR "sanctuary" (meaning your heart, mind, tongue, lifestyle) prepared for service to the Master? Have you dedicated your will to God's will? Have you decided to ask the Lord to make your life pure and holy? Will the experience people have when they step inside your life, draw them immediately to realize Jesus lives in you?
Can the world see Jesus in you?
Are you a living sacrifice?
Are you a sanctuary for God to abide?
©2009
Evang. Ethel L. Buchanan
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