You also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22)

No spiritually-minded Israelite would ever argue that God actually “lived” somewhere on earth, as though his presence could somehow be contained in a physical structure made by human hands. The entire universe could never contain his infinite being, let alone a single building. However, they did understand that the temple – which sat at the heart of their religious and cultural life – was the dwelling place of God, or, more specifically, the place on earth where God promised to manifest his shekinah glory (in the inner sanctuary), a symbol of the reality that he dwelt among his people. Continue reading Growing Into a Holy Temple →

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations. (Jeremiah 31:10)

Have you ever been guilty of not listening to someone like you should? All gender-based stereotype joking aside, it’s a serious question. As intelligent beings, human persons have the ability to express themselves through the form of communication we know as language. But more than merely possessing the ability to communicate, we also have the desire to be heard, understood, and responded to. Ignoring someone who is speaking to you, not giving them the requisite attention necessary for them to be properly heard and understood, carries the potential of offending the speaker and disrupting your relationship to them. Continue reading A Listening Posture →

Jesus said to them, “When you pray…” (Luke 11:2)

Have you ever stopped to really think about prayer? I mean, what is prayer anyway? Well, it can be described in a lot of different ways. We know prayer is the way to renewal and spiritual life. Prayer is aliveness to God. It is strength, refreshment, and joy. But it is even more. Prayer draws us into a conscious, loving communion with God in which everything is experienced in a new light. Prayer is a personal dialogue with God, a spiritual breathing of the soul, a foretaste of the bliss of God’s kingdom. Continue reading Prayer as Participation →

It was for freedom that Christ set us free. (Galatians 5:1)

This weekend, perhaps more than any other, the concept of freedom is in the forefront of our hearts and minds. We are Americans and freedom is hardwired into our DNA. But we are also Christians, and the topic of freedom comes up throughout the New Testament. In, through, and by Jesus we have been set free. That freedom came at a cost. By his own blood, the Lord has ransomed us – bought us at a price – from the oppression of sin. Paul says that “it was for freedom that Christ set us free.” Elsewhere he writes, “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). We have been set free from sin by the Son of God who said, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Continue reading The Paradox of Freedom →

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing. (rev. 5:13)

In the fifth chapter of Revelation we catch a brief glimpse of what heaven is going to be like. We see God, seated on a throne, surrounded by heavenly beings whose worship of the Almighty never ceases. Beyond the beings are angels and the saints, numbering “myriads upon myriads and thousands of thousands,” together singing one song of praise to “the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb.” From this brief glimpse we can be confident that our destiny as believers is to be united eternally in worship of God. Continue reading United in True Worship →