I
work at my desktop with the children at my feet. A makeshift area rug made of white butcher
paper lines the floor where the baby, crayon in hand, imitates her big
sister. Sister focuses on the finishing
touches of the house she designed. The
catchy children’s song, Wheels of the Bus, blasts from the Toddler Station on
Pandora Radio.
Six
year old Sookie unveils her masterpiece and I ooh and awe at the sketch. “It’s a daisy house!” I exclaim.
“I love the colors. I wonder what
the inside looks like.” Without
hesitating, Sookie describes each room.
“There are five rooms and they are all
different colors. One is Mint Chip,
another Strawberry. There is a Vanilla
room, and a Cookies & Cream room and the last room is Rocky Road. You have to wear a sweater inside because it
is very cold.”
“A
house made of ice cream,” I reply. “It
sounds heavenly!”
I
dug into my Bible readings that morning preparing for the Women’s Bible Study
Group and gave God an imaginary “high five.”
To my surprise, starting in the 40th chapter of Ezekiel, lay
the Master’s blueprint of the foundation of the way the temple is to be built!
Build it this way.
Line
by line, He lays out the specs. I
envision the awesome outer court, the east, north, and south gates leading to
the inner court. I contemplate the rooms
used for the animal sacrifices, the rooms for the priests and amaze myself of
Ezekiel’s vision of the temple with its detailed carvings of the cherubim and
palm trees.
That
morning our Bible teacher did not only focus on the beauty of the temple. She picked up on something that still leaves
me awestruck when I think of it.
The key requirement for
the temple of God is holiness!
“This is the law of the
house;
Upon the top of the
mountain,
The whole limit thereof
round about
Shall be most holy.
Behold, this is the law of
the house.
Ez 43:12
I
remember my last visit to Israel and the rainy day in Jerusalem. I will never forget the gazebo on the Temple
Mount shielding a handful of us students from the raindrops while we sang “We
are Standing on Holy Ground!”
Aside
from the Old Testament Temple design, the New Testament believer knows that our
body is a temple of God where the Holy Spirit dwells!
Do you not know that you
are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God
will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
1 Cor. 3: 16-17
It
gives me chills to think that you and I, as temples, house the Spirit of God
and that we’ve been beautifully crafted by Him.
Check out Psalm 139; we’ve been formed in detail by the living God!
And
He calls us to be holy….as He is holy! I repeat, we are living temples and the main
requirement of the temple is holiness.
I
am sober thinking of my temple foundation.
I ask myself if it’s firm and strong or is it just built on fluff like
ice cream. The great thing about grace
is that every new day is another chance to get back on the holiness scale and,
hopefully, climb a little higher.
I never envisioned myself as a temple ... but there you go! Your closing line invites such reassurance, Mary.
ReplyDeletePS - Wouldn't it be lovely to put on our jackets and mittens and tour Sookie's daisy house? :)
Don't you love the imagination of little ones? We need to be more like them, Myra! Oh to be that free spirited!
DeleteDon't you just love how we learn much through the eyes of children? I love the details given for the building of the Temple. God is in the details for sure. And everything has to be specific down to the finest detail. He is holy! How thankful I am that I am a temple of the Holy Spirit. It causes me to think about how I treat my body.
ReplyDeleteLoved this Mary!
Blessings and love,
Debbie
Debbie, you encourage me all the time to choose health...body, soul and spirit!
DeleteDear Mary, this is such a lovely post! Children are amazing and they can teach us much, and animals can as well, which is why God created them. Thank you so much for this beautiful inspiration. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you as well, Linda, my upbeat friend. Keep smiling!
DeleteIt is really sobering to think we are temples and God's masterpiece. How he lovingly made us in his image, each and every one of us so unique, absolutely amazing!
ReplyDeletebetty
Exactly, Betty! Thanks for reinforcing my point.
DeleteHugs,
Mary
Good Monday morning sister Mary. What an artist not in the making but already is!!! (Your beautiful grandchild). Amazing where young minds go and what is created. But i love the parallel you reminded us of re:our bodies being the temple of the Lord. Unfathomable indeed. But nothing is impossible with Him. What's impossible is for us striving to be holy while we are in this place and that's what I pray for...for Him to make me holy because He is holy...
ReplyDeleteI'm leaving without forgetting to pray for you & your family. And with an awesome reminder to keep my house beautiful inside by not opening doors to those things that are not of God's. Have a great week ahead remaining strong in the Lord's mighty power!!! Love & blessings to you sister.
I agree with you, Rosel, striving to be holy will never work. Much better to draw near to the Lord and let Him have the full reign on our design! Thank you for prayers for us; you have mine as well!
DeleteHugs,
Mary
Thank you for all the timely verses to reassure us. Indeed it is so enjoyable to spend the day with your grand children.
ReplyDeleteThey're a blessing, Nancy! Thanks for dropping by.
Deletevery inspiring.
ReplyDeleteKeep the faith, Sis! Love ya.
DeleteGot inspired in reading your blog. Kids are too smart to have a wonderful drawing. Kids drawing are very precious for all...
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the artwork! Thanks for stopping by. I visited you back and learned so much on your website.
DeleteHello Mary, God has called us to holiness!
ReplyDeleteOur temple should be prepared just as you have described. Lord help me!
This is very deep message friend.
Thank you for sharing the painting of the house. There is so much kids teach us.
It is serious stuff...especially in the times we are living. Thank you for your comment!
DeleteHi Mary! I can totally see the scene of your little ones at your feet, while you work a bit on the computer. What a beautiful image! PS, I'd love a house of ice cream...might have to work on the flavor selection though!
ReplyDeleteHoliness. That's our goal in life, being Christ-like. No matter what our temple looks like on the outside, we all have renovation work going on inside. Sure, it took forever to build the Temple in Jerusalem. It's taking a lifetime to build mine too.
Blessings my friend,
Ceil
From one grammy to another, we know the joy the little ones bring! And for the Lord to then present the verses about the Temple just knocked me off my chair! He is interested in houses! Love it when you stop by!
DeleteGreat post, Mom. I'm glad Sookie is an inspiration. She is such a gift from God!
ReplyDeleteShe is! And so are you, dear daughter.
DeleteJust a simple drawing and it certainly did connect with your Bible Study lesson and the thoughts God gave to you. Yes, we are called to be Holy and to take care of His Holy temple (us.) Thank you for sharing with us here at Tell me a Story. Loved the beautiful daisy house!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised when I studied the temple that morning too and so enjoyed the sketch of an ice cream house on my desk! These are the simple pleasures I love to write about and love to read about others too.
DeleteWhat a blessing to know you were in Israel. I've wanted to be there MANY times, but couldn't work it out. You were sharing beautifully as usual. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to go! Someday we'll all be in Jerusalem (Rev 21). Thank you for encouraging me.
DeleteGod is the ultimate architect, isn't He? And little Sookie is quite talented too. I wouldn't mind having an ice-cream house! LOL
ReplyDeleteIt looks like she's got a lot of takers for that ice cream house. You know what they say: "If you build it...they will come!"
DeleteAwesome. He is the temple and where ever He dwells is the temple. Those are great and encouraging verses. That is the wise person that looks for and finds the hand of God in all settings. It's a gift when it pertains to your entire family.
ReplyDeleteLife isn't mundane when we can see His hand in things! He said He will never leave us or forsake us; may I have eyes to see. Blessings!
DeleteI love this devotional and how you share from your heart so clearly. You have given me more to think on today,. Blessings to you! And that picture she drew is sooooo creative!
ReplyDeleteI love this devotional and how you share from your heart so clearly. You have given me more to think on today,. Blessings to you! And that picture she drew is sooooo creative!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Terri, for dropping by and reading my story. Happy weekend to you too!
DeleteThanks for visiting my blog. I am glad you visit it. So you can follow it. Hugrs from Poland homeland of your ancestors.. Do youn kanow of which part of Poland they come from?
ReplyDeleteHi, Gosia!
DeleteHow sweet that you visited me! I'll keep in touch.
Bless you sister.
Mary
What a beautiful and profound devotional, what an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed Sunday, Mary!
Nancy
What a beautiful and profound devotional, what an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed Sunday, Mary!
Nancy