The Chambers of Your Heart

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What is gathering in your heart?

Israel completed the job of rebuilding Jerusalem's wall.  The enemy could now be kept at bay because of their obedience to both God and His leader, Nehemiah.  Now the city was being turned from a broken down ghost town into the powerful city God intended it to be.  By a lottery men were chosen to live in Jerusalem.  Others would establish their home there because they were the leaders.  Still others simply chose to move their families there to be a part of this new and exciting plan of God.  But it didn't take very long for sin to return to the priesthood, and its slippery slope, that had landed their city in ruin became a disaster waiting to happen.  Little by little the disobedience of one priest of God began to clutter the temple of God with junk that was displeasing to Him.

While the newly rebuilt city was in its infancy, one of the priests (named Eliashib), who was over the chambers of the new temple,  thought it would be good idea to set aside a very large room for one of his relatives--Tobiah.  This Tobiah had been one of the men who constantly discouraged the men of Israel as they rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem.  The room Eliashib reserved for this vile man had formerly been used as a storage area for the temple.  It stored the grain offerings, the frankincense and utensils used for worship at the altar of incense, the tithes of grain, wine, oil, and the contributions that were reserved for the priests use.

Nehemiah had returned to service to the King of Persia when this sin took place, but when he returned to Jerusalem to check up on the city, he found this room that the priest had set aside for Tobiah.  Not only was Nehemiah incensed over the sin, he was appalled to learn that it was a priest who had broken such a strong and severe commandment of God.  You see, Tobiah was an Ammonite, and God had strongly forbid Israel to EVER allow an Ammorite or a Moabite to enter into the house of God!  And Eliashib, being a priest, would certainly have known he was breaking God's law! 

So displeased was Nehemiah that he entered the room set aside for Tobiah, and he threw out everything in it.  Next, he gave an order for the room to be cleansed of its unholiness.  Only then did Nehemiah call for the utensils and the offerings for worship to be replaced in the room.  Nehemiah also expelled Tobiah, and he was never again allowed into the temple of God.  

Once again we must bring this story into our 21st century lives, but the correlation is clear.  Our hearts are the temple of God.  So often we enter into a relationship with God, and we quickly rebuild the protective walls around our hearts to prevent the enemy from breaking in.  But once we do, little by little, we allow sin to reside within the walls, within its chambers.  The "little bit of sin" gathers more sin with it until we have a chamber that looks like the dirty, messy bedroom of a teenager!  Our true worship of God (the daily reading and study of our daily bread--the grain, our thankfulness for the precious wine of Christ's blood sacrifice, and our walking in the oil of the Spirit) is tossed aside to make room for the sin we desire so much more.

God is calling us all to spiritually clean out the chambers of our heart, and to put them in holy order!   Today, ask yourself what sins are cluttering your heart.  What is preventing you from the worship that God desires from you?  What is He displeased with in your life?  What have you allowed to creep into your life, bit by sinful bit? 

Don't just peek in the room and take an assessment.  God is calling you boldly walk into that room, bag up the trash, put things in their proper place, and then scrub it down until it is clean and pleasing to Him.  Will you be a Nehemiah today and cleanse the chambers of your heart?  Or will you be guilty of the same sin as the Priest Eliashib? Remember, as a believer you are of the royal priesthood of Christ.  Will you be content to allow the stench of dirty, rotten sin dwell in the same place the Holy Spirit calls His home?  

Watchmen on the Wall

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Israel had completed the task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem under the keen direction and leadership of Nehemiah.  They had overcome several discouraging moments by simply continuing on in the work God had brought to them.  Finally, after just 52 days, their wall was finished, with all the door and gates hung in their places.  It would have been tempting for Israel to let down her guard, now that the wall stood resolute between them and their enemies who still wanted to destroy them.  But Nehemiah's wisdom took them down the path of further protection when he laid out to the people how they should live within their walls.  

Nehemiah taught the people in simple practicality.  The gates were not to be opened to go in and out of until the sun was hot.  In other words, until the sun was very high in the sky.  Dawn would prove to be too risky.  The gates were to be closed while the guard were still on duty.  That simply meant that they would be closed long before the sun went down.  These two rules would, in large part, keep Israel's enemies out, and Israel safe inside except in the brightest daylight, when it would be unlikely that their enemies would attack them.  

Then Nehemiah offered on more sound piece of advice.  At all times there would be guards around the entire wall who were responsible for watching for the attacks that might come.  Though Israel had secured a sound victory in the completion of the wall, the wall could not protect itself!

In our lives, the same is often true.  Have you ever experience a great spiritual victory, say, over a particular sin?  You not only built at stone wall to keep it out of your life, but when temptation came you "stonewalled" it again.  Days passed and the temptation did not return, so you, in the pride of conquering your enemy, settle into that "safe" life.  Then one day, seemingly out of nowhere, the enemy returns and tempts you quickly to sin.  Caught "off-guard" you instantly fall prey to it again.  The problem was not that you hadn't been victorious in building a wall to keep it out of your life; the problem is that you did not train your eye to keep watch for its return.

Israel needed men to watch for an enemy attack on Jerusalem.  In the same way we need to be watchmen on the wall who are scanning the horizon for any sign of our enemy who will come again and again to try to defeat or destroy our lives and testimonies.  Our enemy will never be defeated by our spiritual walls.  Quite the opposite!  He will look for more and more ways to re-enter your life, to take you as his prisoner, to lead you back to bondage.

Building a wall against sin through prayer, Bible study, and even accountability is only one part of the solution to sin.  You must add to those a discerning eye, a humble heart that knows how easy it is to be infiltrated by evil, and a reliance on the Holy Spirit that comes from surrender to His commands.

Are you standing on the wall 24/7?

Are You Leaving a Gap?

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Israel's remnant had returned to Jerusalem, repaired its temple, and were offering the required sacrifices.  But they were a people who were living in fear of being overtaken by their enemies.  They had good reason to be so fearful.  While their temple had been rebuilt, their walls and gates had not.  Their protection lay in ruins, leaving them wide open and vulnerable for attack.  Then Nehemiah came on the scene and led the people in an organized plan to repair and strengthen their city walls and gates.  Finally Israel would be able to settle into a life without fear, anxiety and worry.  

In studying Nehemiah 3 this morning I learned from commentator David Guzik that the phrase "made repairs" was used 35 times in this 32 verse chapter about the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls.  While it seems highly likely in a chapter dedicated to the "who" and "where" of this work that this phrase would be used often, in a very repetitive sort of way, I was surprised to learn the Hebrew meaning of "made repairs" was to strengthen, make strong, and encourage.  Guzik spoke of the correlation between this chapter and Eph. 4: 11-13 which states:

 "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ."

In his commentary Guzik spoke of the purpose of the church as being like the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem because this "equipping and building up," which has almost the exact same definition:  to prepare, to strengthen, to make usable!

While I was relishing this great insight, the Spirit began to bring another thought to mind.  I could clearly understand the comparison to the church.  It is a place where we can be taught what we need to know to be equipped to take the gospel to the world, but also to grow up in maturity in Christ, in our faith, knowledge, and fullness until we become mature.  Church is a place where we feel protected and safe so that we can be built up from the inside out.  The walls of the church cannot be found to be in disrepair, or the enemy will have opportunity to come inside and destroy what God is building.  Now enter the voice of the Spirit in my heart.

Part of what caused the breaches in the walls (the church) are those who are not taking care of their own individual hearts.  You see, in the rebuilding of the city walls under Nehemiah's leadership, many groups were helping in various spots along the wall.  But sometimes the Word lists individuals who where repairing the wall directly in front of their own home!  Do you see where I am going?  The breaches in the walls of the church are sometimes caused by believers who are not joining in the effort of rebuilding their own part of the wall, their own hearts.  When  God's people become complacent in their walk with Him, not only is their life affected, but the entire body of believers is!  How we walk individually greatly impacts the safety and security of the entire church!

As I was considering this truth and what my part was in a broken church wall, the Spirit spoke a second thought to me.  When we choose to practice an "I'll go to church when I feel like it" mentality, forsaking the gathering together, we also are leaving a part of the wall unattended and in ruin.  If we are not present, the part we bring to the body of Christ is also absent, leaving a gaping hole for the enemy to enter through!  Hebrews 10: 22-25 are not just uplifting words!  Read them:

". . .let us draw near with a sincere heart . . . let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering . . . let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together . . . but encouraging one another . . ."

These verses are a call to personal, direct contact with and commitment to the body of Christ.  It is difficult to "stimulate others to love and good deeds" if you are "forsaking you own assembling together"!

Are you leaving a gap in your local church body?  The answer is yes if you are attending church complacently, with no real desire to grow or to change.  The answer is yes if you are attending church only when you "feel" like it.  The gap you leave is an open door to the enemy of our faith!  It's time to close all the entrances we have given to the enemy!

Only Two Choices

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Two Choices!

The more I read my Bible, the more I am reminded that in making spiritual decisions, there are really only two choices.  We tend to think that there are many, which only confuses the process.  Just as our hearts are divided between what is good and what is evil, what is Spirit and what is flesh, our daily choices only offer two real choices as well:  God's way, and the way of the world.  It seems to me that if we narrow it down to that every time, there is less opportunity to choose incorrectly.  The enemy of our faith has less chance to influence us if we are able to narrow the choice list to "God's way" and "Every other way."  By doing so we can more easily remove several possibilities that are "not the worst" choices, but bad choices none the same.

The people of Israel struggled, even as we still struggle, with being "whole-hearted" in their day to day lives.  After being exiled to Babylon by their holy God who would not allow them to walk with a divided heart any longer, Israel lived in captivity for 70 years, the consequence for the choices they had made.  After the 70 years, they were allowed to return to their country and rebuild the temple that stood in ruins.  Even after the harsh judgment of God, and living in a distant country and culture where their God was not worshiped, Israel did not learn their lesson.

Upon returning to rebuild their "spiritual center," Israel returned as well to their sinful choices.  Simply stated, they did not separate themselves from the world.  Called to live as a holy race, Israel intermingled with the people, marrying them, and in a sense, marrying their gods and idols once again.  They had been presented with two paths:  The path of obedience, righteousness, and purity (God's way) and the path of disobedience, unrighteousness, and impurity.  Israel took the wrong path.

The people of Israel are a picture of who we are.  We, too, are presented with a "fork in the road," over and over again, in our spiritual journeys.  Lest we think ourselves to have better discernment than the Israelites, wondering how they could fall into the same pattern after suffering such severe consequences, we ought to take a long look at our own choices.  How well do we pick God's way over the way of the world, our flesh and Satan?

God has called us to "raise up the house of our God" (our hearts) and to restore its "ruins." (Ezra 9: 9)  To do that we must begin to choose His path . . . and avoid the path of the world.  What worldly ways should you be leaving behind in order to walk in obedience to God?

"So That " Points to Consequences

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I have noticed as I read the Word it is often the smallest words or phrases that have the most profound statements behind them.  Take, for instance, the phrase "so that."  While learning to study my bible inductively, one of the phrases Kay Arthur teaches you to look for is the phrase "so that."  When I first began to interrogate the text, I couldn't quite grasp the importance of those two little word.  But now, every time I come across them a blinking neon light goes off in my head that prompts me to slow down and take a closer look.  Upon doing so, I inevitably discover on either side of the "so that" is two other small, but powerful, words . . . "if" and "then."

King David stood before all of Israel to address them about the temple that his son, Solomon, would build.  He had a very important message to deliver to his people and to the soon-to-be king.  After he reminds them of all that God has said regarding them as a people and the kingly lineage, David speaks the heart of God to all of them.  (I Chronicles 28: 1-10)  In his address to them, tucked between the implied "if" and "then" is a very powerful "so that."  Here is how it reads:

"So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the LORD, and in the hearing of our God, [the "if you will"] observe and seek after all the commandments of the LORD your God SO THAT you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you [ the "then you will"]."  

Do you see it?  "So that" so often means what blessings God will bestow on us in return for our obedience to Him.  In the case of the Israelites, it sounded like this:  "If you are obedient to all of My commands, then I will give all of the land to you so that you can pass it on to your children."  It can also mean what consequences might come for disobedience.  God could have just as easily stated this same verse from a negative point of view.  That would have sounded something like this:  "Refusal to obey Me will result in disaster SO THAT you may not possess the land and pass it on to your children." "So that" points to the "then," the action God will take, whether favorably or unfavorably.

 You can see it again in the following verse (vs.9) as David speaks to his son.  "If you seek Him, (then) He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, (then) He will reject you forever."  Either response from Solomon will surely have the appropriate consequence!

Just prior to the if/then of verse 9 you can clearly see the way to avoid the unfavorable consequences in your own life.  It is as true for you today as it was for Solomon hundreds of years ago.  It is simple, and yet profound and eludes the grasp of many Christians.  These 4 points are timeless and will never fail you:

1. Know God
2. Serve Him
3. Give Him your entire heart
4. Willing follow

In every choice you make God wants you to know Him so well that you choose as He would have you.  It matters not how you serve Him, but that you serve Him alone.  God does not want your leftovers, but your whole heart.  God wants you to stop leading so that He can!

"Consider now . . . be courageous and ACT!"  (2 Chronicles 28:10)  As the picture says, "If you'd just do as you are told, then it might all work out right!"  Obedience and disobedience are choices.  What will you choose?

What Does Your Giving Look Like?

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God loves a cheerful giver and we are to consider it a greater thing to give than receive.  We have known these biblical principles for giving almost since the day we first believed.  They are taught in Sunday School classes from the youngest to the oldest.  And yet most believers find it hard to give up what they really want to hang onto.  If the truth were told, we often give grudgingly, trying to hold as much back for ourselves as we possibly can.  And we seem to be much happier when we are the recipient of a gift, rather than when we are the giver. 

We often think of the woman who gave her last to coins, and some how we let ourselves off the hook by dropping a couple of bucks into the offering plate on Sunday, truly believing we have done as  well as she did.  We forget that they were her entire bank account!  She had no more money left in her leather money pouch.  She gave everything she had left.  Is that how you give?  I know I don't.

It seems that in this day and age, and especially in a country whose materialism is sin, that we have no idea what it is to give so sacrificially.  More often than not we are guilty of giving whatever amount we think that will "get us by."   We throw in a five dollar bill with the full knowledge of what we have spent the rest of our money on, bills, yes, but also on ourselves in the selfish accumulation of things and services that feed our flesh.  And there are those who began tithing a tenth of their income, who are as comfortable in that as the one who throws his crumbs into the pot of giving.  If it is no longer a sacrifice to give our 10% then should we be considering 12%?  

I am being challenged in my own giving right now.  God has been pointing me to "other offerings" that no one but Him sees.  And if I am honest, it is a struggle sometimes in my flesh to let go of the few extra dollars He is asking me to give.  As I submit (sometimes willingly, sometimes not) I am finding that it truly is more fun, more fulfilling, more joyful to be on the giving end. 

In one story in the Old Testament God has shown me two principles by which we are called to live:  Willingness to give everything and Being unwilling to give something to God that has cost me nothing.  Here is the story found in I Chronicles 21.

David had foolishly took a count of all of Israel's people, looking to see just how big his army now was.  This showed his lack of trust in God, and there would be an undesirable consequence for his sin.  David was asked to choose between three punishments.  He chose pestilence on the land and 70,000 men died.  David called out to God to stop the death that he was fully responsible.  Having accepted his responsibility in the matter, God's angel told him to go to Ornan and build an altar on Ornan's threshing floor.

David obey and went directly to Ornan.  When Ornan saw his king approaching, he laid down with his face to the ground, an act of humility and submission.  Then King David asked Ornan for the site of the threshing floor, and offered to pay him the full "asking price."

Now we see the two principles come forth, one from Ornan, and one from David.  Ornan's response to the King was that he not only take the land for his altar to God, but he also offered David the oxen for the  sacrifice, wood for the necessary fire, and the wheat he had just been threshing for the grain offering.  Ornan was willing to give everything David needed.  He held nothing back from his King.  Are we willing to do the same for our King?

Now let's look at David's response to such an offer.  His simple answer was this:  "No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, or offer a burnt offering which cost me nothing."  David knew that for his sacrifice on the altar (in his case for the sin he had committed) to be pleasing to his God, it would have to cost him something.  

God can see our hearts.  He knows what our thoughts and attitudes toward giving are.  Does He see  a willingness in your heart to give above and beyond what you normally would?  Does He see, too, that you are willing to sacrifice what you want so that what you offer Him truly costs you something?  Or do you just want to stay in the "comfort zone" of your current style of giving?  David brought his own animals and grain to offer to God, and the pestilence on the land stopped.  If he had used what Ornan was willing to give, it is likely that the pestilence would have continued.  David also paid the full price for the land out of his own pocket.  The blessing of God on the sacrifice of David's heart as well as the burnt offering is this:  the threshing floor of Ornan became the exact spot where Solomon's temple was erected!  God sees into our hearts and responds accordingly!

 

Are You Dressed Appropriately?

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The Full Armor of God

If you are a believer, you are engaged in a vicious battle.  I bet you didn't need me to tell you that!  As Christians we know that there is a battle raging in the heavenlies over our souls.  God has us; Satan wants us.  We have been schooled in this topic; we know that we are often attacked in the area of temptation.  But there is just one problem that I can see, in my life as well as in the lives of the believers I know.  We do not often WIN the battle at hand.  What is it that keeps us from winning?  Simple.  We are not wearing the proper attire for battle!  All to often we find ourselves in the midst of an all out attack, and our armor is still hanging neatly in our closet!  Or maybe this sound more like you. . .You always have your helmet of salvation on, but the rest of your armor has gone missing.  You are not even sure where you left your sword!

Today while I was reading in I Chronicles 12, I came across a description of David's military force.  Think again of the picture in your mind of you, as a warrior against the enemies of God, inappropriately lacking pieces of your armor.  Now consider David's army as described in the  Word:

• Mighty men of valor
• Men trained for war
• Men who could handle both shield and spear
• Men whose faces were like that of a lion
• Men who were swift in action

As I considered how often I go out each morning to battle, with my helmet of salvation tightly strapped on to my head and the Word of God, my sword, in my hand ready to fight if necessary.   Yet, I lack the rest of my armor.  Realizing this,  I began to understand just why it is that I am prone to lose my battles with temptation.  You see, I know I am saved; but I set out each morning, knowing the enemy desires to do battle with me, leaving behind the rest of my armor except for the study I have done that morning.  Though having my helmet on and my sword in my hand, it is not sufficient armor to win.  On these days, dressed inappropriately for battle, I cannot win.  

In my case I must go to that closet, take out and put on the pieces I so often leave behind.  There is the breastplate of righteousness, that covers and protects my heart, and the belt of truth that helps me discern the lies that the enemy tells me.  Going barefoot is of no military help when I leave my shoes of the gospel of peace on the floor of my closet.  Those shoes are a reminder that God and I are on peaceful terms now because of the shed blood of His Son on my behalf.  And what good is a soldier without his shield of faith?  One cannot walk in both fear and faith at the same time.  It is one or the other.  Without faith in full bloom, the enemy will terrorize us fear, shooting us with one fiery dart after another.  With no faith in place, no truth in place, no righteousness in place, no peace with God in place, our relationship with God and His word will not prevent us from being hit over and over again by an enemy seeking to destroy us.

We must learn that it is vitally important to our walk with God that we be Mighty Children of Valor -- trained to fight, able to use our shield of faith and sword of the Spirit together, with a face of strength, being willing to act quickly against every temptation of our enemy.  

This was the description of David's mighty men.  Is it a description of you?  If not, you need to go to your closet and drag out that dusty armor, and put it on!  Don't leave home without it!