In Loving Memory

[dave c]

HEALING SHELTER MINISTRIES #123j Re-Written 05APR08 http://groups.msn.com/AHealingShelter/welcome.msnw

No Wonder: Part Ten—In Loving Memory

by dave c

What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people" (2Co 6:16; NIV). The phrase “living God” appears some 15 times in the Old Testament and 13 times in the New Testament within the New International Version of the Bible. From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 we are continually reminded that our God is not a god of wood or stone, He is not a god of good ideas or philosophy, He is not a god of lusts or indifference, and He is not a god who is far away or dead. God is alive in the Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and, wonder of wonders, He chooses to come and live within and among those who will accept His offer of forgiveness and adoption into His family (Lk 17:20-21).

Acts 2:22 [Peter speaking] "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: "`I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence' (NIV). “My heart [our ‘organ’ for spiritual discernment] is glad,...my tongue [our ‘organ’ for expressing emotions and thoughts] rejoices, and ...my body [our extension into material existence] also will live in hope.” Through the pen of Luke, the Apostle Peter quotes King David’s expression of the great joy he knew in all three aspects of his life as spirit, mind, and body because he knew that God was at his right hand—that God was with him.

David is known as “the man after God’s own heart” (Ac 13:22). Throughout his life he unabashedly expressed himself honestly and openly before his Lord, whether in private or in public. He sang and danced, he laughed and mourned, he blessed and cursed, he fought and loved, he asked with confidence and he cried out to his God in the gamut of all that it means to be alive—really alive. David celebrated his love, his faith and his hope without fear of ought but God, Himself, and without the inhibitions of custom and tradition that threatened to stink the joyful life right out of the worship of his day...and ours. If we truly believe that our God lives, that He really dwells within the individual Christian as well as within the gathering of the Body and Bride, and that He is actually our “Abba Daddy,” then why do we conduct so many of our Church services as if they are a memorial for some powerful, but unknown, stranger from the past? Our God is the almighty creator of heavens and earth, and He is the God who delivered us out of slavery to sin and the systems of the world, but He is also the God who sealed us with the Holy Spirit and gave us spiritual gifts, fruit, and power to know and experience right here and right now. We have been saved...and we will be saved...but we are also, right here and right now being saved. That is cause for great celebration.

I fear we find at least part of the problem in Michal’s embarrassed response to David dancing before the Lord wearing nothing but an ephod as the ark was returned to Jerusalem (2Sa 6:12-23). She was the child of a king and the wife of a king and she expected to act, and to be treated, with the dignity afforded a person of such noble authority and position. Her pride could not allow for unseemly behavior in public (perhaps not even in private), especially on the part of her husband, the King of all Israel and Judah. Interestingly, Second Samuel 6:23 tells us: And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. (NIV). The Body of Christ is also described as “the children of a king” and as “the bride of a king,” and, like Michal, the Church is too often self-aware, self-assured, and self-satisfied. And like Michal, we are too often childless. In Romans 14:17&18, Paul tells us that the kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men (NIV). There is a difference between “being pruned” and “being a prune.” There is a difference between “sanctified” and “sanctimonious.”

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you (Ps 51:10-13; NIV). May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ro 15:13; NIV). Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth! (Ps 47:1&2; NIV). Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1Th 5:16-18; NIV). Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy (Ps 33:1-3; NIV). To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen (Ju 1:24&25; NIV). Yes, Lord...amen...and amen.