July 6, 2022
Written by David VanOpstall –
“Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” 1 Chronicles 28:10
King David had a dream to build a house for God. But God had another idea. Even though David already had a magnificent palace, God told David that He would build a house for him – an everlasting kingdom from his family line. Our dreams are always outdone by God’s promises. But God did say a temple would be nice, because God’s people needed a place to unite, worship, and sacrifice. So again, the temple wasn’t really for God, it was for people.
God tells David that Solomon, David’s son, would build the temple. And in 1 Chronicles 28, David shares this news with Solomon and all Israel. “Be strong, and do the work,” he says. In between a dream and its fulfillment is always work. It’s the grind, the sacrifice, the attention to detail that makes all the difference in the end.
So what about us?
The New Testament says that now through Jesus, we are God’s temple. You see Solomon’s temple was destroyed a few hundred years after he built it. Then the Jewish people built another temple, and it was destroyed too. Then they did it again. Same result. So Jesus says that God is going to build an eternal temple, and Jesus will be the cornerstone. In the Bible, we are told that we, “like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house, to be a royal priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5) As we align ourselves with Christ, we become the people through whom others meet and experience God. The Holy Spirit of God dwells in us and guides us as we yield our lives to Him.
So what about you?
How do you reflect the image of God through your use of your resources like money and time? Maybe you don’t really know.
That’s what these sheets are for. Download them, print them out, and do the work.
Find out how you are spending your life, and consider aligning with the Christ who is the cornerstone. David didn’t get to fulfill his dream of building God a house. God said that was for the next generation. What will you and I sacrifice so that the next generation can fulfill the dreams God has put on their hearts?
