Tag: DEVOTIONAL

Christian

We Are The Temple of God

Cindy Dawson

We don’t have to visit a temple to be in the presence of God. As Christ followers, we are the temple of God and He dwells within us. Isn’t that an amazing thought?

As I read about the building of the Temple, I was struck by the great wealth and incredible planning that went into it. It took Solomon seven years to build the temple. (See 1 Kings 5-8)

It is estimated that Solomon used over 8 million pounds of gold and 76 million pounds of silver. The gold and silver alone were worth a fortune! This does not include all the precious metals, bronze, iron, ivory, or cedar wood used in the temple. Extrapolating from the number, the total cost of Solomon’s temple including the labor costs (153,000 forced laborers) would have been well over half a billion dollars! Pure gold was everywhere! Even the wick trimmers were made of pure gold! No detail was overlooked.

Today, the Living God doesn’t live in a building. If you are a Christ Follower, He is literally living in you! Take a moment to let that soak in.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV (emphasis mine)

You may think Solomon’s temple came at an incredible price, and it did. But God purchased you at an even greater cost, the precious, priceless blood of Jesus Christ. So what does that mean to us today?

We must recognize that we are the temple of God and that we belong to God. He has a plan for us. We have been commissioned to go out and make disciples. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. This is obedience to the One who owns us, to love one another. We must examine ourselves to see if we are honoring the price He paid.

“. . . the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27 NIV (emphasis mine)

“Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” 2 Timothy 1:14 NLT (emphasis mine)

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” Ephesians 3: 14-17 NIV (emphasis mine)

Our bodies are no longer “our own” because we no longer belong to ourselves but wholly and completely to God. This is the single most important truth about our lives.”

David Jeremiah

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog  

Sources:

Jeremiah Study Bible

Photos by Center for Online Judaic Studies

Christian

Friday’s Verse, 7/12/24

Cindy Dawson

“And let the [gracious] favor of the Lord our God be on us;
Confirm for us the work of our hands—
Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17 AMP

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

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Christian

Quote of the Week, 7/10/24

Cindy Dawson

Like Daniel, we are here to love and show the truth of God’s salvation to all sinners, great and small. This includes those who vote differently, who are hostile to the church, who self-identify in ways that don’t mesh with Scripture, and who live only for themselves. I’m not saying we agree with their views or accept their sin. I’m saying that we love them with everything we have, because that’s how God loved us when we were lost in our own sins.” Amir Tsarfati, Discovering Daniel

I highly recommend Amir’s new book, Discovering Daniel. Available on Amazon.

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

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Christian

Don’t Judge by Appearances

Cindy Dawson

In 1884 a young man died and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him.  With that in mind they met with Dr. Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University.  Dr. Eliot received the modestly dressed couple into his office and asked how he could help them.

After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial to honor their son, Dr. Eliot impatiently said, “You know, I don’t have much time today, what would you like to give?  Perhaps a partial scholarship?’  The woman replied, “We are thinking of something more substantial than that.  Is it possible to maybe build a building for our son?”

In a patronizing tone, Dr. Eliot indicated the idea was probably a bit too expensive and he asked them to consider giving a scholarship in their son’s name and come back to see him next week when he had more time.  Dr. Eliot never saw them again.

One year later Dr. Eliot learned that this quiet, unassuming couple who were wanting to honor the memory of their son had gone out to California and established a $26 million dollar memorial named after their son.  Then it was called Leland Stanford Junior University.  Today it is simply called Stanford.

We all know the saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” Perhaps truer words were never spoken. As you can see from the story above, that can be a huge mistake!

Yet perhaps we do it more than we think we do. My sister used to work for a home builder. People would come in and tour beautiful model homes. She told me that some of the wealthiest people looked the most ordinary. You couldn’t tell by appearances who could afford these extravagant homes.

Jesus says in John 7:24: “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Only God knows the heart of a person.  Only God knows their motivations.

Assumptions can be dangerous.  Jesus is warning us to beware of making assumptions about other people.

(This post was inspired by a post by Bruce Cooper in Reasoned Cases for Christ which you can read here.)

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

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Christian

Friday’s Verse, 6/21/24

Cindy Dawson

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience … ” Hebrews 10:22 NIV

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

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Christian

Verse for Meditation, 6/20/24

Cindy Dawson

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 KJV

An old minister once said, “It’s not what you say, but what you do and who you are that makes the impact.”

Yes, we are to be holy and turn away from sinful desires. That’s true. But is that what he’s talking about? I think he’s talking about loving your neighbor.

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

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Christian

Friday’s Verse, 6/14/24

Cindy Dawson

“Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” Hebrews 9:14 NLT

My thoughts: We don’t have to live with shame and guilt because Christ has purified our consciences. He has made us NEW! PRAISE HIS NAME!

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

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Christian

Quote of the Week, 5/29/24

Cindy Dawson

(Satan) is amazingly effective at making lies believable … the only hope we have of being able to spot his lies is to be intimately familiar with the truth. We must be so well versed in the truth, so faithful to the truth, and such a doer of truth that he will not be able to deceive us with his lies. Apart from the Word of God, we are sitting ducks!”

Jim Osman, Truth or Territory?

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog  

Christian

Tuesday’s Verse, 5/28/24

Cindy Dawson

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13 NIV Read full chapter

Note: Context is important to properly understand verse 13.

“Christian contentment is the God-given ability to be satisfied with the loving provision of God in any and every situation.” Charles Kelley

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

RealChristianWomen.blog  

Christian

Unveiling David’s Secret: Loving and Cherishing God’s Word

Cindy Dawson

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts 13:22

There are no words I would rather hear from the Lord than “She is a woman after my own heart; she will do everything I want her to do.”

I sought to understand how David did this. How was he able to do everything God wanted him to do? How did he know and do God’s will? How was he so different than others that God would say such a beautiful thing about him?

The answer is found in Psalm 119. David repeatedly proclaims how much he loves God’s Word. Here are a few important verses, but I urge you to read the entire Psalm HERE. Notice that this man whom God called “a man after my own heart” loved and cherished God’s Holy Word.

“I will speak of your statutes before kings
    and will not be put to shame,
 for I delight in your commands
    because I love them.” Psalm 119:46-47

I think David is saying, “I will not be intimidated by anyone’s status. I will speak God’s Truth.”

“The law from your mouth is more precious to me
    than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.” vs. 72

If we want to be a woman (or man) “after God’s own heart”, we must be a lover of His Word. This is how we will do “everything He wants us to do.” There is no other way.

New Age-influenced “Bible teachers” have taught a way to pray called contemplative prayer. This method teaches Christians to have a conversation or dialog with God. They say, “God said this. I said that. Then God said…” etc.

There is nothing in the Bible to back this up. This is New Age mysticism. The Bible is our treasure. Why must we always search for something more? (Read a brief description of contemplative prayer HERE, or an in-depth description HERE.)

If we want to know God’s will, we must read and study the Word of God: the Bible. Then we must obey what it says.

This may not always be easy. Social pressure to go along with the world is tremendous. But the person who does God’s will is the person who knows His Word and obeys it.

“The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
    making wise the simple.” Psalm 19:7

This verse tells me that God’s Word can and should be trusted. It will make even the simple person wise. But contemplative prayer seeks more than what is written in God’s Word. The person engaging in contemplative prayer seeks a supernatural experience. But God’s Word is sufficient.

“Never take your word of truth from my mouth,
    for I have put my hope in your laws.” Psalm 119:43 NIV

“Indignation grips me because of the wicked,
    who have forsaken your law.” vs.53

“I am your servant; give me discernment
    that I may understand your statutes.” vs. 125

“Streams of tears flow from my eyes,
    for your law is not obeyed.” vs. 136

“My zeal wears me out,
    for my enemies ignore your words.” vs. 139

These proclamations by David reveal his heart, his love for, and his respect for God’s Word. Remember, it is God’s Word that equips you for service.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (emphasis mine)

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page, WHO IS JESUS?

Pray for Israel

All Scripture references are NIV.

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