Hearts like the Tabernacle

Not too long ago I finished reading Exodus, and if you've ever read Exodus, you should know that there is an extensive amount of chapters about the Tabernacle (15 to be exact, beginning at Exodus chapter 25 and ending at the last chapter (40) of Exodus).

The Tabernacle (in Hebrew it is translated as "residence" or "dwelling place") was originally built to be a place where God could dwell among His people, the Israelites, as they journeyed through the desert. During the day it would be covered by a cloud, and by night there was a fire in it to show God's presence and protection.

However, this post isn't to discuss those aspects of the Tabernacle, but rather to discuss a comparison.

Previously I mentioned how the Tabernacle was designed as a place where God could dwell among His people. In scripture, God commanded the Israelites to create it in a specific way, with specific objects, such as different elements like silver, gold, and bronze, along with various linens, etc. Just read through some of the chapters in Exodus and you'll see how extensive the details were! He did not just let the Israelites throw together some simple hut and assume God would want to dwell in it. No, rather, He told them the exact measurements and items to use for its creation.

We know, through scripture, that when we are saved by God, and become followers of Jesus, the Holy Spirit automatically and instantly is within us. 

"Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?"

1 Corinthians 3:16

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?"

1 Corinthians 6:19 

What if I said your heart is almost like a tabernacle for the dwelling of the Holy Spirit? 

Would you say that you've tried to create a little, shabby hut for the Holy Spirit? 

Or are you allowing and asking God to transform your heart to make it more like the Tabernacle, a place that is beautiful and constantly seeking to be holy and blameless before God?

My Challenge to you: Whether your heart is on the shabby side, or on the more tabernacle-like side, remember to constantly be seeking for God to work in your heart to make it more pleasing to Him and a dwelling place worthy of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, it is NOT our own doing that transforms our heart, but always, always the Lord's. Depend on Him to transform your heart, not yourself. Maybe if certain rooms of your "tabernacle heart" are in need of a spring cleaning then pray about it, seek God! Ask Him to help you work on those areas to make them more pleasing to Him!

Note: Just to clarify, the Holy Spirit will not leave you if your heart isn't "good enough" or if you have areas to work on. Once you become saved by God, you are always saved. My main point was to encourage and motivate followers of Christ to continually be working on making their heart and mind more pleasing to Christ.

P.S. Wouldn't that be a sweet band name (Hearts like the Tabernacle)? Just my opinion... ;)

Do you hate sin like you hate pimples? Part 2

Note: To all guy readers, do not be turned away due to the use of words like "pimple" and "clear skin", etc. This post is in no way girly at all! It's just metaphorical, so please read and enjoy! ;)

On Monday I wrote a blog post describing the metaphorical relationship between pimples and sin. If you haven't read it, you can by clicking here!

Let's continue on! Keep in mind that this post will be done through the using of the metaphor, so hopefully you won't get too confused. :)

What if I'm constantly breaking out?

If sin is constantly having control over your life and perhaps you're even letting it - then maybe you were never freed from sin to begin with. When you become saved through Jesus Christ, you're then automatically freed from the bondage of sin. Check it out:

Romans 6:6-11

"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. that we should no longer be slaves to sin—Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  ¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Romans 6:18
"You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

This is not to say that you will never sin or struggle with sin again, rather it means that because of your being born again, you are now at an advantage with Christ to overcome and defeat sin - just as Jesus did. If you find yourself constantly giving into sin in various aspects of your life, rather than giving it up for Jesus' name and because you love Him - maybe you should reevaluate your heart and find where it's truly at. 

If you do know Jesus yet continue to sin against Him, He will certainly discipline you(Hebrews 12:4-13). He does this out of love, like a parent to child. I have seen Him do this in my life and in the end, all I can speak of is thanks to His name.

What if I have a reoccurring pimple?

For some of us, if not all, there is a specific sin that always seems to be knocking at our door. One day we may think we have fully overcome it in every way, just for it find us where we are the next day. The struggle can go deep - it can relate back to past events in our lives or things that have caused us to think or act a certain way which relate to this sin. If there is a reoccurring sin in your life that seems to continually have its grip on you, I encourage you to seek out the power and strength of Jesus.

Romans 6:22

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

1 Corinthians 10:13

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

Remember, through the death of your old self, and the new life given through Jesus, you are set free from sin. It is no longer your master, but rather Jesus is. Though you may be tempted, you may also overcome that temptation as well! In tempting moments, Jesus can and will provide the strength you need to say no to whatever it is - but you must seek Him out in those moments. Say a prayer, read your Bible, call a close friend, etc. All these things are helpful and necessary when struggling. I will say that you may never be completely free from the temptations of certain sins, but you ALWAYS have a choice to obey or disobey Jesus. You will always have the opportunity to turn to Jesus in those moments - and I encourage you to! There is is nothing quite like the feeling of overcoming and defeating temptation and sin. :)

 
Why doesn't my skin ever completely clear up?

As previously mentioned, though we are now at an advantage towards sin, we are still sinful. We are still bound by the curse of sin until we die. The fight is tough and some times can be very discouraging. There can be very low and dark points, but we also can remember and trust in the promise of Jesus Christ. 

Hebrews 12:1-3

" ¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

1 Timothy 6:12

"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

No matter how difficult the struggle or how powerful the temptation of sin may be, there is nothing that can compare to the victory and joy in Jesus! Hold fast unto Him and you will see this victory! :)

Here are some things to keep in mind while dealing with sin:

1. Don't do things that lead to breaking out.

I know this doesn't necessarily apply to guys, but I think you'll still understand. When a girl tries on a make-up, lotion, etc. and it causes her to break out, she DOES NOT buy that product again. Makes sense right? 

The same thing applies to sin. If you know doing a specific thing, thinking a specific thing, being with a specific person, etc. will cause you to be tempted to sin, THEN DON'T DO IT. It is a very foolish thing to know what causes your temptations and then to continually put yourself in those spots. It may take sacrifice, but if you truly love Jesus, no sacrifice could be of too great worth, not to mention the sacrifice He made for you! 

2. It isn't YOU alone that gets rid of your pimples.

Think of it this way: You use facial cleansers or medicine to help get rid of the pimples you deal with. If it weren't for these cleansers or medicine, then your pimples may be more rampant and out of control. You yourself cannot really or truly get rid of your acne problems. The same goes with sin and Jesus. If you're not depending on Jesus (aka the "cleanser") in parts of your life where sin (ance) is prevalent, then you cannot expect for it to go away or for you to overcome it. The truth is, as sinful human beings, we are weak. It would be an unwise thing to depend merely on your own will power to defeat certain sinful struggles in your life. (John 15:5 - Apart from Christ you can do nothing) So stop depending on yourself if you are and depend on the power of Jesus!   

Titus 2:11-12

"For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,"

Once again, there is hope and victory in the name of Jesus! If you trust and depend on Him to bring you to this victory then I guarantee you that you WILL see it!

3. It's a process

Just like pimples, they don't just quickly vanish or go away. It takes time, typically several days for it to come and go. The same applies to sin in our lives. If you are quick to spot the pimple AKA sin coming on in your life, and apply some form of cleanser AKA Jesus (reading God's word, praying, seeking council, etc.) then the quicker it should go away. Still however, some pimples can really take their good 'ol time on leaving. Don't be discouraged if sin is not so easy for you to be rid of in your life. Through this constant process of having to trust in Jesus for Him to enable to you to overcome it, your relationship with Him can grow tremendously! 

My Challenge to you: Keep running the good race and trusting in Jesus! Think about the principles and concepts I mentioned and see where they can apply to your life. As followers of Christ, we are already on the winning side, so don't forget that and keep serving your Jesus! :)

Are YOU in need of a paint job?

This past week was Christmas break, which pretty much all went to painting my room. (I will do a separate post on that eventually.. :)). 

As I was painting, I noticed something.

I had a lot of marks on my wall that had been created over time. Along with that I had many, MANY holes from hanging up things or posters, etc. With a little plaster and paint, all those marks were covered and seemed to simply vanish. It was as if my wall had a fresh start and all those marks were forgotten! 

"Okay Rachel... why are you telling us about disappearing marks and holes?" You may think.

By covering over these marks, something dawned on me.

Is this kind of like what Christ does for us? 

He takes our bruised, damaged and marked up hearts and "paints" us a new, clean and transformed one. 

Through His covering over of our sins, He presents us with a brand new and unstained heart!

(No, this is not a picture of my wall. It wasn't THAT bad, thankfully!)

Thank you Jesus, for giving us all "paint jobs" to our hearts. :)

So what do you think? Do you need a paint job? Maybe a few "touch ups"? 

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Are you ready for the test?

The big day has arrived. You're sitting in your chair, and in front of you lies the dreadful exam you've been preparing for. You've studied hard and are sure you know all the material. You're a bit nervous but you feel confidence in the truth you took time to learn. You open the test and suddenly, your mind goes blank. "I have no idea what the answer is!" "This is not like the problems I practiced! It's different!" 

Ever been there? I have! It's a nerve-racking place, isn't it? You thought you knew all the material and told yourself you were ready for the test. But when it came down to it, when you were faced with the challenge, your stability suddenly became weak and crumbled. 

Through recent experiences in my life, that have had an incredible effect on my heart and mind, I've realized that I struggle with this principle so greatly in regards to God.

Have you ever found yourself at a place where you knew the truths of God--in fact, you've heard them time and time again and could easily say that you believe and know them--but when the test came, and you were forced to really live out that faith and believe, you suddenly realized that it's a lot more difficult than you thought?

Believing in Jesus and what He says is one thing.

Following and genuinely trusting in His word is another.

I can say that I know full well the truths of Jesus, but I also admit that sometimes I have trouble actually following and trusting Him that they are all true and that He means them. 

It's a surprising place to find yourself in, when you were so sure of yourself, to then realize how weak you really are. I've come to this understanding in my life over the past couple months. It's very easy to hear the lesson, to hear the truth. Just like they say, it's easy to talk the talk... but to walk the walk? To live out those truths? To pass the test when life throws lemons at you? Can I do that? Can YOU do that?

Technically, as sinners, we are capable of pretty much nothing other than sinning, and ultimately we must depend on Jesus and His profound strength to survive and continue on. But are you willing to rely on Jesus with all that you are? Are you willing to say "Jesus, I trust You, even though I'm scared/confused/frustrated/uncertain/in the dark."?

The one thing about difficulties is that they show true character. They show who you really are and what happens to you and your character when push comes to shove.

Is the hope of Jesus within you today? Can you remember, even in the darkness, that there is light and Jesus will bring you to it, that all you must do is trust in Him?

Perhaps things in life are going fairly well for you, that's great... Remember to praise Jesus! But what about the future? What about when that inevitable difficulty comes to you? Will you push through.... Or will you cave under the weight of uncertainty or of another emotion? We know that this is not God's will for us to carry this burden and in fact it's rather the devil who plants in those thoughts of fear and doubt as shown in Galatians 5..

Galatians 5:7-9

"You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?  That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."

Yesterday I came across some very encouraging verses...

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

 James 1:2-4, 12

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ..... Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him."

1 Peter 1: 6-7

"In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

My challenge for you (and myself): Don't only believe in the truths of Jesus but FOLLOW them, and LIVE them out! If/when troubles in life come your way, do not be like the seed that lands on the rocky soil, and quickly withers. But be strong and courageous in Jesus. Know that there is light, there is hope, there is a future, and whatever you're facing is only a stepping stone to it. Then you may succeed in Christ and get your "A+" on the test! ;)