Wednesday, July 9: 1Kings 5- Building a life in Christ.

The temple for the Lord was a mighty undertaking. Wood contracted from Lebanon. Stone quarried from the Israeli hills. Nearly 200,000 workers. And this does not include preparing roads and carts and tools needed to quarry and carry all these building supplies from the field to the work sight, which was atop Mt Zion.

As I was picturing all this, I began to picture the building of the Temple as a metaphor for building my (our) spiritual lives. Growing in Christ-honoring maturity takes an all-in effort…

·         Felling the timbers of sin in my life and dragging them away through confession and repentance.

·         Quarrying the Word of God to build a strong, sturdy and secure foundation for my life.

·         Setting in place the habits and disciplines needed to construct a life of faithfulness to my Lord God.

·         Roofing my life with the covering of a church community that helps me grow and walks with me through life’s many ups and downs.

·         Adorning the walls of my life with Fruit of the Spirit and the characteristics of Christ, my Savior.

Yes, all of this takes much effort on my part and yours. Am I giving the effort needed? Are you???

Lord, I pledge the building of my life to You. I dedicate my life to Your service and Your honor. May it be something beautiful and useful for You. Through my Savior, Jesus, I pray. Amen.