When the house [Solomon’s Temple] was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry; so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the temple, while it was being built. (1 Kings 6:7 RSVA)
Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21 GNB)
Have you ever wondered why we are so scattered from one another when it comes to fellowship? Those of us who really want to have loving communion together in Christ seem to be scattered all over the globe and it is rare that two saints who seek real depth of relationship in the Spirit live in close proximity with one another. I thank God for the internet! Could it be that we, as Paul said, would come together not for the better, but for the worse? And that the whole thing would be counter-productive if we came together too soon?
In the above verse from First Kings, we see that while Solomon’s great and magnificent temple was being built, the sounds of any iron tools at the temple site was absolutely forbidden. Each stone and timber had to be made to fit with precision many miles away, and once they were brought to the temple site, no pieces could be chipped or sawn off to make them fit. All this work on each stone and timber was done under the supervision of the Master Builder in advance while these pieces were in isolation. Isn’t this a magnificent picture of what God is doing today?
The New Testament tells us that each of us is a living stone being fashioned to fit together in His holy and eternal temple which is not made with hands (See Ephesians 2:20-22 and 1 Peter 2:1-9). We long to finally be “fitly joined together” in heavenly fellowship, but God seems to put a higher value on the preparation of each of us than He does on the final assembly of the temple.
Although we long to be assembled together as God’s house, if we are assembled too soon we will not fit. The house will be divided against itself and it will not stand. Like Herod’s temple that was not built by God’s design, not one stone will be left upon another. God’s judgment will be on it because it was not built according to His eternal design.
David discovered that God is very specific about how things are to be done when he tried to move the ark. When he moved it on an oxcart, just as the Philistines had, the result was the death of Uzza. Finally David asked God why, and when he heard His answer, David told the priests:
For because ye [did it] not at the first [move the ark of God], the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order. (1 Chronicles 15:13 KJV)
Isaiah prophesied that when God sets out to do something, He will not deviate from that plan. The beginning governs the end.
Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ (Isaiah 46:9-10 RSVA)
God knows our end from the beginning. He knew from the very foundation of the world how each one of us fits in His heavenly temple. He knows what needs to happen in each of our lives to shape us into what is needed and best for us. He has the master blueprint in His mind and there is no deviation permitted from it. It was because of this that Paul prayed,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved… For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will, we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-12 RSVA – emphasis added)
So, dear saints, though it feels like God is not getting anything done according to our short time span, be assured that He will accomplish all that He has set out to do in perfecting each one of us into the image of His Son. All we can do is yield ourselves “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him.” Our Daddy is doing a perfect work in us and will continue to do so, though it seems that the whole world around us is racing to hell at high speed. Remember one thing–God’s purposes will not be deterred even if our own smaller plans seem to be suffering in the short run. It is not our worldly perspective and design that He is building from, but His eternal plan and we will be far better off in the long run that our immature view points did not prevail. Or as Paul put it,
May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you will do it, because he is faithful. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 GNB – emphasis added)
Alexander MacLaren wrote in his commentary with great insight about our text in 1 Kings 6:7 saying,
Perhaps it was merely for convenience of transport and to save time that the stones were dressed in the quarries, but more probably the silence was due to an instinct of reverence. We may fairly use it as suggesting two thoughts.
I. How God’s house is mostly built in silence. ‘The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation.’
In reference to its advance in the world:
Destructive work is noisy, constructive work is silent. God was in ‘the still small voice,’ not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. Christ’s own career, how silent it was! Drums are loud and empty. The spread of the kingdom was unnoticed by the world’s great ones-Caesars, philosophers, patricians, and it silently grew underground.
[This is]: {a} An encouragement to those whose work is inconspicuous, {b} A lesson not to mistake noise and notoriety for spiritual progress and, {c} Guidance as to our expectations of the advance of Christ’s kingdom… Sudden changes are short-lived changes. ‘Lightly come, lightly go.’ What matures slowly will last long.
In reference to its growth in our souls, silence is needed for that. There must be much still communion and quiet reflection. The advance in the Christian life is variously likened to a battle, since there are antagonists and struggle is needed to overcome; and [as it is with plant life]… the mysterious indwelling life works without effort and almost without consciousness… the work of building is work that must be done in silence. If we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, we must silently drink in the sunshine and dew, and so prosperously pass from blade to ear, and thence to full corn in the ear.
Surely nothing is more needed in these days of noisy advertisement and measurement of the importance of things by the noise that they can make, than this lesson of the place of silence in Christian progress, both for individuals and for the Christian Church as a whole.
II. How God’s house is built of prepared stones:
That is true, in one view of the matter, in regard to the Church on earth, for there must be the individual act of repentance and faith before a soul is fit to be built into the fabric of the Church. There is providential training of men [and women] for their tasks before these are given to them.But the highest application of the symbol which we venture to find in our text is to the relation between the earthly and the heavenly life. This world is the quarry where the stones are dressed for the Temple in the heavens;
{a} Life is the chipping and hewing. The unnecessary pieces are struck off with heavy mallet and sharp chisel. Pain and sorrow are thus explained, if not wholly, yet sufficiently to bring about submission and trust, {b} The Builder has His plan clearly before Him, and works accurately to realize it. He perfectly knows what He means to build, and every stroke of the dressing-tool is accurately directed. There are no mistakes made in His quarrying and {c} We may be sure that the prepared stones will be brought to the Temple site and built into it… We may repose on the Apostle’s assurance that ‘He that has begun a good work in you will perform it,’ or rather on the more sure word of Jesus Himself, ‘He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God.’
A Wilderness Voice 
Excellent article, Michael! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
God’s ways of dealing with us so that we finally fit according to His view are certainly not ours and often times we might honestly realize that we do not want Him to deal with us the way He does since our old nature rebels against the divine chisel. But He will continue to transform us and won’t ask for our permission, either. One part of MacLaren’s exposition hit close to home with me. He wrote,
Life is the chipping and hewing. The unnecessary pieces are struck off with heavy mallet and sharp chisel. Pain and sorrow are thus explained, if not wholly, yet sufficiently to bring about submission and trust…
Pain and sorrow are not an end in themselves, instead, they reveal our inability to submit to God and to trust Him like little children. Such periods are always difficult to handle since it seems we cannot move and are somehow paralyzed until God frees us from that very uncomfortable position. And often times He lets us wait… and wait… and wait until we really quit trying to free ourselves and cry out to Him for help. Coming to the end of our rope is always the point where He begins to act, not one second earlier. Pheeew! It is not an easy path with the cross on our shoulders, is it…?
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Yes, Susanne, it was not until I finally was “played out” and willing to remain in His dark night He had me in forever if that was what He wanted that He finally started letting His light come in, but even that was a VERY slow change! Part of my willingness to stay there was finally acknowledging to Him that HE IS GOD AND I AM NOT!!! And that HIS WAYS are perfect, painful or not, and past finding out. At one point I finally “buried the hatchet” in my vendetta against Him for all the grief He let me go through. The whole thing gave deep meaning to a verse that He gave to me just before my wilderness started…
Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him. (Romans 12:1-2 CEV)
Thanks for your honest reply, dear sister! ⭐
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Wow Mike that is a very interesting perception and sure to require some contemplation!
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Thanks, Ken D. “Father, show Ken what it is YOU have for him in this article. Amen.”
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Very good and helpful. I’ve pondered and accepted that my wife and I have been alone for years, no other Christian to really relate to..other than on line…a few. I’m on a Christian forum where the majority are totally rebellious and blinded to clear scriptures concerning the NT assembly. You can say ‘water is wet’, and they’ll snap back with a smart mouth ‘so what’s your point. You sound bitter’. They never, ever answer the scriptures I submit. Total darkness, total stronghold. So you are right. Some of us are called out of Babylon to sit alone with the Master.
thanks.
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Devon, it is good to hear from you again. I know what you are talking about and how it feels to have no one locally besides your wife to communicate with about what is on your heart without a barrage of accusations coming back at you. I spent most of my walk in Christ isolated like that. But looking back on it now I think that the main lesson I had to learn was to answer one question and get it settled, “Do you love me more than these?” Do I really love Jesus more than I love having fellowship with the saints of God or being “right”? If not, why not? After much soul searching and stripping He returned me to my first love for I had become like the church at Ephesus (see Rev. 2:1-7) while complaining about the church at Laodicea.
I found that I can “…have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge… but [if] I have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2 RSVA).
As for those others who “just don’t get it” yet, unto their own Master they shall stand of fall and HE is able to make them stand. So for them I pray and leave it in HIS hands, for He got me to where I am and no one else. His sheep hear His voice and they follow Him.
Bless you and your dear wife, my brother.
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Not complaining, like in boo hoo me, but just reporting in the sorry state of Christendom. I do have hope that many will eventually succumb to reason and sound scripture. Like planting the seed of our film. Must wait for germination. We could say that the church is deader than dirt, but the good news is that seed does its thing in dirt. Smile.
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Yes, we might plant or water like Paul said, but it is God that brings forth the growth of that seed. Apart from Him we can do nothing. Even our “planting” is really up to Him…
He answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
(Matthew 15:13-14 RSVA)
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Well said! I like to think that we’ll all finally meet in heaven some day and recognize each other instantly. Hey, I remember you, you were on the other side of the world doing the same thing I was! 😉
Something I find interesting, for some 2000 years going back to the birth of Christ, the human population was essentially flat. It took some 1900 years for us to reach the first billion people. It is only in the last 70 years or so that we’ve grown to nearly 8 billion. If only ten percent of that 8 billion become Christians, there will be more Christians standing on earth at one time than there have been in all of human history combined. We hear a lot about the declining church, the lack of interest in faith, but if you look at the real statistics world wide, there are now more Christians on earth than there ever have been before and that number is only increasing. Soon we will reach a day when there are more of us alive and standing on earth all at the same time than the total number of Christians in all of history. I have no idea what that means, but it’s a tantalizing thought. 😉
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My mission is to sheep. Not many a hireling will dare admit to the truth of scripture if that truth yanks them down off their self exalted salaried position! Be free. Be blessed.
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Yet, there are Christians by name and then there are Christians with hearts fill with the love of God. I think that the latter category is less than 10% of the former. Like Jesus said,
“Not everyone saying to Me ‘Lord! Lord!’ will be entering into the kingdom of the heavens, but he who is doing the will of My Father Who is in the heavens. Many will be declaring to Me in that day, ‘Lord! Lord! Was it not in Your name that we prophesy, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name do many powerful deeds?’ And then shall I be avowing to them that ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, workers of lawlessness!'” (Matthew 7:21-23 CLV)
Thanks, Gabrielle. BTW, I don’t think you and I live as far apart as most on here do. 🙂
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The old testament temple was made of stone, the law was given on tablets of stone and the Lord on multiple occasions told Israel that its heart was made of stone. The new testament temple is made of flesh and blood and we, the living stones, are what comprise it. This is the church of which Jesus said, ” I will build my church and the gates of hell won’t prevail against it”. This is the church made without hands and the only one where Jesus alone receives all the glory because it is the builder of the house that receives all the glory and not the house. Whenever and wherever the living stones gather to honor and lift up the name of Jesus, they become the temple of the Lord. The Lord showed me a vision a few years back concerning this. In the vision I saw people coming together. As they came together they became living stones in a wall. As people would come to the wall they would be fitted into and become a part of the wall. The unique thing about this living building is that it had no roof. What I saw in the vision is the glory of God as its covering and the glmiracleory spiller out over the building.
I had some different things shown to me concerning the living stones . The Lord said the following to Moses:
Exodus 20:25
And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.
The church made without hands is one made by the Lord.
Lastly, in New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven there is no temple because the Lord and the the Lamb are its temple.
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Tony, you bring up some important points here. Thank you. As you point out, The temple that God is building gives glory only to Him because it is made of the loving, humble saints of God who are devoted to Him alone. Contrast that with the temples made by men in which men get the glory with their outward show of grandeur. Just as Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would come with no form or beauty that any man would desire Him, so it is with His living temple and kingdom that comes without outward observation. When we see hype and grandeur in what calls itself “church” today made with the hands of men, we can be sure that God is not in it!
Your vision is correct, in God’s temple the living stones are not shaped (or even mentored) by men, but the Spirit is their teacher (1 John 2:26-27) AND men are not their covering but Christ is for as Paul wrote, “The head of every man is Christ…”
Stephen said it so clearly and the builders that rejected Christ as the Head of the corner of that house hated him and killed him for it too…
Yes, the real question as to where the temple of God is found is in His question, “Where is the place of My rest?” Ambitious, restless and anxious hearts not provide a place for His rest, but those who rest IN Him do. As it was with the Jews, in all our dead works of the flesh we “do always resist the Holy Spirit.” You are right that the Father and Christ are the temple in heaven and we are also if we are one in the Father and the Son as Jesus prayed,
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Michael,
When I read this: “God knows our end from the beginning. He knew from the very foundation of the world how each one of us fits in His heavenly temple. He knows what needs to happen in each of our lives to shape us into what is needed and best for us. He has the master blueprint in His mind and there is no deviation permitted from it.” My heart skipped a beat. Such comfort and truth and grace in those words. Thank you.
I also very much appreciated these words by Alexander MacLaren: “Destructive work is noisy, constructive work is silent.” Wow. Wow. WOW! Yes, this rings so very true in my spirit! You and I have communicated privately and I have shared the nudging of the Spirit to quiet down, slow down, and not cause the “noise” I once thought I needed or was even required. It is a slow process. Some days my feet feel they are walking in sacred molasses, but God is faithful and He is revealing much to me as I have let the rest fall away.
With love,
B.
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Dear Becky, I was really blessed by your comment on my latest blog! It is always good to read that my words touched someone’s heart. The more I read MacLaren’s comments on the Bible, the more I think that he was the real thing… a man who could hear God and was not all strung-out on the traditions of men. Men like Chambers, Tozer and Sparks really bless me for they also listen outside the steeple box.
I know about the feet in “sacred molasses” thing quite well. We want to run out there ahead of Him and our feet start to stick to the ground. I saw it more like me being on one of those spring loaded leashes like a dog. At first I had lots of freedom to run off the sidewalk as my Master walked me and I was “over there, lifting my leg on that tree and over here on this fire hydrant.” But then ever once in a while I would hear this sound, “ZIP!” and I could no longer reach that tree like I used to. Finally, the leash got so short that I think His had was on my collar. 🙂 But I am finding out that being tucked under the shadow of His wings is where REAL freedom begins.
God bless you, my dear sister. In His love for you, too,
Michael
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As usual, a wise and profound message written in a spirit of humility. I especially liked the phrase you chose to characterize our culture: “measurement of the importance of things by the noise that they can make”. Thank you, Michael. ❤
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Thank you Anna. I thank God for your blog articles as well and your heart for the abused and hurting He sends your way. Yours is a work that is also hidden without fanfare and noise, but effective in His love.
God bless you, my dear sister! ❤
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This is so refreshing dear brother,
“Each stone and timber had to be made to fit with precision many miles away, and once they were brought to the temple site, no pieces could be chipped or sawn off to make them fit. All this work on each stone and timber was done under the supervision of the Master Builder in advance while these pieces were in isolation. Isn’t this a magnificent picture of what God is doing today?”
I’ve been feeling very lonely lately and yet more conscious than ever of a work of the Holy Spirit going on deep within me.
Thank you for faithfully sharing these so needed message to the living stones.
God bless you Michael.
Patrick
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Patrick, it is good to hear from you again. Be encouraged for the kingdom of God is within you and it comes without outward observation. He is doing a hidden work among His scattered saints and it is Christ IN you that is the hope of glory, the glory of the Father just as it shown on Stephens face.
God bless you, my brother!
Michael
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[…] Source: How God Is Building HIS Temple […]
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So timely Michael, just revisiting Zechariah looking to bring more out about this very topic as God is using the modern day Zerubabbels (governors) and Joshua’s (priests) to prepare New Jerusalem. Rebuilding the temple that just as Jesus said would be thrown down. Jesus said he would rebuild it after three days, God the father resurrected his physical body so what was Jesus talking about? He was talking about his church. After 2 days (thousand years) in the wilderness he is rebuilding his spiritual house preparing each lively stone away from the building site. (Huge insites Michael)
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Dear Chris,
I agree, this is very big for God is rebuilding His temple and Christ’s bride is making herself ready. If you are interested in what the Lord showed us some time back about Zechariah chapter four you can read it here…
“Grace, Grace Unto It” http://awildernessvoice.com/Grace.html
Yes, AFTER two days He will heal us and IN the third day (as with Christ) He will raise us up and we will dwell IN HIS SIGHT! This is exactly what He is doing in this hour. He is raising us up to dwell IN HIS SIGHT, not our own. For 2000 years the Laodicean church has reigned with carnal vision and no eye salve that they might see. No more. Or as John prophetically recorded…
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door [the closed doors to Christ of the Laodicean system], I will come in to him, and will eat with him, and he with me. To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says [not DID SAY] unto the churches. After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me [Jesus is no longer whispering]; which said, Come up here, and I will show you things…” (Revelation 4:1 KJ2000)
God bless you, my brother!
Michael
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Wow-
I just left a comment on another post, thanking God for the fellowship here, and then I read WHY we are separated, for now. I am in tears. Thank you, Lord!
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Dear Louise, Wow! Thank you for sharing this. You really touched my heart. “Thank you, Father, for Louise and her tender heart that longs to be one with you and all those who are Yours IN Christ. Amen.”
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Michael, thank you for the word, it is wonderful to be reminded of the scriptures. The scriptures are calling up to be fitted as living stones. I am so easily distracted from the truth that you have so clearly written. I pray to be single minded to the Truth.
Love in Him,
Pat Orr
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You are welcome, Pat. I thank God for who you are and for who He is making you to be in the image of His Son.
Thanks for your loving comment. You are in my prayers,
Michael
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Michael, I am always amazed and blessed by the marvelous way in which Holy Spirit takes the things we share in our phone conversations and using the gifts HE gave to you, Dorothy and others to put these things down in words. Jesus said, “The words I speak are SPIRIT and they are LIFE.” I am also amazed how DAD loses little in preparing we, “living stones,” to fit into a specific place with a specific function in HiS house for HiS glory.
I mentioned to you that sometimes I believe DAD must be Cajun. Because in our culture we Cajun folk use almost every part of the hog after slaughtering it from the snout to his curly tail. From the fatback to the feet. Some say we use everything but the squeal. Speaking of a pig squealing, there is nothing more sad and terrifying than the squeal of a pig being slaughtered. It is a sound like no other, because he just doesn’t want to die. Sound familiar? In the old days and even now in some of our local French speaking communities they have what is called a, “Boucherie,” where several families and neighbors who have raised hogs for meat will come together in the fall and early winter to slaughter their hogs. It is a wonderful time of fellowship with eating, drinking, music and dancing. Usually there is an older man or woman in the family who oversees the entire process because they are experts or masters of the, “Boucherie.” I see such a parallel between this process and that of our wonderful Heavenly Dad’s preparing us for use in His House. In the beginning of our own flesh being slaughtered we too put up an awful fuss, “squeal.” But the master is quite capable and has been at this for a long time, and He is undeterred by our squealing, crying, cussin n fussin, in HiS determination to, “complete the work which HE began to do in us.” Another interesting parallel between the two processes are, one is completely natural and the other is completely spiritual. But both take place away from the house/temple. No Cajun would ever slaughter his hog inside his house. And neither does our heavenly Father prepare us onsite. But away from man’s interference. No prying eyes, no good ideas or advice. Only one is in charge because HE is the only one qualified for the work. He really does not need nor does he appreciate our interference in the preparation process. The dichotomy between that which man has created and what DAD is creating is incomparable. We must stop trying to make the natural work with the spiritual. It never has worked and it never will.
John 1:1-5 THE VOICE translation: In the beginning
1 Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking.
The Voice was and is God.
2 This celestial Word remained ever present with the Creator;
3 His speech shaped the entire cosmos.
Immersed in the practice of creating,
all things that exist were birthed in Him.
4 His breath filled all things
with a living, breathing light—
5 A light that thrives in the depths of darkness,
blazes through murky bottoms.
It cannot and will not be quenched.
Bless all of you,
Ken
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Wow, Ken B! Written like a true Cajun! 🙂 Funny that you just brought this up. During my childhood in Idaho, my dad was poor school teacher and we were always scraping by and we ate a lot of deer meet. Well, when he harvested a deer out of season he call it a “high jumping hog.” Dot and I (yes she gets in there and helps with the cutting, grinding and wrapping, even assists in the skinning!) just finished cutting and packaging the deer I shot on Saturday. It was not a big one, but it will sure be tender.
We also raised hogs for a while and had a man come out and butcher our three sows when we moved into town. Pigs are really smart and these three gals had wormed their way right into my heart and were so excited to see me when I came home from work every day. It was so sad to have to put them down. Sad to say one of them did not die right away and I know that terrible sound you speak of. I will never raise pigs again. 😦 Sorry, folks that I did not wax spiritually profound in this reply! :-p
Thanks for writing, my brother!
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First, we are accepted in the Beloved when, “BORN AGAIN.)
Then, in fellowship with real Christians: become living stone together.PAT IN PARTICULAR HAD REJECTION . THEN, THIS REJECTION WAS CHISELED
AWAY IN FELLOWSHIP. SHE NOW, IS A LIVING STONE FIT TOGETHER
WITH THE SISTERS WHERE SHE WAS 1ST HEALED. TODAY, THIS FELLOW-
SHIP CONTINUES WITH THESE LADIES, IN FACT, SHE IS IN A BIBLE STUDY
WHERE MANY OF THESE SISTERS ARE PRESENT.
About silence: I like the 1st verse of a current anointed song: YOU RAISE ME UP!
“WHEN I AM DOWN, AND O MY SOUL IS SO WEARY,
WHEN TROUBLES COME, AND MY HEART BURDENED BE!
THEN, I AM STILL AND W AIT HERE IN (SILENCE) UNTIL
YOU C OME AND SPEND SOME TIME WITH ME!:
later..”YOU RAISE ME UP TO MORE THAN I CAN BE!”
Then: ” THERE IS NO LIFE, NO LIFE WITHOUT IT’S
HUNGER…..WHEN YOU COME, AND I AM FILLED WITH WONDER!
SOMETIMES I THINK I GLIMPSE ETERNITY!”
Chipping away: (PRUNING) John 15 vs 1-2. I OFTEN, MEDITATE ON
THESE. and: Song of Solomon: “ARISE MY DARLING, MY BEAUTIFUL
ONE: BEHOLD THE WINTER IS PAST..FLOWERS HAVE APPEARED
IN THE LAND! IT IS TIME: (PRUNING THE VINE.)
Just yesterday in reading David Wilkerson. ministry newsletter.
The subject: “PRUNING THE VINE: John 15 v 2!.
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Thanks, Bernie. Glad to hear your dear wife, Pat, is doing better.
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Dear Family,
One thing I’d like to add…”How” God is building His Temple?
He’s building it on the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth. Truth is the Cornerstone. God is a Spirit and they that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit AND in Truth.
It seems to me that our dear Abba is bringing HIs own back to the place as the Body of Christ where the Head of this Body is our First Love once more. What saith the Scriptures? is our way of life. We’re getting serious about the Truth in every area of our lives. We’re coming to understand that we truly don’t live by bread alone but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. I have to say that I’m loving every minute of this! 🙂 I believe a Revival of Truth 1st, Spirit-led children of God is getting ready to break forth. Worthy is the Lamb!
God bless you all as you follow hard after Him.
Oh and I’ll leave you with Mark 11:16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the Temple. 🙂
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Dear Renee, Thanks for you thoughtful reply. I have some verses that you might want to consider regarding the Truth. Jesus said,
You wrote, “One thing I’d like to add…”How” God is building His Temple? He’s building it on the Truth.”
Absolutely! Again it is Jesus upon whom His house is built.
You wrote, “It seems to me that our dear Abba is bringing His own back to the place as the Body of Christ where the Head of this Body is our First Love once more.” Amen to that! Christ is the Head of His body and He is coming back for a perfect bride. The thing that makes her perfect is that she is madly, ga-ga in love with HIM! Yes, that First Love relationship has been restored in her. This bride lives by every word that proceeds out of His mouth. She follows the Spirit of Christ wherever He blows. So much so that she has no need any longer that any man should teacher her for she has an unction abiding in her that teaches her all things and leads her into all truth.
Your verse in Mark is interesting in its context.
And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” (Mark 11:16-17 ESV). May we not be caught carrying anything in His temple either for it is a house of prayer and a house of rest…
Yes, WHERE is the place of His rest? If not in our hearts it surely is not found in buildings made with the hands of men, but that temple made of His living stones.
God bless and keep you in His Son,
Michael
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Austin-Sparks – “In Christ”…
“It is ever thus. The Holy Spirit mediates the sovereignty of the Head to and through the Body, and for this “holding fast the Head” heavenly union is essential. The Church is a heavenly body, not an earthly society, institution, organization. The ecclesiastical systems of this world which call themselves “the Church” and “the churches” are too often a grotesque caricature. There are no sects, denominations, “branches of the Church,” with God. Only one Church exists in the mind and interest of God, and that “the church of the first-born,” and all this other welter is because there has been an attempt made again and again to set up something for God on this earth as of the earth. God is not in this, but is leaving it to compass its own end in confusion, or proceed apace in its delusion. He is quietly, without sound of axe or hammer, putting His elect stones into a spiritual temple, a heavenly house. Only such as have the vantage ground of the heavenly places will see this, discountenance the false, and find full blessedness in doing what the Father is doing.”
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Thank you, GB, for sharing this paragraph from Brother Sparks. It really fits into what we were sharing. Where God is building His temple of living stones it is a place of quiet and solitude, a wilderness place where other men have not built before. And as it was prophesied of Christ so it is with His bride,
Her beauty is not that which the world seeks after, but the hidden beauty of the heart. “Only such as have the vantage ground of the heavenly places will see…” her as God does. Those things which are seen with carnal eyes are temporal, but those things which they can not see are eternal.
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Ps. 62 vs 5-8: “MY SOUL, WAIT SILENTLY FOR GOD ALONE, FOR MY HOPE IS FROM HIM! HE ONLY IS MY ROCK AND MY SALVATION; HE IS MY DEFENSE I SHALL NOT BE SHAKEN. IN GOD IS MY SALVATION AND MY GLORY; THE ROCK OF MY STRENGTH, AND MY REFUGE, IS IN GOD. TRUST IN HIM AT ALL TIMES, YOU
PEOPLE; POUR OUT YOUR HEART BEFORE HIM; GOD IS A REFUGE FOR US!”
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Thanks, Bernie. Great Psalm.
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This one really blessed me, Michael. Thanks, brother! 🙂
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Good to hear from you, Jack! I am glad you were blessed by what I shared here.
I hope we get to see each other one of these days soon, my brother!
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This was a word to my soul. Thank you.
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God is good and knows what we need just when we need it. Today He showed up when I needed it affirmed that He could still speak through me while I was fishing with a man at a local lake. Then later He affirmed me again with His love while I was having deep fellowship in the Spirit with another precious saint.
You are welcome, Lisa. Don’t forget, “In Him we live and move and have our being” whether we feel it or not.
Michael
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