Just the exploding door and the trash would have been bad enough, but when I could clear the refuse from my sight, all manner of distorted and disfigured creatures began tumbling out, rolling over me, and then running off into the horizon. This was the heart closet, my sanctuary, where I had bowed before my Saviour so many years before. This was my spiritual pantry where I watched the pain, the shame, the scars and tragic memories become newly formed weapons for the Kingdom This is where He allowed me to place these broken things on the shelves for the service of others. I strained so hard to see if these weapons were still there on the shelves. They were there, but it would be some “roll up your sleeves” effort to make them presentable and useful once again. What in the world had happened to my quiet place, my sanctuary?
There was a day when the value or fame of a man was determined by the righteous deeds that he accomplished. Heroes stood for decency and a morally right character. Men of renown took ownership of a personal accountability, the kind of personal accountability that had respect written all over it, and “others” truly mattered.Through the onslaught of the irresponsible media in our current generation, cheers are lifted up for those who set an example of a belligerent attitude of antagonism toward righteousness. They do it "their way" with no thought for others. Wickedness is now the new good and righteous is the new bad. This is carried on to the point where the "heroes" of the day think it is fashionable to bare their fallen nakedness openly, to spit on any Godly image of parenting and home, to "flip" the proverbial finger toward the sky with a closed eye, and to take full advantage of the impoverished and abused to fuel their own self-centered cause (Proverbs 30: 11-14).
I truly think there is a reason for this that hits close to home with every believer. We have opened our "sanctuary" to these infectious attitudes of strangers, and turned a deaf ear to the voice of God.
I am not talking about our Churches, they are just the intersection of infection. No, I am not talking about our homes, they are just the incubator for disease. There is so much fighting in these quadrants that it sickens the heart of God and grieves the Spirit of God. The list of petty things we argue and fight over is overwhelming. Our public displays of personal displeasure empowered by our raunchy attitudes toward differences in ministry styles and parenting skills almost rivals the world's indecent performances. The Church and the Home are no longer safe because the Sanctuary is oozing with the stench of Hell and it is permeating all we say and do.
I am talking about the sanctuary of our heart.
Our brethren offend us. The Bible bores us. Spiritual conversations rock us to sleep. The "clutter and crap" in our sanctuary has literally piled its way to the door with NO room for the Holy. This infectious attitude was welcomed into our "sanctuary" when we were too lazy and/or too distracted to continue to adorn our sanctuary with the truth and praises of our God from His Word.
“Come and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath torn, and He will heal us: He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.” Ho 6:1 "Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary...O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name". Ps. 74:3,21
HLFA,
Jeff
“There is too much focus on the superficial. Too much emphasis on the appearance. With so little investment in the heart, at the first disappointment we encounter we may drain the supply of personal grace”. (J.J.R.)
“There will be no nerve touched and no healing in sight as long we focus only on the issues outside our hearts and stay focused on the faults of others”. (R.S.)