Grains of Sand

Google Images The judgment has been pronounced. Eli, Shiloh’s priest, had not reined in his sons. As spiritual leaders they had failed miserably and God had announced, through the boy Samuel, that their dynasty would come to an ignoble end (1 Samuel 2:34-36). In 1 Samuel 4 we discover what that end was to be. The Philistines were pressing and Israel’s army was unable to get the upper hand against them. Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas, thought that by taking the ark of the covenant out of the Tabernacle and taking it into battle with them, that this would guarantee success against the Philistines. Wrong. The end result was that the Philistines won the battle, the two sons were killed, the ark captured and Eli died of the shock. Even Eli’s daughter-in-law died in childbirth that same day, declaring as she passed, “ The glory has departed from Israel ” (4:21). In the midst of all this tragedy and all the lessons to be learned from it, I thought about the ark. It was a sy...

When everything was completed and all the instructions had been given, Moses and the Hebrew people gathered to experience God. “ Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle ” (Exodus 40:34, 35, NIV). God was pleased. The presence of His glory was proof of that, a glory so evident that there was room for nothing and for no one else. So it is when God’s glory fills our lives. There is room for nothing and for no one else when God has complete possession.

Reading: Daniel 7-9; Revelation 4 The bulk of the book of Daniel involves a series of visions and encounters with God that Daniel had during his time in Babylon. Here is one of the most beautiful ones. “ As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing coming out from before him. Thousands and thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened ” (Daniel 7:9, 10, NIV). This vision of Daniel is reminiscent of sections of Revelation that describe God and the final judgment (Revelation 1:13-16; 20:11-14). Daniel’s vision continues: “ In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds or heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He wa...

Reading: Jude “ To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more! Amen ” (vss. 24, 25, NIV) I think the first time I hear these verses was from the lips of one of our summer interns. He had preached what I suspect was his first sermon and was about to close the service. Looking back on the scene, I imagine that he was nervous; afraid that he would forget the words he’d so carefully memorized. Someone had told him that he needed to hold out one of his arms as though he were placing his hand on someone’s head in blessing. It looked awkward, though I’m sure the gesture became more familiar with time and practice. With a fierce look of concentration on his face, he pronounced this blessing from the book of Jude. Since then I’ve heard the words quoted many times. I’ve quote...

Reading: Ezekiel 33-36 As is our nature, we believe that just about everything is all about us. To some extent that is true. Take, for example, this Biblical truth: Jesus died for our sins. Absolutely! That truth is certainly about us. Anyone who has had much experience with the church has memorized these famous lines: “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life ” (John 3:16, NV). God loves. He gives. He saves. That’s about us. But there is another factor here that comes into play. Behind the loving, the giving, the saving, is the glory of God. When the cycle of sin began in the Garden of Eden, God’s reputation was damaged. It wasn’t that He couldn’t have kept His Creation on the “straight and narrow.” He chose to give man the right to choose. But giving man that right to choose has always been viewed as a weakness in God. If He is God, He NEEDS to make people do what HE wants them to d...

I had just gotten into my reading this morning when I was stopped dead in my mental tracks by this little verse: " And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple " —1 Kings 8:11, NIV. The scene: The newly finished temple just prior to Solomon's dedication celebration. The ark of the covenant had just been brought into the Most Holy Place and as the priests withdrew, the Lord descended in the form of a cloud. When was the last time God was so obviously present with us? When was the last time the spiritual leaders of my church couldn't function for no other reason than God had come and taken their place? I don't remember such a time, but I want to, dear Lord, how I want to. If I had been Solomon what would I have done? The people are standing there watching the descent of the cloud. Their spiritual leaders are rendered useless by the presence of God in His temple. Solomon speaks—and in his pr...