Relevant

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%209;%202%20Chronicles%208&version=NIV

Sunday's lesson in Bible Study will cover 1 Corinthians 6, including this passage in vs. 19-20:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

I mention this because as I read 1 Kings 9, I realized how relevant God's words to Solomon are to us today - not just in the context of our nation, or our church, but in the context of each of us individually. Why? Because God's dwelling place - God's temple today, this very moment, is you. Through the blood of Christ God no longer dwells among his people in a temple, but in his people as His temple. In light of the passage above, apply God's words in 1 Kings 9 to yourself as the temple, and suddenly the words are not longer those spoken to Solomon centuries ago. Rather, they are so very relevant to your life today.

Try this on for application and see how it fits as we move through verses 3-9:

God has heard your prayers.
He (through the blood of Christ) has consecrated you.
His name is on you, as are his eyes and his heart.
When you walk with integrity in your heart, upright, in obedience, then Christ will rule on the thrown of your life.

However:
If you turn away and walk in disobedience, serving other things in your life more than God, then he will remove his hand of protection from this area of your life.
That area of your life will show evidence of God's absence from it.
Those who see you will wonder why you are living your life as though God is not in it, even though you claim God's name is on it.

An accurate interpretation/application of how this applies to our lives today and every day? I'll let you decide. However, I do know this: When you walk closely with God, seeking the guidance of His Word and His Spirit daily, seeking to walk in obedience, then God's hand will be on you and guiding you. If you seek your own will or desires and put other people and things above God, it often occurs that this area of life end up in ruins. The beauty of God's grace is that when we return to God, the temple is restored.

So the question, perhaps, to lay before God is this: Lord - from what area of my life have I removed your name? Where am I turning from you and your commands and chasing after other things? Where have I decided I know best and taken control of my life? Show me, Lord, so that I might return to you. Show me the way Lord, to make the changes that I need to make so that I might be a temple that brings glory to your Name.

Today's post was submitted by Carol Bartels