Good Morning Friends,
Stephen was accused of preaching about trying
to change the customs of the Law of Moses and destroy the Temple. Those were
outrages to the Jewish rulers and they brought him to trial for his life. It
must have been a frightening experience for Stephen, but he was faithful to the
message of Jesus and took the opportunity of his trial to preach the Gospel! What
faith – what boldness!
In the midst of his sermon, Stephen made a claim
that deserves our notice. He said, “The Most High does not live in houses made
by men. As the prophet says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?’ says the Lord. ‘Or where will my
resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?’” (Acts 7:48-50)
It was arrogant of the Jewish people to think
that they had made a building to which God would confine Himself. The Temple
was a grand structure, but it was not grand enough to be God’s dwelling place. God
could live atop the most majestic mountain or
He could dwell in the deepest and most spectacular cave. He could
identify the most beautiful exotic island and declare that His home. All of
them were made by Him and any of them could be His dwelling place. Yet even
those places, with far more splendor than anything man could ever hope to
build, were an inadequate place for God to live.
God would not confine Himself to one location
– not even heaven itself. His presence extends over all of His creation. He
dwells in every remote corner of what He has made.
And here’s the most amazing thought of all –
God has chosen even to dwell in the hearts of men and women who follow Him. As
Paul declared, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that
God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Church buildings are nice places for the
people of God to gather for fellowship, teaching, and worship – but they are
not the exclusive dwelling places of God. He does dwell in them – but He dwells
in every other corner of creation, too.
Thank God that He isn’t confined to what we
make for Him.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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