Sunday, January 28, 2024
Who Can Build a Temple for God? 2 Chronicles 2:5-6
A Clay Jar
Encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thess. 2:12 NIV)
The temple I am going to build will be great, because our God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?
2 Chronicles 2:5-6 NIV
These are the words of Solomon as he prepared to build a temple for God—a temple that would dwarf all other temples. Because the God of Israel was greater than any other so-called god, his temple must also be greater. And, as you read the description of the temple he built, it was indeed impressive. The physical structure was small by today’s standards, but the artistry and wealth that went into it are beyond our ability to reproduce today.
Yet Solomon realized that this temple, no matter how grand, would be unable to contain God. Not even the creation itself is big enough to contain God. This temple, rather than being a home for God, would only be a place to offer sacrifices and meet with God in worship.
But Solomon asks an interesting question. Who is able to build a temple for God? While it is beyond our human ability to construct a suitable temple where God can dwell, there is one who can and is building that temple.
In Ephesians 2:19-22, Paul describes believers as God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. That we are joined together and rising to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in 2 Corinthians 6:16, Paul tells us that we are the temple of the loving God.
The temple that Solomon built was glorious. But it pales in comparison to the temple that Jesus is building. Solomon’s temple was made of stone, wood, and gold. But Jesus’ temple is a living organism, composed of those who have given themselves to the lordship of Jesus. And while Solomon’s temple could not contain God, Jesus’ temple is becoming a dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
Saturday, January 27, 2024
Lose Your Life to Save It Luke 9:24-25
A Clay Jar
Encouraging, comforting, and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thess. 2:12 NIV)
by Ed Jarrett aclayjar.net
For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
Luke 9:24-25 NIV
To lose my life in order to save it seems like a contradiction. How is it possible that losing my life could result in saving it? It is like turning right to go left. It doesn’t make sense. Yet, it is what Jesus tells us to do.
But Jesus is talking about two different lives here. The first is the life I have now on earth. While the other is the life I can have with Jesus. I can have one or the other. If I surrender to him the life I have now, I will gain eternal life. But, if I am unwilling to give up this life for Jesus, I will lose out on life with him now and throughout eternity.
Many people try to have both. To hang on to this life, seeking to gain all they can. And hope that, when this life is over, that heaven awaits them. But Jesus tells us that we cannot have both. When I cling tightly to this life, I lose out on eternal life with him.
Giving up this life now does not mean that I must die physically. Instead, it means that as I live this life, I live it for my Lord rather than myself. I do what he wants me to rather than what I want. And not just some small portion of my life, but all of it. To lose my life is to make him Lord of all of it.
Jesus goes on to say that if I were to gain all that this world has to offer, what would it profit me? When I leave this life behind, all that I gained in this life is also left behind. And, even worse, I will have forfeited my soul.
Losing your life now will deprive you of much this world might offer. But the reward is much greater than anything we might lose now.
Friday, January 26, 2024
Did Jesus eat meat?
Yes, Jesus ate meat. Several passages lead to this clear conclusion.
Genesis 9:3 is the first mention of eating meat. After the Flood, God told Noah, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”
Throughout the Old Testament, meat eating was the norm, from the Passover lamb (Exodus 12) to the quail that God provided in the wilderness (Exodus 16) to the portions of the animal sacrifices that the priests and Levites ate (Deuteronomy 18).
Daniel and his three friends refused to eat the king’s food in Babylon, choosing only vegetables (Daniel 1), but this was probably because there was no guarantee that the meat would have been considered clean according to the Mosaic law. Vegetarianism was not the issue.
Jesus says nothing that would change or challenge the dominant meat-eating practices of the Old Testament. In Luke 24:41–43, Jesus ate fish. Jesus also served fish to His followers (Matthew 14), and He caused the fishermen’s nets to be filled on two different occasions (Luke 5 and John 21).
Jesus says nothing that would change or challenge the dominant meat-eating practices of the Old Testament. In Luke 24:41–43, Jesus ate fish. Jesus also served fish to His followers (Matthew 14), and He caused the fishermen’s nets to be filled on two different occasions (Luke 5 and John 21).
The purpose of catching the fish was to sell them so they could be eaten. Jesus also cooked fish for His disciples (John 21:9).
The best biblical evidence that Jesus ate meat is that He observed the annual Feast of Passover. The lamb sacrificed at Passover time was roasted and eaten as part of the requirements of the law (Exodus 12:8). Jesus took part in the feast every year as a child (Luke 2:41), and as an adult He continued the observance of the law.
The best biblical evidence that Jesus ate meat is that He observed the annual Feast of Passover. The lamb sacrificed at Passover time was roasted and eaten as part of the requirements of the law (Exodus 12:8). Jesus took part in the feast every year as a child (Luke 2:41), and as an adult He continued the observance of the law.
The Lord attended Passover in John 2:13, John 5:1, and Matthew 26:17–30. Jesus would have been in disobedience of the Law if He had not eaten the Passover meal—a meal that included meat.
Mark tells us that Jesus declared all foods to be clean (Mark 7:19). The distinction between clean and unclean foods was among animals, not plants. Declaring all foods to be clean meant that more animals were being allowed.
Mark tells us that Jesus declared all foods to be clean (Mark 7:19). The distinction between clean and unclean foods was among animals, not plants. Declaring all foods to be clean meant that more animals were being allowed.
We also have some direct teaching from Paul the apostle. Romans 14:2–3 says, “One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.” Later, we have this statement: “As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself” (verse 14).
In the last couple of decades, some animal rights enthusiasts have claimed that Jesus was a vegetarian. Some groups have tried to apply Jesus’ teaching about kindness and compassion to animals.
In the last couple of decades, some animal rights enthusiasts have claimed that Jesus was a vegetarian. Some groups have tried to apply Jesus’ teaching about kindness and compassion to animals.
Some reason that modern methods of raising and slaughtering animals are inherently cruel, and, therefore, eating meat should be avoided. The humane treatment of animals, however, is a different issue. The answer to the question, “Did Jesus eat meat?” is a clear “yes.”
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www.gotquestions.org Yes, Jesus ate meat. Several passages lead to this clear conclusion. Genesis 9:3 is the first mention of eating meat...
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