Summer
1993
Making
our Lives a House of Devotion
Wade E Taylor
I learned a principle while attending Bible School that changed
my life and greatly affected my ministry.
"If we build the Lord a house of devotion,
He will build us a house of ministry."
This pledge is based on a number of Scriptures that indicate
the intention of our Lord concerning those who seriously seek
Him.
"I love them that love me; and those that seek me early
shall
find me ... that I may cause those that love me to inherit
substance; and I will fill their treasures" Proverbs
8:17,21.
"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my
God; in Him will I trust ... Because thou hast made the
Lord ... thy habitation ... Because he hath set his love
upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on
high ... He shall call upon me, and I will answer him ...
I
will deliver him, and honour him" Psalm 91:2,9,14-15.
"But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you" Matt 6:33.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus: Who,
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon
Him
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And
being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which
is
above every name" Phil 2:5-9.
"Because thou hast made the Lord ... thy habitation
(if we build the Lord a house of devotion) ... I will set
him on high," (He will build us a house of ministry)
Psalm 91:9,14.
Building our Lord "a house of devotion" will require
of us a personalsincerity of heart, a dedication to the setting
of our affections upon Him, and a determination to consistently
seek Him.
It means that we have set apart "time" to seek
and fellowship with our Lord. This does not have to do with
the length of time, but rather, with the "quality"
of the time in which we truly meet with the Lord, and then
leave knowing that we have been with Him. The Lord said that
those who seek him "early" will find him (Proverbs
8:17). This tells us that we are to put Him first in every
aspect of our lives.
Beyond this quality time that is set apart to spend with
Him alone, building our Lord a "house of devotion"
has to do with the "set" of our spirit. No matter
what we may be involved in or doing, our spirit can be "set"
toward the Lord in reverent worship. The intent of our outward
being will be toward what we are doing, but the "poise"
of our inner being will abide towards the Lord.
We will be able to successfully do this only after we have
committed the day that is before us, and the totality of our
being - (early) to the Lord. Then, the poise of our spirit
will abide towards the Lord and we will be able to walk in
the awareness of heart worship towards Him as we fulfill the
duties of the day.
This commitment and determination to build the Lord "a
house of devotion" will transform our lives. As a result,
He will become active in our daily activity, our ministry,
whatever is before us. And, at the end of the day, we will
be able to rejoice, knowing that the Lord has been involved
with us in all that has transpired.