Guard your House

Casting out Demons
But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons"; while others, to test him, sought from him a sign from heaven.

A Divided Household Falls
But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul. And if I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Guard your House
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace; but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil.

He who is not with me is against me, 

and he who does not gather with me scatters.

"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest; and finding none he says, `I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first."

-- Luke 11: 15 - 26

Why do you call me `Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?

Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:

He is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. -- Luke 6: 46 - 49

The Lord's House is my Home

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at thy altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

Blessed are those who dwell in thy house, ever singing thy praise (Ps. 84: 3-4)!

Do you have enough to complete it?

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, `This man began to build, and was not able to finish.' (Lk 14:  28-30)

The house shall no more defile my holy name.

The glory of God towards his house will come by the gate facing east. His Spirit shall lift you up and his glory shall fill the temple.

The Lord redeems back his throne where he will dwell in the midst of his people forever.

The house shall no more defile his holy name and those who wants to rule by false pretensions in memory of the dead shall all be taken out.

Reflection on : Ezekiel 43:1-7

The Rock that begot you

You are unmindful of the Rock that begot you. . .

God is the solid foundation of our day to day living yet we are not conscientiously aware of his presence. This happens because we are not attentive and heedful to the awesome power of his word that could give us the strength and determination to achieve our goals.

You forgot the God who gave you birth . . .

Who else knows you better than the Lord who gave you life? You were born for a purpose to obey and do the will of God. If you are so much consumed with things that you feel are of more importance to you rather than seeking your life's purpose, you will always find yourself at a lost.

The LORD saw it, and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. . .

You can not hide anything from the Lord.  Anything you do that does not please him will cause you to decline. God wants you to be big in his eyes, never settle for anything less.

And he said, `I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.

As parents, there are times when we allow our children to make mistakes so that in the end, faith and righteousness can be built upon them. This usually happens when our children are in the age of seeking their own identities and independence. They must experience the consequences of their acts. It is our hope that through this process, they will learn the value of having faith to rise up from every fall.

They have stirred me to jealousy with what is no god; they have provoked me with their idols. So I will stir them to jealousy with those who are no people; I will provoke them with a foolish nation.

Life depends on who or what makes you happy. Such becomes an idol over your life that you tend to venerate. The world will try to distract your focus on your true idol, who is no other except the Lord. He is the only one who can satisfiy all your desires and bring you to the fullness of joy. Any other are just mere objects of his blessings or channels of his graces. No one is to be idolized except him!

Reflection on : Deuteronomy 32: 18 - 21

A Profaned Sanctuary

I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your soul; and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword (Ezekiel 24:21).

How many misfortunes does it take for a man to relinquish his wicked ways before he submits himself to the Lord?

God's church becomes divided when the very leaders who takes pride in it are caught up with their own sins and iniquities. Instead of loving one another that could lead them to unity and peace, they chose to fight and destroy one another to further their selfish motives.

It is not wrong to fight for a principle or a cause but if you are just using an issue to further your ambition, ego and pride, sooner or later, this will all bounce back to you.

In humility, let us all strive to build back the glory of God in our church and community. This is the most difficult road to take for it requires a lot of healing and sacrifices but it is the only road that can bring us all back to the Lord.

Father God, you are the source of all that is happening in my life today.

All of us whom you have called and chosen to be a servant of your church have sinned against you. Each of us contributed to the wide spread division of a sanctuary that is once a pride and glory of our community.

In Jesus Name, I humbly pray for your mercy and forgiveness not only for myself but for all of us who have been blinded by our own pride and ego. Let your Holy Spirit manifest its power over our lives by giving us the wisdom and humility to accept our faults and failings and correct our ways towards rebuilding up our love for one another that truly pleases you. Let not your wrath be upon us but the love of Jesus that is in our hearts.

A Rebellious House

The Lord dwell in the midst of a rebellious house . . .

The Lord's house and dwelling place on earth is his church. He is represented by a pastor and/or a priest who has been anointed and was given the authority to minister the people in his behalf.

The pastor and/or priest then appoints lay leaders as coordinators of different ministries to act as his "extension arm". This is the essence of "lay empowerment", to be able to work hand in hand with the Lord's anointed pastor and/or priest in the mission of evangelization.

The problem of some lay leaders today is that they tend to practice "lay empowerment" by looking upon themselves as "partners of the pastor and/or priest. Worse, some acts as though they are already the pastor and/or priest themselves!

Where do they get such anointing?

The authority given to them emanated from the pastor and/or or priest who appointed them but they see themselves of higher ground, thinking that they "know more" than the person who gave them such position and authority. A classic story of a mosquito who thinks that he is higher than the elephant whom he has used to stand on.

These kinds of people bring's the Lord's house into rebellion. They will use all possible means to destroy the credibility and integrity of the Lord's anointed pastor and/or priest. Obviously, these self-righteous leaders will try to project themselves as "worthy cause crusaders" to influence other people to join in their rebellion but one thing is for sure, "they will eventually fail and suffer the consequences of their acts."

Their self-righteousness, pride and ego have totally blinded and corrupted their minds. They refused to see what their eyes have seen and have refused to hear what their ear has heard because they chose to rebel against the house of the Lord.

The Court of the Lord's House

Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the court of the LORD's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of the LORD all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word. (Jeremiah 26:2)

As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple. (Ezekiel 43:4-5)