Corona Devo 775

Is the Lord worthy?  Yes!

Does He deserve our time, our talents, and our hearts?  Yes!

But does the Lord of the universe deserve our lavish praise?  Should we exercise extravagance in our efforts and offerings unto Him?  

...Yes!

I was caught off-guard by what I felt the Bible reminding me of today.  

We become conditioned to the the Biblical foundations of contentment and simple (non-extravagant) living, but perhaps we can get so caught up in "denying oneself", that we may end up denying The Lord the worship, honor, and (surprise!) the extravagance He is due.  

Because make no mistake...Our Lord is worthy of any effort or length we are willing to go to in honoring Him.

And they sang in a mighty chorus: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered—to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” ~Revelation 5:12

Is it wise to "make much" of our worship and offerings to the Lord?  Yes!

Perhaps we should look to someone with much wisdom as an example.  How about Solomon, a man revered in history and the Bible as having a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! (I Kings 3:12).

Solomon (in his wisdom) realized how holy, awesome, and worthy the Lord is of our "worship" of Him.

In our wisdom, may we read and receive the verses outlining Solomon's rich "offerings" as provided in the Temple he constructed to honor the Lord…and may it translate into permission and boldness for us to extravagantly worship and honor the Lord our God in our lives today.

It was in midspring…during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt.

(2) The Temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long… 

(6) The complex was three stories high…

(8) …There were winding stairs going up to the second floor…

(18) Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open flowers.

 

(19) He prepared the inner sanctuary…where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would be placed. (20) …He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar. (21) Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place.

 

(22) So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.

 

(23) He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary... (28) He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

 

(29) He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. (30) He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.

 

(31) For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors... (32) These...were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold.

(33) Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple… (35) These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold…

 (38) …it took seven years to build the Temple.  ~I Kings 6:1-2, 6, 8, 18-23, 28-33, 35, 38

~~~~ 

Was Solomon’s Temple for the Lord ornate, extravagant, opulent, lavish and rich?  Yes. 

Was the Lord worthy of such an offering (place/effort/expense) to honoring Him and His Name?  Yes!

Let scripture realign and remind our hearts and pocketbooks of the honor that God is due.  We should not be stingy with our worship, in any sense of the definition, because He is worthy to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” (Revelation 5:12).

What "lavishly honoring" the Lord "looks like" for me and you today, I do not know.  But if we needed permission to give God pomp and circumstance, we have it. 

Shame on us when we take-for-granted or allow the holiness of our God to become run-of-the-mill knowledge in our hearts and lives.  God's glory and the honor that He is due is anything but run-of-the-mill.

He deserves intricate carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold…and far more!

The value of our God far exceeds the earthly/human value of gold, and His honor warrants overlaying the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold.  Our God far-out-values gold!

And so, how can we provide Him with "carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers" today?  Let your heart tell you.

What can be our solid gold tribute to our Eternal King today?  Let your spirit guide you.

But be assured, regardless of the level of luxury--He is worthy.

Heavenly and holy Father, may Your word translate into permission and boldness for us to extravagantly worship and honor You today.  You are worthy, Lord, to receive ALL power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.  Amen.

 

Blessings,

Sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com