Click the Pic and join with me and others from Princeton Alliance Church for 25 days of service this Christmas. Let us know how you service goes here at martyrpriest.com. Follow me on twitter to hear about my experiences.
MORE…it’s the kind of word that seems appropriate in all caps.
Now, before you think this is just a rant on the “Occupy” movement I want to broaden our view. The 99 are certainly asking for MORE but they aren’t alone. NBA players recently reached a shaky deal with owners. Before this 
deal the NBA had been in a lockout. Professional basketball players wanted MORE. This past Friday, reports say, was a record Black Friday where consumers spent 7% MORE than they did last year. Yesterday MORE Americans spent MORE money than ever before to get MORE Christmas presents on Cyber Monday.
I think we could do with a little less MORE don’t you? 
John the Baptist had everything going for Him. Yet when He met up with Jesus He quickly got the point. If John was to worship Jesus the right way John had to let Jesus have the spot light. So John 3:30 tells us John diminished so that Jesus could rise.
How might we become a little less this season so that Jesus might become a little MORE? Is there something you need to let go of this Christmas season in order to give a little MORE of your time, treasure, or family to Jesus? Do you need to seek forgiveness for following the crowds that are clamoring for MORE in the streets, malls, or workplace?
May you find that the MORE we become less the less we will worry about having MORE and the MORE Jesus will have His right place in our lives.
As I stepped into the nearly 100 year old cathedral the air was heavy with sanctity. The stain glass windows cast their rainbow shadows down upon row after row of solid wooden pews. The walls, the ceiling, even the floor with its intricate workmanship all whispered to me of a master craftsman who had dedicated this building to God. I was in God’s house.
Yet the closer I came to the front the stronger this queer feeling in the pit of my stomach grew. Something, amidst all the beauty, wasn’t right. Finally as I reached the front of the cathedral I realized what was wrong. Today, in this house built for God and dedicated to Jesus Christ, there was a Hindu ceremony about to take place. As the apostles and saints watched from their stain glass perches idols were being set about the front of this house of worship. Incense now burned in places where before Holy Communion was offered. The scene was stark and the reason…cultural diversity on a university campus.
As my mind connected the dots my first thought was outrage! What would those who sacrificed to see this building erected think? My second thought was pity. How sad that this edifice of glory had been reduced to a house for idols. My third thought was frightening.
My third thought, really wasn’t my thought at all, but God’s still small voice opening my eyes to a truth so profoundly displayed before me. My third thought was that this scene was a picture of the condition of my heart.
How many times have I found myself drawn after something other, something far removed from God. How many times have I chased that something with the full intent of installing it on the altar of my heart with not a second thought of what it really meant to do so.
This scene is a stark reality for so many of us. God has crafted us as temples reflecting His glory. We were designed with this purpose in mind. Yet, I think we would all confess that at times there were idols on the altar of our heart, an altar that should have been reserved for God alone.
May this be a moment for us all to consider what is on the altar of our heart. If confession is needed, then allow the forgiveness of God to clean house. If, upon reflection, you still have a heart dedicated to God than, in humility, praise him for the strength to continue on in dedication to him.
While the scene inside the century old sanctuary was indeed sad, never forget that sadder still is a human sanctuary dedicated to God in name, but with a completely different image on the altar.
Community Questions:
Why is it so easy to condemn a scene like this in the world and completely overlook the condition of our own hearts?
Is it right or wrong for a university to offer such diversity? Why or Why Not?
Even gourmet food found in a dumpster is garbage! There is just something about a half eaten slice of pizza that in a single moment transforms it into common garbage when it goes into the waste can. Food in the trash is such an intriguing subject for our culture that even sitcoms have gotten into making fun of the topic, or have we all forgotten the classic Seinfeld episode where George gets into trouble for eating an eclair? Yet it doesn’t stop there…activist groups have coined the phrase “freeganism” as representing an alternative lifestyle which has as a defining characteristic dumpster diving your dinner on a regular basis.
Isn’t it odd that in a world full of food some people, who could otherwise easily afford a meal, actually prefer to dumpster dive their dinner? Yet when it comes to spiritual matters many individuals who are disgusted by garbage gluttons are seemingly unaffected when they themselves dine on spiritual swill. Are we among them?
Have you ever stopped to consider the condition that your soul is in? One author I was recently reading told an excellent story about a young woman he met in an inn one day. She was a lowly servant girl and she asked this man to teach her to pray. He taught her a simple four word prayer… “Lord show me myself”. After a few days of praying this prayer the girl was so overcome with sorrow and guilt that the weight of it all was almost unbearable. It was at this time that the man taught her another four word prayer… “Lord show me yourself”. She was never the same again. When we come face to face with our spiritual condition, with the decay of our own soul, the selfishness of our heart what else can we do but be disgusted by what we see. Yet, when we see Jesus in all his glory what else can we do but rejoice and be thankful for all He accomplished on the cross.
Friends never forget the spiritual squalor we were in when Jesus found us, because if we do it won’t be long until we have convinced ourselves that our original condition was never really that bad…and that my friends is like waking up one day, going into the kitchen and saying to yourself what’s the difference, I’ll just each some trash!
Look familiar? This is a re-post, blast from the past. I originally posted it in March 2009. Rate it if you want to keep it as a favorite.
They all died. Every single one. Their violence, their immorality, their savagery led them to the brink. They reached the edge of the cliff so quickly that it was a small matter to jump off…even if it was to their own demise. They were the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
…bu they could have been saved you know.
Hours before the fire and brimstone fell on these cities Abraham had a conversation with God about their fate. He pleaded with God to extend his grace if just a handful of righteous people might be found among the teaming masses.
But there weren’t 10 godly people to be found in the city.
So the city was destroyed.
The tragedy is that Lot, Abraham’s nephew, lived in the city. He was a major player in the town. When the angels of the Lord found him he was sitting at the gate. This was a place of honor for the leaders of the city. Lot had an incredible opportunity to influence this city for God, but instead their fallenness got to him. It seeped into his bones. It changed him.
Heartbreaking.
Lot’s family, his wife and children, his grandchildren; combined they could have outdone superman. They could have saved the city. Their righteousness could have withheld the fire.
The next time you watch an inspiring movie that makes you feel like you want to do something great for God here’s a thought; live righteously. Maybe your a father; teach your children to love God. Maybe you’re a wife; don’t give stop praying for the heart of your husband. Maybe you’re a student; don’t comprise because it’s easy. Just because everyone else is or isn’t doing it don’t stop being righteous; you just may be holding back the fire.
For many years I thought one of Lot’s biggest mistakes was going into the city in the first place, but I don’t think that quite right. 10 godly people can be enough to hold back judgment, that’s an important point to remember. 10 righteous people in a town of hundreds, 10 righteous people in a city of thousands, 10 righteous people in a metropolis of millions. We can hold back the fire if we only hold the line.
Find your Sodom. Hold the Line. Live righteously and watch as God not only sustains you but in the process saves a city!
Community Questions:
Where has God placed you to hold back the fire?
What are some of the challenges those who live in Sodom face? How can we find success in the cities?
