Pastor Bob DuPar
July 22, 2008

Journal Entry



Scripture

2 Chronicles 6:12-8:10; Romans 7:14-8:8; Psalm 18:1-15; Proverbs 19:24-25

Observation

I like Solomon’s humble prayer in 2 Chronicles 6:18,

“But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You. How much less this temple I have built.”

The truth and the mystery is that God not only dwells with men He dwells in them through the power of the Holy Spirit! A temple built not with human hands, but divine.

Every pastor would love to have his prayer end with God raining fire down from heaven (2 Chronicles 7:1). You can’t ask for a better object lesson than that! And, look at the response of the people,

“When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, ‘He is good; His love endures forever.”

Finally, Paul’s words in Romans 7:21-25 are so true,

“When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. Though I delight to do God’s law, there is another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind making me a prisoner… What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Application

The only way to win the spiritual battle that rages within our body is to deny our flesh the sinful things it desires. Sin, like many other things, is an appetite. The less we feed it, the less it roars. Also, the mind set on the Spirit yields “life and peace” (Rom. 8:6). Practically speaking, I set my mind on the Spirit by reading God’s Word, by praying, through praise and through spending time with His people.

Prayer

“Lord, increase my appetite for You!”