Under Attack - God's Temple

Invisible realities. "Invisible things are the only realities, and physical things alone are the things that shall remain." William Godwin What are those things? God Heaven Our adversary, the devil and his home eternal home, Hell Job 1:7. Satan tells God he has been roaming around the world, something he still does today. 1 John 5:13-21. Our enemy seeks to completely devour us and deprive us of everything that is truly valuable in this life and in the life to come. We are panicking over the wrong pandemic - the true pandemic is sin and it’s pervasiveness in the world, delivered by the devil. Consider the Jerusalem temple showdown between Jesus and Satan.  In Luke 9: 31, 51, we are told of Jesus determination to go to Jerusalem for this showdown. This may explain why the temptations of Jesus in Luke are in a different order than in the other gospels. In the third temptation in Luke 4, Satan takes Jesus right into the temple itself and quotes scripture from there, erroneously of course. The temple is still under attack and will be as long as Satan has power. The forces of Satan are resolute against each of us. The last thing he wants is for each of us to sustain a healthy relationship with God. He wants to corrupt our hearts and compromise our submission to God.

Three things about us being Gods temple, the place of Gods presence: 1. It is the place of deliverance, for being set apart for God’s purposes. Col 1:13: "For he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son." When we are determined to live as God's temple, the devil can not touch us. In John 10 Jesus says my sheep know me and they will never perish nor be snatched out of my hand.

2. Our influence. A time such as this is a time to show people that we live in peace, that we live by a standard most the world does not. We are different. We are not changing, we are not panicking. If we just keep steady on the course, the Lord will abundantly prosper us.

3. Perseverance. The devil will try to convince you to give up, to throw in the towel. You cannot. you must not.

Faith is what connects us to God and makes us His temple. It is the answer to fear, to futility and to falsehood.