Awesome Architecture

1 Chronicles 2:5
This will be a magnificent Temple because our God is an awesome God, greater than any other.
I remember back when I was in the ministry full time that I would spend hours each day praying. One of my most common prayers what that God would fill the temple with His presence. I would read the stories of the Tabernacle and find my heart longing for the Shekinah; the manifested presence of God. My desire was that God's presence would be so evident in our services that the mountains would shake and people would be forced to their faces in worship. I guess that desire wasn't all bad. There were times when I would feel like God was so close to coming and taking control of everything and then a baby would cry or somebody would leave for the bathroom or a smoke break. "How disrespectful", I thought.
I remember praying this same prayer one day and I stopped because I just couldn't pray this prayer anymore. I couldn't understand why God had neglected my prayer. I was beginning to get angry about it. This particular day I stopped praying because God interupted me. I had come to the point of exhaustion and had no more words to say. All I could do was lay across the stage in the Worship Center and remain quiet. It's funny that when you get quiet that God is the most vocal. I could hear Him saying "Boy, I answer this prayer every Sunday morning". How could I have missed that!!! God had manifested Himself and I missed it? I was astounded and outraged. I asked, "How did I miss Your presence? Am I so out of touch that I didn't even see You when you came?" He said, "Everytime my people come into this building the Temple is filled with my presence because my presence dwells in the hearts of believers". Our bodies are the Temple of God. That speaks volumes to me. These verses in 1 Chronicles are the words of Solomon. God had appointed him to build a magnificent temple in which His people could worship. Solomon so wanted to honor God that no expense was spared. The best trees, the best gold, the best silver. The Temple was a site to behold. There could be no question that this Temple was for the worship of Jehovah, the God Who created everything. The God who parted the Red Sea. The God who filled the Tabernacle in the desert. There could be no mistaking this temple for one of the temples of the pagan Gods. Even though his image was not there His presence was.
Well, history will tell you that this temple was distroyed. Long before the presence of God had left. The Temple building would be distroyed, built back and destroyed again. The "religion" of Israel would become an object of mocking. Then another Temple of God was built. After the resurrection of Jesus the Holy Spirit came and filled the believers. We are told that we are the temple of God. The very presence of God inhabits us. There should be no mistake that our temples belong to the One True God. There should be nothing that would lead others to beleive that we belong to anyone else but the God of creation.
So what does this mean? I am under such conviction about this. I have not taken care of the temple of God. Sure I read the Bible, I only read Christian books. I go to church and even sing on the Praise Team. All the time still praying that God would fill the temple. It's hard for God to fill me when I'm full of cheesecake and Diet Coke.
My conviction is this. I must take the steps to allow God to be honored with the Temple He inhabits. Only then will the cloud rest above my head and the pillar of fire light my way.
God I want to honor You with all of my being. I want my temple to be a magnificent temple because You are an awesome God, greater then any other.

Blessings
Allen