Tag Archives: Secret

TAKE Time

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Life is like a calendar.  It’s a fixed schedule of “wasting” [the prettier word for aging.]  Those 24 hours in every single day seem like a vast sea of opportunity for renewal but by the time you fall into bed at night you realize the “light and momentary troubles” we call daily life have been like the outgoing tide sweeping away all the moments and hours available.  You can’t count on the efficient management of a calendar to insure renewal.  In fact the calendar is basically only the confirmation of the “wasting” part. 

Time continues to march on.  Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. You’ve heard those before right?  Here’s the secret no one wants to hear; the blessing of renewal is more like exercise. “Finding” time in those 24 hours is an illusion that can waste away your renewal as surely as lack of exercise and aging waste your body.  It’s awful isn’t it?   BUT “we fix our eyes not on what is seen [those 24 hours], but on what is unseen [our need for renewal] since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  It’s your calendar!   You’ll never “find” time, TAKE time for renewal.

Assurance –

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple [sanctuary] of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? NASB

The word [sanctuary] was the footnote next to the word “temple” in the verse but that word is my inspiration.  I did a painting last summer for our church and titled it Sanctuary. It’s quite large – about 52” wide by maybe 36” tall. It’s a painting for both decoration and function. It protects the large TV screen in the fellowship room…more importantly it’s a message painting.
Sanctuary can be hard to find in the big picture of life.  Do you see the cross? The cross is the path. Look for sancTuary where the living water, the cross, the open door and the sun all come together and reveal the secret. Expand the image and look more closely and you’ll see the “secret” of sancTuary, ΙΧΘΥΣ, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.  See it?

Sanctuary is a beautiful promise God has provided for the big picture of your life. But wait there’s more!   1 Corinthians 3:16 goes beyond the promise of safety to an incredible blessing of assurance if you’ve found the “secret” of sancTuary.  “Do you not know that you are a temple [sanctuary] of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”   Your life IS the sanctuary [temple] God has chosen to live in!  Live big!