With Some Thoughts About Sacred Vessels!

I was really convicted by something else in Daniel 5 last week that I wanted to share with you...

In Daniel 5, King Belshazzar, the partying king, orders that the sacred vessels be brought to him. Well, these were vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem and had been used to worship God. So, King B. gets these vessels and what does he do with them? He starts drinking out of them and worshiping his gods with them! BAD IDEA!! And some scholars even believe that he poured out wine as a sacrifice to his gods...REALLY BAD IDEA!!

But I started thinking...our bodies are sacred vessels. 2 Corinthians 4:7 (My theme verse for this blog) says, "We have this treasure in jars of clay..." That treasure is the Holy Spirit and we're the vessels... So, if you're a Christian, you're a sacred vessel!! (We're also told that our bodies are the temple of God!!)

And it hit me... I'm alot like King B! I pour things (in a spiritual sense) into my sacred vessel that don't belong there and I pour out my sacred vessel to the idols of my heart, things I look to for satisfaction apart from God! Hmmm... BAD IDEA!

Let's consider a few things we might pour out our heart to... shopping when we're down, overeating when we're stressed, maybe alcohol, or pornography, or improper relationships...it could be the gym too, or even the television or books (as a means of escape)...or it could be our friends, or even the ministries we serve in... There are thousands of places that we can seek satisfaction apart from God...

But what about the things we pour into our sacred vessels... FOOD! Anger, bitterness, criticism, self-righteousness... And think about our eyes, the things that enter through them.

I've been thinking a lot about what I watch on TV... We've stopped watching CSI because so many of the crimes were graphic sex crimes... The same with Law & Order SVU... And besides, who needs all of that darkness in our minds anyway. And there's the television shows like The Batchelor and Desperate Housewives... YIKES!! And what about the movies we watch?!

Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." So, even though those shows might not cause you personally to stumble, what about your husband who is more visual... If they look lustfully at any of the women, they are committing adultery in their hearts. I just don't want to be a stumbling block like that to my husband.

But here's another thought...Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

True, noble, right, PURE, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy... WOW... that's a pretty tough litmus test in our time... It rules out a lot of things for believers.

Well, God had a pretty decisive judgment against Ol' King B for what he did with the sacred vessels, so we can be certain how He feels about things such as this... Yes, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, even our idolatry, so we won't be judged in the same way as King B., but I sure hate to think that I'm taking the cross for granted because I supposedly have the 'freedom' to watch, eat, do, shop, say whatever I want too...

Jesus said, "Clean the inside of the cup and dish and the outside will be clean also." (Matthew 23:26) If you'll excuse me now, I have some cleaning I need to do!!