1/21: More Than the Trappings
The Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God to both the Israelite people and their enemies. In I Samuel chapters 4 and 5, we read of a time when the Philistines captured the Ark, probably figuring having it would give them special powers to defeat their foes. After all, they had heard how the God of Israel had wrecked Egypt and many other nations. What the Philistines did not know was that it takes more than possession of the Ark to experience the protective presence of the God of the Ark. The presence of the Ark in that unholy place brought on God’s wrath and troubles to the Philistines.
We may own Bibles, wear cross jewelry, fly Easter and Christmas manners on our homes, and have our names on the church role, but all of that exhibits merely the trappings of Christianity. Without a relationship with God, one that makes a difference in our lives, sooner of later the trappings will trap us and show us up to be fakes. Troubles, not blessings, will come our way if we insist upon trying to represent God through unholy vessels. The trappings don’t make us related to Him.
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©2013 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.
And pick up a copy of Sharon’s new book, Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame, available at Christian bookstores, online, from New Hope Publishers, from the Life That Matters Ministries’ website, and now also available on Kindle!
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I must be related, we are kin by blood. That is not luck…luck runs out. That is a blessing. Thank you Father God.
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