"Burning Down the House"

"They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground." (Psalms 74:7) If there is one thing I know for sure, it's that God hates division within the church. It's okay for a bad apple to leave, preferably quietly; but it's another thing all together for someone to leave and try to take others with them. We can all agree that this is speaking about the destruction of the Temple, that's pretty plain to see. But if you are like me, I am one that likes to apply every word that God speaks to life as we know it, right here and now. If this is a road map, then there are things which are important for us to know around every corner; things like, where are the rest stops, and where do we get gas, and where will we expect curves and rough roads up ahead. Life has lots of unexpected things that get thrown at us, but when it comes to the spiritual life of believers, it's pretty much set in stone. You can disagree all you want, but in the end, it's all about this Road Map and staying on the path; you get off of the path, and you are going to get surprised around every corner; you stay on the path and you just keep getting enlightened, expecting God to do something, and strengthened. I heard a really good example of what I am talking about at church last night, it was regarding Joshua chapters 9 and 10, with regards to the Gibeonites. God had instructed Joshua to destroy all the inhabitants in the land, but these Gibeonites tricked Joshua into thinking that they were from somewhere else; thus causing Joshua to make a covenant with them. After Joshua found out that he had been tricked, instead of killing them as he should, he puts them to work for the house of God, cutting wood and carrying water. Then, when the Gideonites were going to be attacked for making peace with the children of Israel, Joshua immediately comes to their rescue; without even giving it a thought, Joshua took the initiative to save those which had previously tricked him into a covenant. The reason, explained by Pastor Rick, was all about the covenant, because God is a covenant keeping God! The point being, God keeps His covenants, despite who we are, or what we have come from, when God makes a covenant with us, we can be sure that He is good for His word. The interesting thing that happened from this situation, is that the rescue of the Gibeonites brought about victory, success in clearing out the southern regions of the land. In other words: God used the mistake to bring about victory! So you see, it really does not matter what life might throw your way, or even what the enemy might trick you into; if God is for you, nothing can come against you; and if you are following God's rules, then God rules in your life, no matter what...
  "You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We are knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." (2 Corinthians 4:5-10) NLT