Truly Magnificent

Truly Magnificent
Words of Faith 3-8-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 13
As he was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"
[2] "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

Jesus could look at things from an eternal perspective. The things that impressed most people did not impress Him. He was not impressed with people who gave large amounts of money out of their wealth but whose souls still needed to be changed. He was impressed with the widow who loved the Lord with all her heart, mind, soul, and strength and expressed that love by giving a tiny gift, which was all she had to live on.
Jesus was not impressed by the vast Temple renovation undertaken by Herod the Great, built mainly for Herod's "glory." Jesus could see the time only a few decades later when it would be reduced to rubble by the Roman Emperor. Instead, Jesus was impressed by the faith of the centurion and the woman who reached out of the crowd to be healed. Why? Such faith is eternal, but buildings made with hands don't last. Some things are eternal, and others are not. Most of our trouble in life is the result of confusing the two.
Now, don't misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with building a temple or any other building as long as it serves an eternal purpose. When the Temple was used as a house of prayer that drew people close to God, it was a good use. But when the Temple became a market for personal profit, it ceased to function for things eternal. When we put things before people, we are confused. Jesus always put people before things. There was not a single thing that Jesus was not willing to lay down and surrender for the love of a person.
God calls us to love people and use things. The world calls us to love things and use people. Religion tends toward this second pattern of the world. A faith relationship with Jesus is lived out in response to the call of God. It gains an eternal perspective on things and people.
What is truly magnificent is not a building or a possession but rather a transforming relationship that honors God.
You probably have a lot of things in your life, material, emotional, social, or relational. Which ones are eternal? Which ones are not? The temporal things can be used for an eternal cause. That is good. Temporal things can also get in the way of an eternal cause. That is bad.
What can we do? It is really quite simple. If we exercise ownership over anything in our lives, then it is an illegal ownership. We have seized ownership from God. Return ownership of everything to Him. Next, ask Him.

Lord, what do you want me to do with the things you have entrusted to me? I want to be a good manager of Your things. Are there any things that you would rather I get rid of? Are there any things that are pulling me away from You? Are there any things that I could use for an eternal cause? Show me, Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.