Forty Days Full - An Invitation To Real Life

sanctuary is the heart of men and women who have received the Holy Spirit. We are the habitation of God. To call a building a sanctuary is in contradiction to the promise of God. Recently, I was blessed to visit the Vatican in Rome. It is remarkable how many people walk through its grounds every day. One of my favorite buildings was Saint Peter's Basilica. I had seen pictures but was unprepared for the magnitude of the structure. By my estimation you could fit at least 20 Life Church auditoriums inside the Basilica. It was easy to be impressed with this building. But, in the end a building is just concrete, wood, sheet rock and other building material. Well, in St. Peter's Basilica it's granite, marble, gold, silver and priceless artifact, paintings and sculptures by the likes of Michael Angelo and Leonardo Davinci. Did I mention being impressed? But the most impressive sanctuary is the heart that houses the very nature of God within. This is the miracle made possible only through the shed blood of Jesus. Yes, it's okay to ooh and ahh! The truth is, we like our sanctuary being a location. It lessons our accountability. "I'm going to church today...oops! I am the church and I've been desecrating God's temple." If I have a place that's holy, it reduces the contradiction that is me. The Holy is not something I go to, but it's within me. There is a verse in the Old Testament that I've heard preached to believers since I was a child. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV) This revelation was given before the NewCovenant was birthed in Christ. It is as true today as it was when declared over 2500 years ago. But this is the condition of those apart from Christ. That all changes when Holy Spirit takes up residence. How is it possible for a heart to house the Holy Spirit and be desperately wicked at the same time? I believe it is false