Fri.-Sabbath, 12/2-4/16 Devotion

Wahoo—Sunday is almost here! We get to go back to church again! In order to help us get ready, here is Thomas Watson, from his, "The Spiritual Watch" treatise. . . .

"Keep your heart as you would keep a temple. The temple was a hallowed place, set apart for God's worship. Just so, the heart is the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). This heart-temple must be kept pure and holy—no filth may lie here; sweep the dust out of the temple. The vessels of the temple were cleansed (2 Chronicles 29:15). Thus the memory, affections, and conscience, these temple vessels, must be cleansed (2 Corinthians 7:1). Christ whipped the buyers and sellers out of the temple in John 2. The cares of the world will be crowding into the heart. Now you must get a whip made of the threaten-ings of the law, and drive these money-changers out of the temple of your heart. Do not let God's temple be turned into a worldly market.

"The temple had a fire burning on the altar; take heed of strange fire. But keep the fire of zeal and devotion flaming upon the altar of your heart; do temple work and offer up the sacrifice of a broken heart. When the heart is a consecrated place, a holy of holies, then God will walk there. Many a man's heart is a pest-house, a bedlam, being polluted with sin. This is to put swine into God's temple! This is to let the devil come into God's temple! David's heart was a dedicated temple (Psalm 119:38)."