We Are Cathedrals

Many popular holidays have lost their true meaning. For example, Thanksgiving Day, a day with plenty of delicious food, we stuff ourselves to the max with a glorious turkey dinner and then everybody sleeps it off. It is truly ironic how the day after Thanksgiving, a time of being thankful for what you do have, people become ridden with greed and crave everything they do not have on the now considered holiday, Black Friday. Mobbing stores in the late hours of night, people search for what their hearts are coveting; searching to be satisfied by what they believe will make them happier. Blinded by greed, all sense of judgement diminishes and people have been injured. Yet the greatest hurt lies within their greedy hearts. What really is the purpose of Thanksgiving if our thankfulness diminishes the next day? Even though Thanksgiving is a day dedicated to being thankful, every single day should be a day of giving thanks. Each day God grants us gifts that we do not deserve. Simply breathing and waking up in the morning is a gift from God. How often do we express our thanks? We all tend to fall into these traps of greed and lack self control at times in some way or another. We should be asking ourselves, "Where is my heart? What am I pursuing to make me happy? Where am I seeking satisfaction? Am I content with what God has given me? Am I idolizing God's gifts? Where do I find my happiness?" Only true satisfaction, joy and happiness can be found in God. I am convicted by how much I do not express my thanks often enough. There is so much to be thankful for and yet we are blinded by the desire for more possessions or things that we think will make us happy or happier. We must turn to the only One who satisfies and fills our emptiness. He alone is worthy of all of our praise.

So recently, I have been listening to Cathedrals by Tenth Avenue North a lot and have been greatly encouraged and convicted in many ways.




What greater love is this than the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We were created in the image of God. After the Fall, our sin separated us from Him. We are all sinners. We are sick, helpless, and desperately in need of a redeemer. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Every sin we commit is a spit in the face of an all Holy, Almighty, Jealous, Glorious God. We have sinned so many times, that we cannot even count them all. The fact that God would redeem us in the midst of all our failures and shortcomings is truly the greatest example of unconditional love. Not often enough do I mediate on this concept. The fact that before the world even began, God chose to send His only Son, to pay the price for our sin. How can this not overwhelm us with His mercy and grace. It is evident that we deserve eternal wrath and yet God offers eternal life.

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

As born again believers, our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 clearly states this,

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."

 Our body belongs to God alone. We are instruments to be used for His glory and not for selfish gain. Through Christ, we are children of the light. In the midst of darkness, in the midst of our struggles, in the midst of our failures, when life comes crashing down, one thing remains: God. Unchanging and constant, God is our Rock and our Fortress. When we delight ourselves in Him, the darkness has no power over us. When we look to Jesus and see His glory, we find joy and satisfaction.  In that joy, temptation's power diminishes. But it's only by God opening our eyes that this can happen.

We need the power of the Holy Spirit to open our eyes. There is nothing we can do to open our eyes. Apart from Him, we will not enjoy, delight, taste, and feel His supreme glory. We are desperately in need of Him in every area of our life. Everyone seeks to be fulfilled; to be satisfied. There is an emptiness inside of each of us that gives us the urge for a desire to be satisfied; to be fulfilled. Wandering from one worldly thing to the next in a search for euphoria, nobody finds satisfaction. When we do this, we abuse God's gifts. We hold these gifts above God. We turn these gifts into idols rather than use them to delight more in the giver, that is, God. Friendships, relationships, luxury, food and so much more can be turned into sinful idols. When our heart does this and slowly becomes consumed, we are placing whatever we idolize in the center of the Temple of the Holy Spirit. This is such a blasphemy; worshiping idols within the temple of God. So often we idolize, many times without even noticing, and for this, should be struck dead. This should strike a healthy fear of the LORD in our hearts.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praises endure forever!" (Psalm 111:10)

 Oh how much grace God truly gives us!  Not only should this realization cause us to fear the LORD, but also to fall in love with Jesus even more and encourage us to fight these idols by the power of the Holy Spirit. As
Romans 8:1 states,

"There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." 

The reason we feel this emptiness is because we were made for so much more; we were made to be eternally satisfied by one thing alone: God. Our emptiness needs to be filled with Him. Nothing else will satisfy this desire. Everything else will fail us and pull us down when we put our satisfaction in them. We start becoming and imitating what we look at. As humans, we are significantly influenced by all we do and what is done around us.This is why it is so crucial to be cautious with what we put in to our life, what and who we listen to, and what we watch. Gazing upon Christ causes us to be more Christ-like. It is only when we fall in love with the Savior, that we will be satisfied. As believers, we still sin. We fall into temptation and give in and start thinking that something else will satisfy us more. During these times, we are blinded and do not see the glory of Christ. Satisfaction in Christ will bring joy. Delighting in Christ is the key to fighting and overcoming temptation. We cannot experience joy in God on our own. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy freedom and satisfaction in God.

"Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:12-18) 

Galatians refers to joy as a Fruit of the Spirit; meaning it's given only from God and is an evidence of the Holy Spirit. Apart from God, the joy we think we have is just a fake fantasy. Our desperateness for a Savior is evident. We all desperately need God.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Let us set our gaze upon the glory of the Lord. May we pray that the LORD will satisfy us in Him each morning and cause us to delight in Him.

"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." (Psalm 90:14)

Other videos/music relating to idolatry and satisfaction in Jesus: