Doug Van Pelt

Lots of Sacrificing

When I return to my office, I might glance at my mini helmet collection, bow down and wor... Not really. I often won't even see it, but I photographed it and on occasion I will see it out of the corner of my eye as I sit down to begin my day.

It was an unusual day in Israel when King Solomon dedicated the new temple (found in 1 Kings 8). There were so many sacrifices made, that they couldn't be counted! That's a lot, considering that later on in the chapter we are told of 120,000 sheep and goats that were sacrificed. Wow.

I'm impressed that in Solomon's dedication prayer that he acknowledged that no temple -- even one as huge and glorious as this -- could not house God. Not even the heavens could contain Him. He prayed a really cool priestly prayer where he asked God to hear the supplications and prayers of those who came or even prayed towards this temple. That inspires me to pray this prayer:

Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, thank you for paying attention to us. Please grant your grace and strength to all who read these blogs. When they come to you in humble prayer, acknowledging their weakness and their need for you, please strengthen them and apply Your mercy and grace to their lives, applying Your wisdom to offer them help, grace, and guidance just where they need it. As they intercede for those they love, inspire them to consider the ways You could comfort, heal, and provide for these loved ones. May Your healing power be expressed by You stretching out Your hand and performing miraculous signs and wonders in the Name of Your Holy Servant, Jesus.

It doesn't hold a candle to Solomon's prayer, but if our Good Lord answers these requests, we will all be blessed.

PS I just got a new 160 gig external hard drive that connects to my USB 2 port. It frees up space on my hard drive that all the files (1.5 to 3 gigs) that each issue of the magazine uses up. I'm also copying some of my "status tracks" from my mp3 player, and some audio book files I don't need to always carry around. You know what "status tracks" are, don't you? There those songs that you keep around more to impress your friends with than enjoy. I admit I have a few. Not that I show off my play lists or anything, but I've thought, 'It'll look good if someone sees this on my mp3 player.' And that, my friends, is very stupid. I'm getting those suckers off.