21 Feb 2007 - Isaiah 6:5-7

Wednesday, February 21, 2007 (Ash Wednesday)

SMOKE IN THE TEMPLE
Read today’s Scripture: Isaiah 6:5-7

Spirit, give focus to our King. We seek challenge to fallacies, and we
ask for eyes wide open as we reflect on our true condition and His
atoning work at the cross.

What’s your favorite life fallacy?
When you see the King on the cross, does God want you to focus on your
guilt or on your forgiveness?

“I am young, smart, good looking, in fact, a good guy all around, and
death is distant if not irrelevant.” We all have fallacies. Its good to
know one’s presuppositions in life, especially the false ones.
This month was eye opening, I was touched by three funerals: The first
is a Caucasian 60yr old fellow pastor, a figure in civil rights and
Jimmy Carter’s minister; A 48yr old son, husband, brother, father and
deacon in training in an African American church; Lastly, a 38 yr old
sister in Jesus.
60, 48, 38. Suddenly I find myself in the obituaries, eyes wide open to
our true condition. We live as though death is the rare anomaly. It is,
in fact, pandemic but our perception is impaired.
We live in a sterilized society. We don’t leave vacated bodies lying
around. We are so antiseptic we don’t even see dog poo anymore! The
steaming thing is picked up, placed in a baggie and hauled off! It’s
nice; it’s also deceptive, blinding us to our true condition. It’s a
shock when our vision is suddenly unimpaired and a fallacy crashes.
One day Isaiah is doing church as usual and God shows up, literally.
Suddenly church is smokin’! What would you do? Suddenly sit up straight
in your chair, fall to the floor, run to the altar or to an exit?
God’s presence is a spotlight. Suddenly Isaiah sees. He sees himself,
sees beneath the sanitary facade. A fallacy crashes. “Woe is me!” he
cries. “For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in
the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts!”

Today we see the King at the cross and cry, “Woe is me!” Still we know
as You touch us our guilt is taken away, our sins atoned for.’” Amen. I
smell smoke!

Art Barrett, New Life Christian Fellowship