SOLOMON'S LIST
Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 1-5

Next month I'll celebrate my 18th anniversary at the lumberyard. Boy, oh boy, have I seen a lot in these 18 years! You've no idea how many people I've met, how many sales I've rung up and how many projects I've seen stuff gathered up for.

Why, if you were to stack up the lists I've had pushed across the counter to me over that period of time, you'd have quite a pile!

The lists are what I'm thinking about this morning. Some of those lists are written neatly and legibly on notebook paper. Some of the lists were scratched down on napkins from the nearby restaurant. Some lists have been presented to me on short scraps of wood. I even have a carpenter who writes his list on the underside of his tape measure, then erases it as he names off the items he needs.

The lists have been varied, the quantities unique to the projects, the presentation individualized with each patron. But in reality, when they come in our store, they're pretty much needing the same stuff--lumber, nails, screws, hardware or paint.

The Bible reading this morning was a list of supplies and merchandise I don't believe I've ever, in my entire working career, ever been presented:

cypress wood
precious jewels
linen
blue, purple and scarlet yarn
cedar logs
bronze
silver
iron
gold-by the tons
gold nails

One can usually tell by a list what project is being worked on. In this case, Solomon's list wasn't for the simple birdhouse, a child's dollhouse or even a spectacular home--it was for the Temple of God!

Nothing plain, ordinary or less-than-fancy about it. It was a feat of engineering design. It was an extravagant resting place for the people to experience the Lord. It was a stable, unmoving part of the city of David. It was quite the wonder of its time.

The altar of the Lord is the same thing today!

Have you visited the altar at your church lately? Have you stepped into the presence of the Living God? Have you cleared out the cobwebs, stored items of your past and sins from your heart to make a home for Christ? Have you determined to be the holy, living temple of God?