This morning I prayed that my family would have a good Sabbath. It has been a rough week and we all need to be spiritually refilled. I asked that the Spirit would be in our home and that we would feel its comfort and peace. May we all feel the Lord's love for us and reflect it on one another.
2 Kings 12 The Renovation of the Temple
The sacred structure had suffered terribly under Athaliah (2 Chron 24:7). King Joash had been hidden there during her reign so it makes sense that he might take an interest in the building where he had spent his earliest years. Step one was to raise the funds for the repairs. The first attempt at raising funds was a failure. It was in the wrong hands; the priests didn't follow through. But when the opportunity was given to the people to give their freewill offerings, the sum soon grew to a large amount, which enabled the workmen to proceed.
This reminded me of the scripture: “Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly,” (D&C 87:8). What are these holy places? Among others, they are our homes. Our homes are sacred structures like the temple. With that in mind the next obvious question is, Is my home in need of repairs?
If your home is anything like mine that answer is a great big Yes. There is a never ending list of repairs and maintenance that comes with owning a home. Most of us are pretty good at keeping up with the repairs to the structure of our homes because it maintains its value, but how are we doing on the inside of the house. Not structurally, but spiritually. How are we doing at maintaining the Spirit in our homes?
In D&C 93:43 the Lord tells Fredrick G Williams, "...set in order your house, for there are many things that are not right in your house." Could the Lord say that to you?
First we need to know the expectations of a 'holy place' home. I think D&C 88:119 gives us a great place to start:
"... and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;"
Prayer
Prayer is important, it's how we keep in contact with God, not only as individuals, but as a family. Jesus had a few words about family prayer for the Nephites, "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." (3 Nephi 18:21). I know my family could sure use these blessings!
Fasting
"To voluntarily refrain from eating or drinking for the purpose of drawing closer to the Lord and requesting his blessings. When individuals and groups (families) fast, they should also pray to understand God’s will and to develop greater spiritual strength." (Guide to the Scriptures)
Again with the blessings! Blessings like improving our relationship with God, feeling better about asking for things, understanding what God wants for us as a family, and increased spiritual strength. Could your family use these blessings?
Faith
There are way too many scripture references to list them all, but here are three of my favorites:
Working miracles (2 Ne 26:13)
Christ dwelling in our hearts (Eph 3:17)
Inheriting promises (Heb 6:12)
Learning
What are we supposed to learn in our homes?
How about good books, languages, tongues, and people (D&C 90:15); about God (D&C 19:23): or the doctrine of the kingdom (D&C 88:77). We are commanded to teach each other, but you can't teach what you don't know. The Lord tells us:
"Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;
Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—" (D&C 88:78-79)
Glory
Who are we to show glory to in our homes?"Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth..." (Ps 149:5-6)
Glory to God through praise for what:
"Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness." (Ps 150:2)
I like the term 'excellent greatness', you don't get more excellent than God!
Order
We are told in the scriptures: "Let all things be done decently and in order." Building a holy environment in your home is included in the "all things" category. Order is so important to the Lord that there are over 350 entries in the scriptures with the word order in it. Like most parents, He repeats Himself to let us know that He means it!
Of God
Ezra Taft Benson said, "“Home is love, understanding, trust, welcome, and a sense of belonging.” (Ensign, Nov. 1981, p. 107.) We should make our homes havens of love where we and other family members can grow and learn to love, serve, understand, and forgive each other. Can you see how all these things would lead to a house of God?
A house of God is always needing repair. Such is the way of life. My home is no exception. We are always in need of spiritual repairs to fight the things that come from the world. Fighting depression, sin, doubt, and fear require constant, strenuous effort. Sometimes the repairs are very large in nature and other times they are on a smaller scale. Either way, they have to be dealt with in order to keep the Spirit in our home.
In this chapter of 2 Kings the repairs to the temple were small compared to the initial building of the temple, but the workers put their hearts into the repairs, and really, that is what God was interested in. The same is true for the spiritual repairs we need to make in our homes. God is interested in the efforts we are putting towards the repairs and he will bless us for it with a ‘holy place’ home for us to stand in.
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