THE ORNAMENTS OF OUR INNER MAN
“And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb.” Exodus 33:6.
Over the years Christmas has been a wonderful time of reunion with our children and grandchildren. Joyce and I would locate a tree, perfect in shape and height for the occasion. We brought it in and position it in its assigned place. It stood for a few hours or days, without any ornaments or decoration. It was free of the trappings that were about to use to transform its exterior.
The ornaments were brought out of storage, and the process began. Little by little and one by one, the accessories were added. In time, the tree took on a different appearance. That which was common and natural was now masqueraded to represent that for which it was never intended.
Israel spent four hundred years in Egypt. They had adopted their culture, their dress, their gods and their morals. God brought them out of Egypt to Sinai in order to transform them into a holy nation. Not only did they need re-educating, they also needed to strip themselves of all Egypt’s external ornaments in order to worship God in Spirit and truth.
We must ask ourselves; what ornaments do we need to get rid of before coming to worship God? Many of the ornaments are toward the bottom of the tree and inward. These are anger, wrath, strife, lust and adultery. Further up the tree, you will find pride, haughtiness, arrogance, conceit, and self-centeredness. May God help us to remove all these distractions from our inner man and serve Him with a pure heart.
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.