Name Tags: You are… Stones

It stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a Stone, a Cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

1 Peter 2:6 (ESV)

You, yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)

STONE is a revelatory name tag.* It's used when the King of Glory describes you as building blocks of His church, as temples for the Lord’s Holy Spirit…

Because manmade temples became corrupt (even the temple in Jerusalem):

'Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father... But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him' (John 4:21-23).

Actors, models, and talent for Christ: 

STONE may not seem an attractive label, but remember: Your Captain is 'The Rock' (1 Corinthians 10:4)!

And a building stone’s critical features are remarkably relevant to you. Consider a few:**

  • The strength to support and carry others: a duty to which seasoned saints are called.

  • The durability to make it through this troubled world’s inevitable storms.

  • The hardness to withstand heels, scrapes, and kicks. Jesus felt them and said… we would, too.

  • The softness to be chiseled and polished, as we yield and conform to His Image.

  • The resistance to stand against the flow, because we WILL face floods of temptations.

  • The “seasoning” to remove quarry sap, a symbol of our old and “sticky” habits.

  • The proximity and stability to hang tight on the Rock, our Foundation.

  • The fire resistance for coming trials, which won’t stop till we knock on Heaven’s gate. 

You are “chips” off THE ROCK: beloved stones, smoothing the path for your Captain’s return, straightening the way false prophets twisted. YOU are temples of the Holy Spirit!

Name Tags: You Are… Stones (Part 91)

* Two other Verses pertinent to Jesus, stones, and worship:

* 'When Jesus said 'this temple,' He meant His Own Body' (John 2:21, NLT).

* 'He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone... I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple' (Revelation 21:10-11, 22, NLT).

** Short article, 12 Basic Qualities of Good Building Stones: http://civilblog.org/2015/06/26/12-basic-quality-requirements-of-good-building-stones/

** Short article, Characteristics of Good Building Stones: http://www.constructionandesign.com/2016/02/characteristics-of-good-building-stones.html

NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players.’ Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.

Carey Arban