The Most Holy Place

A curtain hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle and temple and separated the presence of God from the Israelite priests who served there.

Only the high priest was allowed into the Most Holy Place, and only after a strict regimen of cleansing. Jesus cleanses us from our humanity, so that we may serve the Living God through His divinity within us (Hebrews 9:14).

As Jesus took His last breath on Calvary's cross, the temple curtain split in half from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). Most scholars believe that God orchestrated this torn Temple curtain as an object lesson for us.

It illustrates and signifies the fact that we cannot earn our way to heaven, but we can now enter the presence of God by the blood of Jesus with confidence in our salvation (Hebrews 10:19).

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He sets His seal of ownership on us and gives us His Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance (2 Corinthians 1:22).

Once we repent of our sins, ask for forgiveness and surrender our will to Him, He moves into our Born Again spirit and resides within us all through our lifetime. He places us in His Body and we work together for His glory.

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Christ lives in us (Colossians 1:27). Our Spirit is the Most Holy Place where God resides. God makes us a holy sanctuary in which He can dwell (Exodus 25:8).

Cleansed from sin by the blood of the perfect Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19), we are His priests and we shall reign with Him during the Millennium for 1000 years and then serve Him throughout eternity (Revelation 20:6).

Prayer:

Father God, You are our safe haven and our power to deal with temptation and persecution (Psalm 46:1). Even in the most unthinkable and earth shattering circumstances, with our faith in Your faithfulness, we have no reason to fear (Psalm 46:1-3). We consider trails as a time of great joy, because they are an adventure with You (James 1:2).

We stop our stressing and watch You work in our behalf (James 1:2; Psalm 46:10). We are Your children (Romans 8:15). You promise never to leave us or to forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). You are our Mighty God who saves us and abides within us. You celebrate over us with delight. You calm us with Your love. You even rejoice over us with thunderous singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

Thought for the Day:

Our hope in Christ is the sure and steadfast anchor for our soul. – Hebrews 6:19

Surrendering to God's Love

A pure heart is the key to knowing God (Matthew 5:8). His love overwhelms us with its joy and peace. His perfect love slowly, but surely, casts out all of our fears (1 John 4:18). When we trust in Christ and keep God's Word, we become His dwelling place (John 14:23). He fills us through all of our being with all of His fullness (Ephesians 3:19).

As the Temple of the Holy Spirit, we experience more and more intimacy with the Trinity (1 Corinthians 3:16). The outer court of the temple is our body, the inner court is our soul and the Most Holy Place is our spirit, where the presence of God dwells and fills our soul and body. As we present our body to God, as a living sacrifice, we die to our self and the destructive lusts of life (Romans 12:1).

God's Spirit fills our soul with all of the characteristics of faith, hope and love. These are the greatest traits a person can possess (1 Corinthians 13:13). The more we walk in obedience to the directives of God's Spirit, the more our faith increases. Our obedience to Biblical standards comes as we grow in love for God (John 14:15). Then, our love and faith increase our hope in God.

God's love is wider, deeper and higher than any human emotion or any created thing (Ephesians 3:18; Romans 8:31-39). God's proven love for us, over the years of our relationship with Him, helps us to have more love for one another (John 13:34). Surrendering to God's love opens doors for us that we can only dream about, and brings fulfillment to our life in this sin-cursed world.

Prayer:

Father God, faith, hope and love are intertwined throughout our entire personality and relationship with You. They affect our lifestyle, and are the foundation of every other fruit of Your Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Teach us to surrender to Your love, and to allow Your light to shine through us, so that men will see our good works and give You the glory (Matthew 5:16). Perfect Your love in us and help us to bring You glory with our life (1 John 2:5).

Thought for the Day:

God is love and love is of God; everyone who loves is born again of the Spirit of God and knows God. - 1 John 1:7-8; Luke 10:27

Worldly Gain or Eternal Power

Money, fame, relationships, employment, ambition, pride, rebellion, reputation, worldly goods, houses, etc. are all parts of our carnality, which Believers continue to cling to in this world. 

God calls us to give up worldly gain for His eternal power. There really is no contest between the two! God also gives us the power to relinquish our will to His.

Where He sends us we will go, even if we do not want to go there; and we will not go where He does not send us, no matter how much we want to go. Jesus died for us, so that we can die in Him. 

Our new life belongs to Him, not to us. We wait before the Lord each new day to hear His will for each moment. We surrender each facet of our self to Him and He purges us and breaks sin's hold on us (Isaiah 6:5-7).

At salvation, God raises us up to sit in Heavenly places with Him. We are no longer concerned with earthly issues, but we seek first God's Kingdom (Ephesians 2:1-6).  

Our salvation is provided in justification and our self-life is crucified during sanctification. God fills us with His Spirit's joy and power, which is our strength to accomplish His works with our life (Ephesians 2:10).

As we give God's Spirit full reign in our spirit, soul and body, He takes up residence as His Temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Without reservation, we surrender to God’s Spirit, and offer our soul’s submission without any reservation (Romans 12:1). 

He renews our mind with the mind of Christ, and our character is replaced with God’s nature, which is the fruit of His Spirit and the divine life of Christ in us (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 5:22-23).

Prayer:

Father God, when You call us to Yourself, we lay our sinful nature and our natural talents at the Cross. Although it is hard to relinquish our life to You, we know You simply require a willing attitude. 

Christ slowly becomes our whole life (Colossians 3:2-4). We live, move and have our being only in Him (Acts 17:28). Your Spirit in us enables us to enter into Your Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19).

Thought for the Day:

We work out our own salvation, but it is God who gives us both the desire and the power to do this. - Philippians 2:12-13

The Most Holy Place

As Jesus took His last breath, the temple curtain split in half from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This curtain hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in the temple. It separated the presence of God from the Israelite priests. Only the high priest was allowed into the Most Holy Place, and only after a strict regimen of cleansing. Most scholars believe that God orchestrated this event as an object lesson for us. It signifies the fact that we can now enter the presence of God by the blood of Jesus with confidence in our salvation (Hebrews 10:19). 

Jesus cleanses us from our humanity, so that we may serve the Living God through His divinity within us (Hebrews 9:14). We are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Christ lives in us (Colossians 1:27). Our Spirit is the Most Holy Place where God dwells within us. God made us a sanctuary in which He can dwell (Exodus 25:8), cleansed from sin by the blood of the perfect Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:19). We are His priests and we shall reign with Him during the Millennium for 1000 years (Revelation 20:6).

We are also citizens of Heaven (Philippians 3:20). Our great High Priest is our King as well. He gave His life to allow us access to our Father’s throne. When we accept Him as our Savior, he sets His seal of ownership on us and gives us His Spirit as a down payment of our inheritance (2 Corinthians 1:22). Once we repent of our sins, ask for forgiveness and surrender our will to Him, He moves into our Born Again spirit and resides within us all through our lifetime. He places us in His Body and we work together for His glory.

It is so good and pleasant for the Body of Christ to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133:1). Our love for Jesus and for one another is a testimony to the world that He really does dwell within us (John 13:35). The bond of Christ’s love for us and in us brings unity to all of us in His Body no matter where we live or how old we are (1 Corinthians 1:10). As the Spirit sanctifies each one of us, we learn to conduct our self as an example of the gospel of Christ. We stand together in our faith and by one Spirit. We think, act and believe as one Body (Philippians 1:27, 2:2).

We prefer one another above our self (Romans 12:10) and we search the scriptures together to come to a similar understanding of His Word (Acts 17:11). When one member of Christ’s Body suffers, we all suffer; and when one rejoices, we all rejoice (1 Corinthians 12:26). As authentic Believers, we are an exact representation of Christ (Colossian 1:15). We all share the same vision to live Godly and the same purpose to save souls. We will all spend eternity with one another in His presence (Titus 3:5-7).

We are also unified with the Father through Christ by the Spirit (John 17:21-22). We share in the unity of the triune God and we live as an example to the world of a God of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith (Galatians 5:22-23; John 17:21). We put on the mind of Christ, speak the words given to us by His Spirit and follow His will for each moment of our day.

Prayer:

Father God, You are our safe haven and our power to deal with temptation and persecution (Psalm 46:1). Even in the most unthinkable and earth shattering circumstances, with our faith in Your faithfulness, we have no reason to fear (Psalm 46:1-3). We consider trails as a time of great joy, because they are an adventure. We stop our stressing and watch You work in our behalf (James 1:2; Psalm 46:10). We are Your children (Romans 8:15). You promise never to leave us or to forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). You, our Mighty God who saves us, lives within us. You celebrate over us with delight. You calm us with Your love. You even rejoice over us with thunderous singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

Thought for the Day:

Our hope in Christ is the sure and steadfast anchor for our soul. – Hebrews 6:19

Thank you, Stephanie Bentley for sharing this photo.