Temple of God - Application

God gave specific instructions for the construction of both the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the Temple built by Solomon. Interestingly, the individual items in the Temple relate to our walk and calling in Christ.

As Born Again Believers, we are the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16; John 2:21 Psalm 139:14). We are the church of the Living God, who is our pillar and the foundation of all truth (1Timothy 3:15).

We start with the door of the Temple. We cannot enter God's Temple without first coming through the door of Jesus Christ (John 10:7, 9). He is our way, truth and life; and no one comes to God except through Jesus (John 14:6).

Next is the slaughter on the brazen altar (Exodus 39:39). An innocent, unblemished animal is sacrificed for sin, just as Jesus is our ultimate sacrifice (1 Peter 1:19).

With Christ's blood on our hands, we come to wash at the laver, which typifies washing in the water of God's Word (Ephesians 5:26). Once we are cleansed from our sins, we can enter the Holy Place.

We grow in our relationship with God in the Holy Place. We learn to pray at the altar of incense (Exodus 35:15; Revelation 8:4). We come to the candlestick, for light in this dark and dying world (2 Chronicles 4:7).

We also feast on God's Word, and with Jesus who is our bread of life (Exodus 25:30; John 6:25-59; Matthew 4:4). Jesus gave His life for us to open up our fellowship with God in all of His glory (1 John 5:20; Hebrews 9:3).

As we mature in our walk with God, we can enter into the Holy of Holies. This symbolizes our spirit and is the place of God's very presence in our life.

The clay tables of the Ten Commandments is housed in the Ark of the Covenant. This is covered by the Mercy Seat, giving us full access to God's mercy and grace, as well as His presence residing between the wings of the two cherubim (Exodus 25:17; Hebrews 9:5).

Prayer:

Father God, if we enter the Most Holy Places in your temple with any sin hidden or blatant in our life, we will "die" in Your presence (Leviticus 16:2-34).

Remind us about the stages of Your tabernacle and that we can only enter into Your presence through Jesus who is our door, our sacrifice, our cleanser, our bread of life and our high priest.

Thought for the Day:

It is only as we cleanse our sins by the blood of Jesus and dedicate our life to Him, regardless of our vocation, that we can survive in the presence of our holy God.

Whole-Hearted Devotion

 

In the wilderness, the pillar of fire kept the Israelites warm in cold desert evenings, and the cloud gave them shade under the hot desert sun. They clearly saw God's will when He moved the fire at night and the cloud by day to direct them (Numbers 9:20).

Yet, I think that we actually have more of an advantage of walking in God's will than they did, because we have God's Holy Spirit residing within us every second of every day.

Even in times of trouble and uncertainty, God is happy to generously give us His wisdom (James 1:5). He searches our heart and discerns our every desire, thought and motive (Jeremiah 17:10).

When we serve God with wholehearted devotion, a submissive will and an obedient mind, He tells us whether to turn to the right or the left to find His will for each moment of our day (1 Chronicles 28:9; Isaiah 30:21).

When our delight is in the Lord, He actually puts His desires in our heart (Nehemiah 7:5; Psalm 37:4). As we commit our thoughts, choices and feelings to the Lord, He leads us in His will for our day (Proverbs 16:3).

Some people enjoy physical abundance with more money and possessions than they know what to do with; however, they have a life filled with greed, strife and disappointment (Proverbs 15:16).

Even when we have few material possessions or advantages, we have an abundance, because it is covered with God's love (Proverbs 16:8). Our ways are peaceful and full of God's favor as we serve Him with wholehearted devotion (Proverbs 3:17).

Prayer:

Father God, You love us so much, that when we ask, we receive; when we seek, we find; when we knock, You open doors for us to walk in the center of Your will (Matthew 7:8). As we always look to You and seek Your face, we find our delight in Your presence within us (Job 22:26, 27:10; Proverbs 3:5-6).

When our thoughts, words and behavior please You, even our enemies live in peace with us, and You grant us our heart's desires without withholding any of our requests (Proverbs 16:17; Psalm 21:2).

A baby bird sits in the nest, trusting its parents to fill its gaping mouth. As we have a similar trust in You and we open our mouth wide, as our Heavenly Parent, You always fill it (Psalm 81:10).

Thought for the Day:

Our life is not our own, and it is not up to us to make decisions and to plan our activities for our day; instead, we pray and God communicates to us where to go and what to do. - Jeremiah 10:23, 42:3