The Holy Place

 

Monday, April 4, 2022

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the new year.  Place the Ark of the Covenant inside, and install the inner curtain to enclose the Ark within the Most Holy Place.  Then bring in the table, and arrange the utensils on it.  And bring in the lampstand, and set up the lamps.  “Place the gold incense altar in front of the Ark of the Covenant.  Then hang the curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacle.  Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the Tabernacle entrance.  Set the washbasin between the Tabernacle and the altar, and fill it with water.  Then set up the courtyard around the outside of the tent, and hang the curtain for the courtyard entrance.  “Take the anointing oil and anoint the Tabernacle and all its furnishings to consecrate them and make them holy.  Anoint the altar of burnt offering and its utensils to consecrate them.  Then the altar will become absolutely holy.  Next anoint the washbasin and its stand to consecrate them.  “Present Aaron and his sons at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and wash them with water.  Dress Aaron with the sacred garments and anoint him, consecrating him to serve me as a priest.  Then present his sons and dress them in their tunics.  Anoint them as you did their father, so they may also serve me as priests.  With their anointing, Aaron’s descendants are set apart for the priesthood forever, from generation to generation.”  Exodus 40:1-15

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.  For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:19-25

God gave detailed, sacred instructions to Moses as to how to set up the Tabernacle’s Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies), along with cleansing and consecrating rituals for the priests who would serve there.  It would be a death sentence for anyone other than the consecrated High Priest to enter beyond the curtain that separated this place of God’s dwelling from all other places on earth.

Paul wrote that the blood of Christ changed all that.  We may enter into God’s presence boldly – that is, without fear of dying, but with awareness that it is the only way of living!  Entering the place of worship (in prayer, in church, on the golf course, driving on I-85, or changing the baby’s diaper) isn’t a place of worship at all, those are only the places we happen to be when we enter the place of worship – our being, our heart, soul, mind, and spirit, joining in conversation with the Father.  And that conversation requires both speaking and listening.

There is way too much here to unpack in a five minute devotional, but let’s open the conversation on having this conversation.  God, says Paul, is to be trusted with the promises He has made to have this conversation with each of us.  He speaks through His Word.  He speaks (sometimes) in an event or a growing sense of urgency in our heart.  And…He listens.  Best of all, He knows us – deep down, in every corner of our being…warts and all.  And He still loves us.

For You Today

If the new tabernacle for God is located in your innermost place, it would be wise to dwell on how God instructed Moses to  consecrate the first (temporary) Tabernacle…carefully, wholly-dedicating the place to God.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

Holding Tightly This Promise

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Monday, April 8, 2019

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.  For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:19-25

As we move towards what I consider the most blessed time of the year, Holy Week, the passion of Christ, His triumphal entry, Good Friday, and culminating in Easter’s resurrection glory, we focus during this season of Lenten preparation on the blood of Christ, his sacrificial offering for the cleansing of our sins.

In Exodus 40 we read the elaborate instructions God gave to Moses for setting-up the tabernacle in the wilderness.  This detailed process was not to be varied, because each movement, and each article placed in the tent of meeting spoke a piece of God’s forgiveness, and His relationship with His special people.  In the ancient “temple mode” a consecrated priest would enter the most holy place and offer the sacrifice for sin once a year…every year!

In writing this letter to the Hebrews the author picks up this imagery and reminds us of the hope to which all disciples of Jesus Christ hold.  Once Jesus finished his work on the cross, it was he, the Lamb sacrificed from the beginning of the world, who would bring the sacrifice into the perfect Holy place, Heaven’s throne.  There, the forgiveness for sin was made complete forever.

The writer, having outlined God’s marvelous plan of redemption, the purging of sin and cleansing of our souls, then proceeds to tell us what to do with it, namely we are to embrace it…tightly!

Corrie ten Boom’s tragic life is chronicled in The Hiding Place.  Her family heroically protected Jewish people during WWII’s Hitler regime, only to wind up in concentration camps themselves.  This family held to their Christian faith seriously, laying everything on the line for the cause of protecting innocent lives.  In an interview I watched in the 1970’s Corrie talked about material things, as opposed to God’s spiritual promises.  I will never forget what she said:

I learned to hold material things loosely in my hands; if you hold them too tightly it hurts when God pries them out of your fingers.

These words are a wonderful reminder that the blood of Christ was not shed so we could possess money, power, or prestige.  Those are but passing wildflowers, bloom today – faded memories tomorrow.  That is also the case with sorrows, poverty, and shame – the world’s cruelty passes as quickly as its pleasures.

Holding tightly to something is reserved for that which is precious, vital for eternity.  There are many things in life to hold loosely, but there are also a few things to which we should refuse to let go, even with our life hanging in the balance…truth and fidelity are among these, and the chief reason is the promise of God, His love and care, displayed in sacrifice and resurrection.  The writer of Hebrews told us to keep meeting together in worship, focusing on this gift of Christ, encouraging one another with its’ meaning, provoking one another to good works in Christ’s name. 

For You Today

To what (or Whom) have you been holding tightly?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[i] Title Image:   Pixabay.com

[ii] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©

Good Medicine - Part 2; HOPE

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And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.  For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10: 19-25^(NLT)

Thomas Merton wrote:  We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope.[2]  Fr. Merton points us to the reality (according to Matthew’s Gospel[3]) that Jesus Christ, the hope of the world, is our hope only when he’s our only hope.

There is a phrase in our text that evokes a picture.  That phrase is through the curtain.  The sky was clear the morning they led Jesus through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha, but it didn’t stay clear!  Near mid-day the sky went dark; three hours later it was still dark when Jesus breathed his last agonizing words:  it is finished. 

At that moment the earth began to shake like a bad California day.  Matthew^[4] tells us the earthquake was so violent huge rocks were split in two.  Tombs were opened when this happened; corpses were raised and they were seen walking in the cities nearby. 

Notice what else happened:

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.  Matthew 27:51a^(NRSVA)

This is the curtain Paul mentioned when he wrote to the Hebrews of how Jesus made a way for us to enter God’s presence.  The curtain was a separation in the Old Testament temple.  It separated everyone from the holy presence of God.  The reason for the veil was sin; that veil separated the place of God from the place where man stood.  The veil represented the darkness of having no hope to approach God.  Sin takes our hope away, because it separates us from God, which makes life unbearable. 

Author Lee Stroebel talks about hoping for success in explaining Easter.  He tells how his brother-in-law tried to do that with his 5-year-old son Sean.  They were sitting in church on Easter, and just before the service began, my brother-in-law pointed to the cross and said, See the cross?  The people put Jesus on the cross. The people killed Jesus.  Sean looked around very nervously, then asked cautiously:  These people?^[5]

That is always the reaction; we are astonished that we have the capability to put God to death – yet the very presence of the curtain said so!  And when that curtain was torn in two it was because the sacrifice of blood on the cross was final; it was a victory over sin and death.

Our text tells us to do three things in light of that veil being torn down…

1.   Enter god’s presence

Entering God’s presence is possible because when Jesus died for our sins, he proved the truth of what he said in His teachings:  for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.…^[6] 

I don’t have to be encouraged to draw near to the ones I love.  Sometimes I need a reminder, because I get distracted doing things.  But the normal thing to do when you love someone is to hang-out together.

The how of hanging-out with Jesus is found in the word trusting.  We have been cleansed by His blood, so we can draw near to God, trusting, in full confidence that our faith has brought us into God’s Forever Family!

Why should we do that?  His sacrifice makes our salvation certain. 

To be saved is the most important reality in life.  We live on this planet for less than 100 years in most cases…150 would be astounding.  Eternity is a lot longer than that! 

The conclusion here is simple; if our lifespan is relatively short, and eternity is really long, you should do what you need to prepare for the long run.  Draw near to God…join with His household…be adopted into the family. 

The second command is to hold fast to the faith. 

2.   Hold Fast to God’s Faith

Paul says:  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm

One of the reasons true Kingdom families hold together better is that we were designed to be people of faith.  The how of holding fast to our “confession of hope” is without wavering. 

It is certainly easy to get sidetracked these days.  I see it every year when the Nominating Committee attempts to enlist people to serve.  Holding fast to God’s faith has more to do than just being convinced in your mind that Jesus saves, saying a little prayer and then living like you used to; it has to do with serving consistently. 

Every believer who draws near to God’s house should hold fast to the faith with serving God.  The why of this is found in what Paul said about the promises of Jesus – they’re faithful; they always come true. 

Jesus promised rewards to His followers who serve Him faithfully – it is a true promise!  He also promised chastening (the woodshed) for those who are less than faithful servants; that is no less a true promise.

First draw close to God, then hold fast to God’s faith, and lastly…

3.   Plan to Make an Impact on God’s World

Paul said we should:

     …think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 

That’s making a plan for impacting each other and the world. 

In addition Paul gave us the how to do that in two simple ways that you will recognize; he said we should continue with God’s plans by meeting together and by encouraging each other. 

This is walking it and talking it!

I am only vaguely aware of how God fits everything together.  But, often looking back we see more clearly.  I was searching through some old papers and came across a note from Sarah.  Sarah was our youngest daughter, Carrie’s friend when we served a church in Jacksonville, Florida.  She rode our van to church each week even though her parents never came.  I had the privilege of baptizing Sarah. 

One Sunday little Sarah came to me with a two-fold request.  She wanted me to pray for her uncle and his wife; that was no problem!  But she also wanted me to go see them to baptize their baby. 

When I met Sarah’s uncle and his wife it was clear they had very little church background.  What they had was worried hearts over a very sick, premature baby in an incubator.  They wanted me to baptize their baby; the doctors said he was going to die within a day or so.  My heart went out to them.  As a Baptist pastor I couldn’t baptize this infant, but I offered to pray for him with everything I had. 

I was fearful of the trust that couple placed in me as they asked me to talk to God for their son.  I told them the little kitten-sized child was in God’s hand.  I held their hands and we prayed.   

That was in 1990.  Five years later Sarah wrote me this note:

…I still remember the day you prayed for Scott (my cousin) and gave his parents faith and helped them believe.  On the 28^th of this month he turns 5 year[s] old.  Today is his party.  Thank you for giving me the faith and hope.  Thank you, Sarah.

Sarah remembered that day as a time when her pastor gave her hope.  To be completely honest, at the time my main thought was frustration over a 10 year-old putting me in an awkward situation about baptizing a baby.  I’d never even laid eyes on his parents.  I went because I was her pastor and she asked.  But I went mostly because I couldn’t deny Sarah’s pleading eyes. 

Looking back, I know, (and Sarah also probably knows) it was God who gave her faith and hope.  In the end, God used a pastor doing his job to build faith and hope in a little girl.  And God used a 10 year-old kid’s faith to spur a forty-something, Christian pastor into good works.  Sarah impacted my life with her faith, and my faith was strengthened because of her impact. 

Our hope is all about drawing near to God, holding fast His gift of faith, and making plans to impact each other for good…that brings  the good medicine of hope to the soul!

I believe God has given us a few questions through this text, and He wants us to wrestle with them until there is an answer formed in each of our minds about what it means to truly go through the veil…to truly come right up alongside the throne of God, holding faith without wavering, and in so-doing, encourage each other to good works. 

Those questions:

·       Have I truly entered God’s Sanctuary…Am I saved?

·       Am I truly holding fast…is serving through my church a priority in my life?

·       Am I impacting the lives of others for Jesus Christ?

You wrestle with those this week, beloved!

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen!

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[1] Title Image Courtesy of Pixabay.com

[2] Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island, (NY & London, First Harvest Books, 1955), p.14

[3] Matthew 12:21  And his name will be the hope of all the world.”

[4] Matthew 27:50-55

[5] Lee Strobel in "Jesus is Alive -- True or False?" a sermon on SermonCentral.com

[6] John 3:16