Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Leviticus 16:12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the LORD and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the LORD, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull's blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.
These instructions come from the “Day Of Atonement”. I remember a story skit or something like that where the line was “You don’t just saunter up to the Almighty…”. These are the instructions for that time through the days of the Temple. The idea of the presence of God Himself with the Arc of the Covenant was to keep the focus where it was supposed to be: ON GOD. It was not the sacrifices (though they were serious), it was not the order (though it was focused), but it was that we people are dealing with our God who is GOD! The pomp and ceremony of some churches and denominations are often looked down on by some, but none come close to the level we have here in the Temple. It is not about the pomp etc., but about the nature of God and His people. He is God and we are not. Is God there when we sing? Is God here when we do the forms of some of our ceremonies (Baptism, communion, wedding, funeral???)? An alternative approach could be “Hey Lord, take a look, we are here for you!” How does that sound? Let all of us take a trip behind the curtain more often!
For Your Prayers: The nation of Fiji
May all of your love belong first to the Lord and then to your family!