Begin by reading Psalm 84.
Crossroads Community Church in Cincinnati had a great idea. They decided to open up their doors during the week, and so the public is always welcome to take advantage of their comfortable couches. And get this, they even offer free coffee, soda, and wifi. I have to say that if I lived around there, my loyalty to Starbucks might give way to free coffee.
We’ve been talking about the Old Testament Temple in Jerusalem. It was the central place of worship for the Jewish people. Under the Jewish Law, pilgrimages to Jerusalem were expected on Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkot. And because God’s presence was in the Most Holy Place, the closer you got to that Temple, the closer you got to God. However, as we saw in Leviticus 16, people couldn’t just go into the Most Holy Place however and whenever they wanted. Only the High Priest was permitted to go into the very presence of God in that sacred and haunting room, and only once a year.
How many times do we ask to see the Lord’s presence in our prayers and songs during our church services? Now imagine living in Old Testament times and knowing that you would never see God, or if you were fortunate enough to be a High Priest, knowing that you would only see God once a year. Sounds pretty limiting. Or imagine being the Jewish people during the time of Moses and being so afraid of the Lord’s presence, that they begged not to experience His glory. It’s a lot different than what we’re used to.
Well, fortunately, God does not live in a building; He dwells within us, and those restrictions no longer apply. We are the walking Most Holy Place. One of the Temple workers, infatuated with the House of God, says in Psalm 84:10, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” His point is that there’s no better place to be than in the presence of God. Fortunately, if you are a Believer, that house is open 24/7. You have access to the presence of God in a way which Aaron, Moses, or David never got to experience while they were alive on earth.
Do you take advantage of that 24/7 access to God? Do you live your life as though you are perpetually in the presence of God? Or do you forget? Meditate on this thought: you are the walking Most Holy Place – not just when you realize it, but every second of every day. God is really with you – not just when you are good, but all the time. The more you recognize that you are always in the Lord’s presence, the more your life will change, and the more you will be inclined to be a living sacrifice.
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