Hi how are you all going? I am good and enjoying the warmer weather. How about you? Is it getting hotter where you live or getting colder? Seasons in the natural are good reminders that our lives also go through seasons. Sometimes we are comfortable and sometimes we are in a dry season. But the good thing about seasons are that they cycle through.
Back at the start of the year God gave me a word and He said that 2020 was the year of restoration and what a year it has been. In the last blog in that series in February we talked about how we fill in the walls with the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22. Now we need to furnish our rooms and how do we do that? With the presence of God and the Holy Spirit. Let’s explore that further by looking at a few Bible verses.
I Corinthians 3:16 asks us a question. That question is – do we not know that we are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells within us? We are not only rebuilding and restoring for our benefit but we are doing it because we are Gods temple.
We can see from the Old Testament that there was a place for God to come to the tabernacle in the wilderness that was called the Holy of Holies. The high priest was the only one that went in there and was allowed in there but only after they had dressed correctly, washed correctly and repented of their sin. The only time he could go in there was once a year. Once a year was the total time God’s presence came down to earth (except for special occasions). See Leviticus 16
The next temple we see in the Old Testament is Solomon’s. This is found in 1 Kings chapters 5 to 8. When the temple was being dedicated and the Ark of the Covenant came into the temple, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. This was not only in the Holy of Holies but in the temple itself and on all the priests. This was a type of how God wants to dwell with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus died on the cross for us and rose again, He made the pathway then for the presence of God to dwell within us. In John 20:22, Jesus breathed on the disciples and said to them to receive the Holy Spirit. Now the presence of God could dwell within us. But are there conditions? Yes
They are:
1. We must be saved – repented of our sins and given our lives to Jesus
2. We must have faith in the Word of God and read our Bibles and apply it.
3. We must operate in the calling God has given us and the authority He has placed on us.
4. We must talk to God.
Salvation is a free gift but the Holy Spirit only comes where He is welcome and God is honoured and Jesus is believed and acted upon. If your rooms haven’t been furnished or they are only half finished, don’t despair, mine are too. We are all a work in progress and as long as we are making progress forwards, we are on our way.
God wants so much to dwell with us. This week will you pray with me about the next bit of furnishing we have to do. That way we can all walk on this journey together.
Bless you heaps and keep living the life God intended for you.
Karen
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