TABERNACLE

Lord, I'm trying to put it all together.

I'm reading about Your tabernacle and offerings

and all the details and rules that You set for Israel in 

implementing Your worship.

Holiness matters to You.

That much is clear.

Everything that surrounds You should

be reverenced with a holy awe.

Today, in the new covenant that You have established,

You have set aside many rules and restrictions.

You have declared all foods clean,

all people as objects of Your love,

the observance of days as a matter of individual

faith and conscience.

Yet You have been clear that our bodies are

Your temple and we are not our own,

having been bought with the price of Your blood.

All that we do and say is to be for Your glory,

and Your Spirit should be listened to and obeyed.

What does this look like for me?

How much order and discipline is healthy yet

still allows the Holy Spirit free sway?

My child, you are hearing My voice and seeking to obey.  I have indeed set forth a new covenant that is better than the old, yet there is much to be learned from the old as long as you do not get stuck there.  As you read My instructions to Israel through Moses, understand My character.  The tabernacle was built with only the finest materials and the most skilled work because it was for Me, just as you are created for Me.  I have created you with great care to be a specific vessel for My life.

Israel was given many rules and restrictions in order to teach them the difference between what was ordinary and what was holy.  They had no other way of seeing that I was the one true God and I deserved their worship and faithfulness.  They had come from a land of many gods which were easily tossed about to please their own desires.  As you become more and more aware of My holiness and My right to your life, the other lesser gods that would clamor for your attention fall away and are exposed for the frauds that they are.  My Holy Spirit lives in you and convinces you what is true and what is false, and His instruction is far more valuable than a list of rules to follow.

Even so, the vessel and container of My Holy Spirit is to be holy, surrendered, and submitted to My will.  As you read of the tabernacle you find that I am a God of order, beauty, and quality.  My tabernacle of your body should be cared for in a way that honors its inhabitant, Me.  Order and discipline are not outside My will, but must be dictated by My Spirit and not by the trends, wisdom, or motivation of the world.

See yourself as I see you and you will be amazed at what I have created.  You are unique, loved, valued, and full of purpose.  You were lost in sin and death, but I have redeemed you from all of your past, present, and even future sin and circumstances.  Now everything that touches you has passed through My hand, and My intentions are always for your good.  Submit to discipline and correction that comes from Me, but shun the voice of the world and enemy which would condemn you and bring you into slavery.  Trust the voice of My Spirit and walk this path of life and freedom with Me.  Let Me be the joy of your heart and your greatest desire, and I will be faithful to lead you into life more abundant than you can dream.

Hebrews 8-9; Psalm 139; John 16:8; 1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20;

Colossians 2:16-23; Colossians 3:1-4; Galatians 6:1, 13, 16; Ephesians 3:20-21