Thoughts in Worship

> Final Thoughts in Worship Episode, with Claudia and David> The devotional thought that so many have grown to love is in transition. You can still read the devotional, but David's reading has transitioned to our new 15-minute podcast titled, Message Daily, a short Bible study that further expounds the devotional thought. > For more information about Message Daily, visit: www.MessageMagazine.com

Thoughts in WorshipMessage Magazine's Online Devotional for Monday, September 9, 2019This is devotional thought number 5 in our devotional series, “Removing the Veil: Sanctuary Living in the 21st Century.” Our subject is: Preparing to Tabernacle With GodHere’s the question for consideration: What steps does God take to prepare us for sanctuary living?“And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:3–6). God always has a plan. If we learn to trust Him and follow His plan, we will be saved.Now we have a birdseye view of God’s plan of salvation. Paul said that the children of Israel were given to us as examples for our learning. What I notice immediately from our theme text is how God prepared the people for holiness. Think about it. The children of Israel were in captivity for many years. They only knew the Egyptian master’s scourge. They were subjugated by a power, that, in past generations elevated one of their brothers to provide help to the entire world during seven years of famine. Their master saw them as a threat, disrespected their God, owned their children, controlled their food, attempted to obliterate their religion, and forced free labor to elevate themselves. Does this sound familiar? So if God was ever to keep His promise to Abraham, that his offspring would be plentiful upon the face of the earth, and inherit the land now inhabited by innumerable enemies, He would need to lead them on a success path that would change their hearts, build their trust, increase their faith, vanquish their enemies, and glorify their God. Step one: deliverance.If God is preparing us for sanctuary living (i.e. holy living), He first needs to give us a downpayment on that holiness. He miraculously delivered the children of Israel from Egyptian slavery first, and then promised them power, prestige, and holiness if they would just obey Him. Notice that, with God, deliverance comes first. If God were to tell a sin addict to keep His law without delivering that addict from slavery to sin, it would be a recipe for failure. Paul said the carnal mind cannot please God. It cannot be subject to the law of God. Why? That mind has another master—sin/the devil. When you have an opportunity, please read Romans 6-8 and you’ll see what I mean. God breaks the spell unfettered sin has upon us when, through His strength, we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. In a simultaneous transaction, the Holy Spirit begins to empower us to actually live according to our calling. When we receive Him into our lives, we become His children; that is our calling (John 1:11-12; Romans 8:29). And having become His children by faith, we learn to live like children of God. God’s miraculous deliverance begets the power to live holy lives in God’s presence.If you are yearning to experience the fullness of sanctuary living, accept God’s plan of deliverance, learn to follow His plan, and when you’re feeling faint under trials, don’t give up! Take courage in the following passage: “Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, And my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:27–31).—L. David Harris (http://bit.ly/BQuotable)#messagedaily

Thoughts in WorshipMessage Magazine's Online Devotional for Sunday, September 8, 2019This is devotional thought number 4 in our devotional series, “Removing the Veil: Sanctuary Living in the 21st Century.” Our subject is: Understanding ShadowsHere’s the question for consideration: How are we to understand the principle of patterns so we can stay on track?“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” (Exodus 25:8–9). Well, before we get too deep here let me say one thing of certainty: shadows, types, figures, representations, symbols, and the like help us get a picture of the genuine article, but are not such themselves. Just as the Bible enjoins that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, and that we are to follow Jesus’ example, yet even when we follow His example we are not Him, such is the case with the sanctuary, as we know it. Simply stated, we are representatives of Christ; reflectors of His light in the world, but He is the true light. Likewise, whatever we learn about the Old Testament sanctuary on earth is a representation of the higher, more perfect entity of the heavenly sanctuary, and ultimately, Jesus Christ Himself. If we don’t get that straight in our minds early, we will certainly get off track. God would have us learn eternal lessons from the symbols and not try to squeeze the eternal realities into their earthly shadows’ mold. Just as shadows give us a view of that upon which the light is shining, the shadows of the Old Testament sanctuary, its articles, services, ceremonies, etc., also give us a view of God’s ministry of salvation, in heavenly places. After the Old Testament system of sacrifices met their fulfillment in Christ, inspiration taught us the following: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:” (Hebrews 9:24). As we learn more on this subject, it will become vital that we hearken back to my near perseverative coverage on this point.Here’s another way of expressing the thought, in living color examples. The Ark of the Covenant in the OT sanctuary had a lid on it called the mercy seat, over which the presence of YHWH hovered. Are we to assume that in heaven there’s a box made of shittim wood over which the presence hovers, or that YHWH sits upon His throne? He sits upon His throne. Crafted on either side of the ark were two cherubims. Are we to assume that images of cherubims are represented in heaven, or that there are real live covering cherubs attending the throne? God has real cherubs attending Him. There was a golden candlestick with seven lamps fueled by olive oil in the sanctuary. Are we to assume heaven needs a light or does it represent the seven spirits of God? There was an altar of incense just before the veil before the presence of God. Is there an actual altar presently in heaven whereon is special incense burning, or does this all represent the prayers of the saints, which Jesus and the Holy Ghost make acceptable to the Father on our behalf? I could go on, but suffice it to say, we have so much to learn through the OT sanctuary symbols about what God is currently doing for us. We will take our time, and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, we will discover sweet truths that will engender praise, thanksgiving, respect, and full-on worship of our wonderful Savior. Put on your seatbelts, dear friends. It’s going to be a wonderful ride, in Jesus’ name.—L. David Harris (http://bit.ly/BQuotable)#messagedaily

Thoughts in WorshipMessage Magazine's Online Devotional for Sabbath, September 7, 2019 This is devotional thought number 3 in our devotional series, “Removing the Veil: Sanctuary Living in the 21st Century.” Our subject is: The Pattern We Must FollowHere’s the question for consideration: What is the Sanctuary?“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” (Exodus 25:8–9). Let me answer today’s question at the outset. The sanctuary, during the Old Testament era was a place especially designed according to the blueprint God gave, for the purpose of connecting God and humanity. It was the place upon which God descended to give special guidance to His people through signs, ceremonies, practices, and the priestly order. It was a place where God’s people could surrender their sins, in exchange for an agreement with God. It was where God’s people learned to fellowship with one another. The Scriptures say that the Old Testament sanctuary was a place of worship, which was a symbol or shadow of the true sanctuary in heaven. The sanctuary is all of this, and more.I’m not sure if you know this or not, but the sanctuary, whether on earth in the Old Testament or in heaven today, though very real places, direct our attention to a higher principle. All things sanctuary represent Jesus Christ Himself, which is why it matters how we treat this subject. This is much larger than a structural blueprint. It’s much larger than even recognizing there is a sanctuary above (we’ll talk about that in the future). The sanctuary, in its essence, is God. “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” (Psalm 90:1–2). “Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: Thou hast given commandment to save me; For thou art my rock and my fortress. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.” (Psalm 71:3–4). “Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come. Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” (Ezekiel 11:16–17). If you search the Scriptures from Genesis to revelation, you will find scores of verses that say clearly that our God is our refuge, fortress, and protection—a sanctuary. And as we said the other day, the sanctuary God introduced to the Old Testament peoples was a manifestation of the Emmanuel (i.e. God with us) Principle. Therefore, it makes sense why the same God who called himself a sanctuary to His people in Ezekiel 11, would manifest that reality. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.” (John 2:19–22). Thus, it also makes sense, then, why John said the following about Jesus Christ in the Revelation: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:22–27). Now, we truly see through a glass darkly, but then, when God reveals all, in heaven and the new earth, we will see Him and the blessed mysteries face-to-face!—L. David Harris (http://bit.ly/BQuotable)#messagedaily