“He shall not go outside the sanctuary…”

            There is a verse in the Bible that has always touched my heart. This verse declares that there is no better place to be than in the presence of the Almighty God. I pray that this becomes a reality in my own life, as it was in the life of David, who said:

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”

These were the words of the kingly psalmist (Psalm 84:10).  He understood the imperative need to be in God’s house to worship the Lord and fellowship with other believers.  To him it was not an obligation, but a pure joy.

The priest was forbidden to leave the tabernacle.  To go outside of the sanctuary meant a desecration of the tent of meeting, for the anointing of God was upon him.

Today, there is no tabernacle and there are no Jewish priests, but the same principle applies.  It is good for us to attend church regularly to spend quality time with the Lord.  Regrettably we have to go out of the sanctuary to devote our time to work, school and other mundane activities.

Our purpose in attending church should be to worship God and to be equipped for the ministry.  Then when we leave the sanctuary, our goal should be to minister to the world.

The psalmist desired to be in God’s presence more than anything in the world.  In fact, a day with the Lord was more valuable to him than a thousand without Him.

Is that your aim?

Do you spend time with God?

Do you enjoy spending time with the Lord?

Is your heart inside his holy sanctuary?

A. G.

            “And if the people of the land should ever close their eyes…”

Different people have different discipline philosophies.  Some parents are so strict, that their house resembles a modified version of a “boot camp.”  They do not allow any disrespect or disobedience and offenders are punished severely.

On the other extreme, there are parents that allow almost anything.  They close their eyes or “turn a blind eye” to the sins of their offspring and never discipline them.  No wonder we have so many juvenile delinquents today!

Many followers of Christ fall under this last category.  We look at sin, but somehow we do not see it.  Could it be that we close our eyes to sin?  Or perhaps it is that our eyes are so accustomed to evil, that we are not able to distinguish anymore. The closer we get to the light of the gospel, the darker will sin and temptations  appear unto us, and the less inclined we will be to commit sins against our God.

The place where we are almost “blind” to sin is in our own lives.  That is precisely why God encourages us to examine ourselves to uproot any evil or bitterness, but unfortunately we close our eyes once more.

When you look at the world of today, do you see sin?  If you would look a little closer, perhaps you could detect traces of evil around you.  There is temptation and sin in movies, television shows, advertisement and almost everywhere else.

Do not close your eyes to sin, especially your own.  Do not close your eyes also to the sinners that need to know about salvation in Christ.  Let us open our eyes to sin, not to fall into it, but to be alert and prepared against it.

A. G.

             “…you shall leave them for the poor and the alien:”

            The land of Canaan was beautiful and fertile.  This was the land God had promised the people of Israel; a fruitful land and a great place to live!  God in his infinite mercy and incomparable compassion provided the best place under the sun for the Jews.  He was also gracious with the poor and with the foreigners that had made the perilous trek from Egypt.

During harvest season, the people of God were instructed not to reap the entire field.  They were also forbidden to gather fallen fruits.  These “leftovers” were for the poor and the aliens (not from Mars).  Sometimes the saying becomes reality:

            “A man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

As believers in Christ, we have the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23), and we bear spiritual fruits as well (John 15:5, 8).  This fruit is not designed for self-consumption or self-edification, but to be a channel of God’s blessings unto others.  God wants to bless everyone around us, specially the poor and the alien.

The “poor” are those weaker brothers and sisters that need our affirmation.  God can use our fruits and gifts to edify these needy Christians in the ways of the Lord.  We can also help those who are physically poor, specially our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The “alien” is that person who is living in sin, without Christ and void of hope.  He also needs to “eat” the Bread of life and drink the Living Water that we possess.  After all, it was Jesus who commanded the apostles, on the feeding of the 5,000:

             “…you give them something to eat.”

A. G.

“You shall not uncover the nakedness…”

A Pastor asked the following question during a worship service:

“Who would like to be an immoral person?”  No one raised their hands.

Undaunted, the pastor asked yet another question,

“Who would like to live in holiness for the Lord?”

There was a unanimous vote.

Most Christians I know, desire the same thing, but only very few are able to practice holiness consistently.  Why? For the same reason that holiness doesn’t come to our lives just because we wish to be holy.  It takes prayer, meditation in God’s word and active pursuit, in the midst of a tempting and darkened world.

God prohibited the Israelites to uncover anybody’s nakedness (except the spouse), simply because as humans we have a strong tendency to sin.  Pornography has ruined the lives of many believers including well known Christian leaders.  We are called to be an example to the world, but an example of holiness and love, not of adultery, divorce and immorality.

God demands holiness from his church today!  If we fix our eyes on Jesus, then we won’t look to pornography in any of its manifestations.  Remember that God is holy and we are holy in Christ, therefore we must live in holiness.

Every morning of your life there will be two different outfits waiting to be chosen by you.  One is beautiful on the outside and it’s called “Immorality.”  The other one is glorious inside and it is made by God:  “Holiness.”

Which one will you wear?

A. G.

            “…he shall be cut off from the people.”

A little girl and her grandfather went one day to the park to fly a kite.  It was a sunny day and a gentle breeze was flowing from the south; an ideal situation for flying kites indeed!

Her beautiful kite flew higher than all the other ones, and she was enjoying every minute until…

  “Look Grandpa; the line is stuck in the tree!” Screamed the girl, as she watched how the line was severed and the colorful kite disappeared forever into the blue sky.

God promised the same end to those who dared mock him with incorrect or incomplete sacrifices:  They would be cut off from the people; in other words, they would die for their sins.

Believe it or not, there are Christians who mock God and his vicarious sacrifice.  We sometimes get involved in this foolish game, where we “play” the role of disobedient believers who attempt to ridicule the Lord.

This is a dangerous game to play for two reasons:  We cannot mock God, and he can cut us off.

Cut us off?

Certainly! Even though we have eternal (spiritual) life in Christ, God can cut our physical existence short if we are useless or immoral.

The Bible admonishes us not to be like children anymore who, as the cordless kite, are “tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine.” (Ephesians 4:14).  Let us then, remain connected to God so that we become useful Christians who minister, not mock, the Holy and Sovereign God.

A.  G.