God is saying so much this morning I can't get it down fast enough. First, please read the verses for today in the order they're presented below and look for an arrow shooting straight through them and tying them together.
"'Do not come any closer,' God said. 'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.'" Exodus 3:5
"'Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.' by this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified." John 7:38-39
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19
First: Did you see it? God, Jesus, Holy Spirit; Old Covenant, Jesus Teachings, Post-Pentacost. Beautiful, consistent teachings and faith-binding reasons the Bible is timeless and trustworthy. We can rest in its Truth because Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one and testify in unison.
Next: In the Exodus passage, Moses had to cross to the other side of the desert to get to the Mountain of God, then God came to us in Jesus (Emmanuel - "God with us") as the link between wandering in a spiritual desert and never thirsting again. Now we carry the Living Water in us - we're the arks, we're the God-carriers to those still living in the desert.
Next: Now our physical presence is a temple that houses God. Some people still go to church buildings, synagogues, and cathedrals searching for God but others see through the windows of our lives and catch a glimpse of God living in us and they head up our sidewalks with their empty cups. Sarah Young calls this point of contact, when people knock on the doors of our temples seeking God, "holy ground." That took me by surprise before I started thinking it through. "Holy ground" in my mind is the point, or place, where I meet with God whether it's sitting here at the computer letting Him lead and love me, in a congregation, as part of an intimate prayer time with Christian friends, or singing a worship song. But when do unbelievers meet with God on "holy ground?" Where is the edge of the desert for them? Could it be when they see the fire burning in us from a distance and wander closer out of curiosity? Is it when we open our doors and they find the One they thought they saw inside?
Humbling and a little frightening to think I can trick or treat people every day. I have three choices: 1) I let the "living waters" of the Holy Spirit flow out to thirsty people; 2) I answer their knocks but block their view of God; or 3) I turn off the light and pretend no one's home.
Lord, keep us constantly mindful of our role as Your temples, Your water carriers, Your ears, hands and feet. Make Your Presence felt as thirsty people knock on our lives and even shake up our buckets to see Who's inside. Keep us from blocking their view of You. Guard us from spouting out trite, over-used phrases to answer their needs. Help us not to freeze up and hide but to swing open the door and let You pour out into thirsty souls. This means praying while we listen: both physical ears tuned in to what they pour out to us while keeping our spiritual ears tuned completely to Your Voice. We trust You to respond through us. Give us the courage to pray with them instead of promising to pray for them, so those who have no idea how to talk to You may learn from us. May we go with them to the altar instead of just pointing the way. Use us like pitchers - refilling us and filling others through us. What a joyful calling!
(Note: My daily blogs are always in response to my own daily devotions in whatever devotion book I'm using at the time. For several years this has been Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling" unless otherwise noted. The verses provided each day are the ones on which she bases her daily entries.)
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