He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luke 1:17
As I have been reading the Bible in 90 days, it is evident that some of the very conditions that existed prior to God interceding in world activities exist today. One thing that has been reinforced in my mind is that God hates violence (Ezekiel 8:17). God’s people were moving far away from Him and before they could turn back to God, the temple had to be re-established to prepare the people for the return.
In Ezra 3:8, after coming out of captivity in Babylon, the children of Israel began a work to repair the temple in Jerusalem for worship. Worship may be considered a spiritual readiness to enter God’s presence. This is noted in chapter 6:21; the children of Israel left the ungodly behavior of their captives in preparation to seek God.
Nehemiah confessed that his people had not kept God’s commandments (1:7). Later in chapter 8, all the people who had been in captivity were called together in order to hear again the words of the Book of Moses. They were reminded and prepared to re-enter God’s presence by hearing again God’s Word. The temple building was to be resumed.
I believe the New Testament, through Jesus, prepares our bodies to be temples – temples for the Holy Ghost. It prepares us for that holy habitation. Matthew 25:34 says the kingdom has been prepared for us; let us be ready to receive it. Let Him find us doing the will of God. Luke 12:40 tells us to be ready; we know not when He will return.
Prayer Focus: Let us pray for a world that is readied for the return of Jesus. That He might be received with the love He is worthy of. Pray for a spiritual readiness that will allow us to recognize Him and that we are fearless and undeterred in following Him. We have all that we need in God’s Word to do so. Let us pray this in Jesus’ name – Amen.
Mona Riddick
No comments:
Post a Comment