12 min
May 8, 2024, Day 4 of Week 6 Daily Dose of Hope
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- Self-Improvement
Daily Dose of Hope
May 8, 2024
Day 4 of Week 6
Scripture – Exodus 25-27; Psalm 90; Philippians 1
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements New Hope Church’s five day a week Bible reading plan. We have a lot to cover today so let’s get right to it.
In Exodus 25, we find God giving instructions for how to build a place of worship. The instructions are very specific and they require sacrificial offerings on the part of the people. God is God. He could have easily provided all the different kinds of woods, stones, oils, leather, and other things required, but instead he asks the people to provide these various elements for worship themselves. This required sacrifice and hard work.
Even today, there is something deeply meaningful when people give sacrificially to provide for the worship of God. When we were in Cuba several years ago, our team brought a large amount of satin fabric with us. It was for the church to use as they saw fit. In less than twenty-four hours, some of the ladies in the church had created beautiful and elaborate vestments to cover the communion table and other gorgeous curtains to hang around the outdoor worship area. They must have stayed up all night to create these items in such a short time. It was their sacrifice for the worship of God. What sacrifice do you bring to the worship of God in our setting?
I’d really like to take some take and talk a bit about chapter 26. I'm not a detail-oriented person so the details in this chapter make my head spin a bit. There were layers upon layers of curtains, inner curtains and outer curtains, and covering layers. The purpose of these curtains and covering layers were mainly functional but their beauty, exquisiteness, and the precision with which Scripture details them certainly underscores the importance of this place. This was where the holy, loving, and protective presence of God was "housed." While God's presence was invisible, the extraordinary symbols in this place were a reminder to the people that God was there.
Towards the end of the chapter, there are details about the curtain that would separate the holy place from the most holy place, some translations say "holiest of holies." In this place, the ark of the covenant would be positioned, representing the presence of God himself. The ark was definitely a beautiful object, with much silver and gold. The interesting thing to me is that this was an object that the Israelites, even the Levites, never laid eyes on. God put all kinds of protective elements in place (i.e. the curtains in today's Scripture and layers upon layers of protective fabric) to ensure that no one saw the ark. Why was this? It's possible that the ark, in its beauty, and the objects within it, could have become an idol to the people. Just as we are, they were prone to making idols of things. It could also be that God wanted people to believe in him because of faith and not some extravagant object.
This got me thinking. Are there certain elements in our worship that remind us of God's presence? As products of the New Covenant, we recognize that God's presence is always with us. We don't have to be in a church sanctuary or a special holy place to experience God. On the other hand, there are certain places in our lives that seem to allow us to experience God in more powerful ways than others. I've had many people mention to me that when they arrived in the New Hope sanctuary after worshiping online only (after COVID), they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in a really strong way. Some were moved to weeping. What about you? Are there places that help you experience the presence of God in life-changing ways? I would love to hear about them. God is so good, to meet us in all kinds of different places and circumstances, to hear our cries, and to simply be present with us.
Today, we are starting Paul
Daily Dose of Hope
May 8, 2024
Day 4 of Week 6
Scripture – Exodus 25-27; Psalm 90; Philippians 1
Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional that complements New Hope Church’s five day a week Bible reading plan. We have a lot to cover today so let’s get right to it.
In Exodus 25, we find God giving instructions for how to build a place of worship. The instructions are very specific and they require sacrificial offerings on the part of the people. God is God. He could have easily provided all the different kinds of woods, stones, oils, leather, and other things required, but instead he asks the people to provide these various elements for worship themselves. This required sacrifice and hard work.
Even today, there is something deeply meaningful when people give sacrificially to provide for the worship of God. When we were in Cuba several years ago, our team brought a large amount of satin fabric with us. It was for the church to use as they saw fit. In less than twenty-four hours, some of the ladies in the church had created beautiful and elaborate vestments to cover the communion table and other gorgeous curtains to hang around the outdoor worship area. They must have stayed up all night to create these items in such a short time. It was their sacrifice for the worship of God. What sacrifice do you bring to the worship of God in our setting?
I’d really like to take some take and talk a bit about chapter 26. I'm not a detail-oriented person so the details in this chapter make my head spin a bit. There were layers upon layers of curtains, inner curtains and outer curtains, and covering layers. The purpose of these curtains and covering layers were mainly functional but their beauty, exquisiteness, and the precision with which Scripture details them certainly underscores the importance of this place. This was where the holy, loving, and protective presence of God was "housed." While God's presence was invisible, the extraordinary symbols in this place were a reminder to the people that God was there.
Towards the end of the chapter, there are details about the curtain that would separate the holy place from the most holy place, some translations say "holiest of holies." In this place, the ark of the covenant would be positioned, representing the presence of God himself. The ark was definitely a beautiful object, with much silver and gold. The interesting thing to me is that this was an object that the Israelites, even the Levites, never laid eyes on. God put all kinds of protective elements in place (i.e. the curtains in today's Scripture and layers upon layers of protective fabric) to ensure that no one saw the ark. Why was this? It's possible that the ark, in its beauty, and the objects within it, could have become an idol to the people. Just as we are, they were prone to making idols of things. It could also be that God wanted people to believe in him because of faith and not some extravagant object.
This got me thinking. Are there certain elements in our worship that remind us of God's presence? As products of the New Covenant, we recognize that God's presence is always with us. We don't have to be in a church sanctuary or a special holy place to experience God. On the other hand, there are certain places in our lives that seem to allow us to experience God in more powerful ways than others. I've had many people mention to me that when they arrived in the New Hope sanctuary after worshiping online only (after COVID), they felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in a really strong way. Some were moved to weeping. What about you? Are there places that help you experience the presence of God in life-changing ways? I would love to hear about them. God is so good, to meet us in all kinds of different places and circumstances, to hear our cries, and to simply be present with us.
Today, we are starting Paul
12 min