“The glory of Lebanon will be yours – the forests of cypress, fir and pine – to beautify My sanctuary.” Isaiah 60:13
The majority of the miracles described in the New Testament are miracles of people set free from bondage of one form or another. Miracles of debilitating illnesses healed, evil spirits cast out, and sins forgiven. The life of the afflicted individual changed FOREVER. God’s involvement in His people’s lives gets much more intimate as you segue from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
This intimate involvement is proved very precisely by what happened to a curtain in the temple on the day Jesus died. Up until that moment God’s presence filled a room in the temple known as the Holy of Holies. As a shield to that room there was a curtain. No one was allowed behind that curtain. Only after many many ceremonies and ritual cleansings was the high priest even allowed behind it and that was only once a year! Since the presence of the LORD God filled that room behind the curtain, for anyone to enter His presence unprepared would have killed them.
According to Mark’s gospel, at the moment of Jesus’ death the curtain that separated God from the rest of the world was torn in two. God had made a way for EVERYONE to come to Him and NOT die instantly. Up to that point in history very few people knew what God’s voice actually sounded like. Only a handful of them had ever talked to Him in person. When Jesus died He made a way for us enter the Holy of Holies without fear of death. Because of Jesus and His willing sacrifice we can go to God on a PERSONAL level. He is no longer this BIG unapproachable God, He is intimate and loving and wonderful and caring. He always was before but He couldn’t fully show us Himself in such an intimate way. If someone needed to ask for forgiveness they had to go to the priests in the temple and offer an animal sacrifice. They performed the rituals required of them and they left. The priests would accept the sacrifices on behalf of the Lord. The individual that had sinned would never be able to enter into the Lord’s presence to ask for forgiveness personally.
When you choose to accept Jesus’ sacrifice of love, the gift of salvation, you get to cut out the middle man! God goes from being an unapproachable God living in a box in a temple to taking up residence in your heart; YOU become the Holy of Holies, your body! Yes, really! He lives in you and through you every day.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul says: “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.” My darling friend, YOU are that temple He beautifies daily. You are the one He loves so desperately. Don’t believe me? Just spend a few minutes reading the Song of Solomon! That whole book is about the kind of relationship Jesus wants to have with you, His Beloved Bride, beautiful in every way.
No matter what the commercials say, no matter what your mom says, or the lady who does your hair and tells you you should dye it, you ARE beautiful. You are a priceless masterpiece created by the One and only Master Himself. You are a prime example of imperfection made perfect in Him. You are glorious within. You are fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who adores you and simply, truly can not take His eyes off your beauty. Trust me on this one my friend, you are simply adorable!
Tamar Knochel 