A Different Way
We wrapped up GrandCamp 2016 this morning. Caed returned to Fort Collins with me until we go to Lakewood tomorrow. But he told me he was missing his mom and dad and brother and sister. That last few days children and grandparents alike enjoyed the ministry of Air Force Chaplain, General Bob Page and his wife Ruth. They connected well with the children and challenged the adults.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed times, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship must go out by way of the south gate, and whoever enters by way of the south gate must go out by way of the north gate. No one must return through the gate by which he entered, but must go out by the opposite gate.“ Ezekiel 46:9 HCSB
This instruction to the God’s people for the day when they are restored to the promised land is one of symbolic significance. Worshipers coming to Jerusalem for the appointed feasts were to leave through the opposite gate by which they came. “If you enter the north gate, you must go out by the way of the south gate.”
Why this odd instruction? It would seem to be a “huge inconvenience.” But the inconvenience that it caused served as a vivid picture of what happens when we come into the presence of the Lord. In a word, we are “changed.” When we encounter the Living God our lives are changed and redirected. We can’t return to “old ways” but we are set on a “new path” and in a “new direction.”
We see this pictured in Paul’s words to the Corinthians “… if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV) The concept of “repentance” is to go in a new direction. Encountering the Lord’s provision results in a new life, a new direction, a change in the trajectory of life.
Each time the worshipers came for the feasts to offer sacrifices, to come into the presence of the Lord, they were reminded of this important truth. How significant for us to grasp that reality for our lives today. That is not only a picture of the new life Christ brings as we submit our lives to Him; but it should be a reminder of what is to transpire each time we encounter the presence of the Lord in worship and are confronted with the truth of His Word.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that, “Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.” (Hebrews 10:20 NLT)
When I come into God’s presence, I may be carrying guilt over sin, but I leave free and forgiven. I may come burden with the cares of this world, but I leave with confidence that “God is with me.” I may come wounded and broken, but I leave healed and with hope. I may come alienated in relationship and carrying bitterness in my heart, but I leave reconciled and free.
So, remember, when you come into God’s presence, when confronted with His truth and you lift your heart in worship, you can not leave the same way that you came.
Prayer for today… Lord, thank You that we are changed in Your presence. When we encounter who You are and what You desire for our lives, we “leave in a new direction.” You show us a new way, a new direction, filled with fresh hope.