Prayer: Father, my mind is quiet, and my heart is ready to learn. Your servant is listening. Speak to me through the writings of the prophet Nehemiah. Amen.
Reading: Nehemiah 10 key: vs. 39-40 ““Also the kohen, a descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithe, and the Levites will bring a tenth of the tithes up to the House of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. For Bnei-Yisrael and the sons of Levi will bring the grain offering, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the utensils for the Sanctuary, and for the ministering kohanim, the gatekeepers, and the singers are kept. “We will not forsake the House of our God.” TLV
Attention: The Temple was the central location bringing the Bnei-Yisrael together to worship Adonai. Extending back to the time of Solomon, the Shekinah Glory which 2 Chronicles 7 records, demonstrates the physical phenomena of fire coming down from heaven, consuming the sacrifice and “the glory of Adonai filled (filling) the House.”
Adonai manifest His presence with “fire” filling the House. May we agree that while Adonai dwelt in a physical house, He was not limited to the internal space of the house. We tend to speak of our churches as the House of God. But for New Testament people of faith, is this where God dwells?
When Yeshua declared (John 2:19-20) that He would tear down the Temple and build it back up in three days, what was He meaning? Was He declaring that He would now reside in man rather than in a building? The Apostle Paul declares to the community at Corinth, “Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that the Ruach Elohim dwells among you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).” Can it be said any plainer? People like you and me who have been born again are God’s temple. He lives in us! He has always been mobile and will always be mobile. Buildings are stationary and fixed. God dwelt in the Temple of Solomon voluntarily, with a stipulation. You can read about it in 1 Kings 9:1-9.
One final comment. There is an account in John 4 of Yeshua having a conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well. He asked her for a drink. Puzzled by Yeshua’s request, she inquires why He would ask me to give you a drink? Jesus’ response, if you knew who is asking you, you would have asked Him for a drink and “He would have given you living water.” While they continue to talk about the living water Jesus is offering, He asks another question and then He completes her answer, telling her “everything (she) ever did (vs.29b).” Thinking Jesus must be a prophet she says, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you all say that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” Yeshua tells her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming—it is here now—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people as His worshipers. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (vs.20-24).”
Did you hear the words of Yeshua? The definitive criteria are not worshipping on a mountain or traveling to the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus didn’t prohibit worship on a mountain or at a Temple. The new requirement is His worshippers must “worship in spirit and truth.”
Are we choosing the worship which Jesus declared His worshippers? The word “must,” implies that it is imperative to worship in spirit and truth. Let’s be obedient to the Word of God and seek to worship Him in spirit and truth.
Action: I choose to worship Adonai in spirit and truth.
Yield: I choose to yield to the command of Yeshua to worship in spirit and truth.
Engage: I choose to engage in worship which is fueled by the spirit and truth.
Relationship: I choose to live in intimate relationship with Adonai.
Prayer: Father, there is no doubt that You seek worshippers which will worship You in spirit and truth. May my worship always be based on spirit and truth. May other worshippers see the evidence of a spirit-filled life fueled with the truth of scriptures. Amen.
Memory Verse: John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming—it is here now—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people as His worshipers. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” TLV
Music Video: Chris Sayburn—Spirit and Truth https://youtu.be/bwCFdK7bvUA?si=z9wK1jB4wjaermMk
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”