Today's Passage:  Ezekiel 42-44

There are some passages of scripture that are hard for us to understand the emotion and significance of the action in our modern context.  Ezekiel 43 is one of those moments.  Imagine, if you will, that due to our disobedience and love of sin, God decided to close all the churches in the country.  There could be no corporate worship, no fellowship, no study together.  Then, after a period of time, the doors were opened again.  Can you imagine the joy and celebration there would be?  God has restored our fellowship with Him and each other!  I would imagine we'd be so grateful that we'd want to spend as much time with Him and each other as possible!

When the glory of the Lord returns to the temple, God is opening the doors for the people again.  Even though they had been disobedient, God, in his patient mercy and love, once again was dwelling with His people.  He wanted them to see the pain they had caused, yet now relationship has been restored.  The people, who were once in exile both physically and spiritually, are now home again with the God who loves them.

That same glory dwells in the heart of every believer through the Holy Spirit!  God, through His great mercy and love, overcame our disobedience and love of sin through His Son's death on the cross.  When we believe in Jesus, God Himself dwells in us and makes us pure and holy.  That should make us so excited that we want to spend as much time with Him as possible!