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ADVENT REFLECTION

Confidence to enter the temple is the theme for our reflection. The temple is a consecrated building or structure dedicated to God by believers as His dwelling. It was the preserve for the Chief Priest to enter the holy of holies in the temple to make sacrifices yearly on the day of atonement with animal blood and ashes for the propitiation of sin and spiritual cleansing of the people. Under this arrangement, the high priest himself is a human being with blemish and had to make sacrifices to cleanse himself before interceding on behalf of others. The temple could only be entered by those consecrated or given the spiritual mandate to perform sacrifices. During the first advent of Jesus, he established a new covenant which replaced the old order or covenant, “Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:11-14). In other words, the sacrifice of Christ is complete and eternal, if we believe in Him we are cleansed and saved, no other sacrifice is needed!

Christ ended the endless cycle of the sacrifice of the atonement by offering Himself so that through faith we shall be cleansed by His blood to now come before the Lord with confidence and the assurance that we have been made righteous through faith in Christ. Christ has taken away the spiritual vacuum or barrier that had hitherto existed between the Holy of holies and sinful humanity. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another —and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:19-25). Dear friend, no other sacrifice is needed before you come before God, through Jesus we now have a personal relationship with God, we can call upon Him any time with confidence or the assurance that He hears our prayer. We must always remember that it takes only the redemption of Christ to have the confidence to enter the temple or the presence of God. God cannot be propitiated with any other sacrifice apart from that which Jesus has done on our behalf. God accepts us as living sacrifices because we have been cleansed by faith through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us hold on to our salvation and continue to offer ourselves as living sacrifices of the Lord loving one another as Christ has loved us and doing good deeds day and night for God’s glory even as we await the final Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, our High Priest who will come and take us to the Holy of Holies made without human hands. The Church offers us the opportunity to have fellowship with other believers and also experience what it means to have the confidence to enter the temple of the Lord. We have the privilege to have a foretaste of the glory which is to come, for this reason, we must approach God and our fellow believers with good conscience, and come to the house of God with a transformed and righteous heart. Shalom.

PRAYER

Today’s prayer is the first verse of the hymn “Amazing Grace” written by John Newton (1927-1807):

“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
  That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
  Was blind, but now I see.”
Thank you God for saving us through the priceless blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and giving us the confidence to enter the temple of your dwelling place on earth even as we await our final departure into your Holy Kingdom through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen