Are You a House of Prayer?
Man! I just can't put this book down! It's called "Beyond the Veil" by Alice Smith. I learned one of the ways the Old Testiment Church was a foreshadow of us, the Church of Jesus Christ. Many of you may know all this, but it is all new and exciting to me.
The Tabernacle in the O.T. had three places in it, just as we have three rooms in us. . .The Outer Court is like our physical bodies; the Holy Place is like our soul, which consists of will, mind, and emotions; the Holy of Holies is representative of our spirit - the place where God's Holy Spirit dwells in us. I recently just understood that the H.S. is God's spirit, like we have a spirit. That opened up my understanding of a lot of things, like the way God speaks to our spirits and "gets through" to us.
Today, we the Church, the Body of Christ, are the dwelling place of God upon earth. . .His hands, his feet, and His voice if we listen. We are the temple of God, a house of prayer. Alice says, "It is not where your knees touch the ground, but where your spirit is that counts! It is not the position of your body, but the condition of your heart that matters! And finally, it is not where you dwell when you pray, but WHO dwells in you that makes you a house of prayer."
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Two-thirds of a person. . .the spirit and soul, are hidden. Only the body is visible. Yet most of us spend two-thirds of our time building up the one-third (our bodies) that will return to dust! That is why it says in Corinthians that "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18 I never understood that verse until now; it was a puzzle to me.
It is within our mind, will and emotions (our souls) that sanctification occurs. Sanctification means to be "set apart for God." I now understand sanctification, it is so clear. Yet our five senses (taste, hear, smell, feel, touch) often control us. When our senses are aroused, they in turn stimulate our desires.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
When we consistently entertain sensual or worldly behavior, the process of sanctification is put on hold. Once we decide to surrender our minds, wills, and emotions to the Holy Spirit within us, the process of sanctification resumes. As we consider the tabernacle, we see how God made preparation for the sanctification procces to be facilitated.
Doesn't that all make sense? I think this will be one of those books that I will read over and over again. I would recommend it to all who have not read it. But then, that's just me.
Man! I just can't put this book down! It's called "Beyond the Veil" by Alice Smith. I learned one of the ways the Old Testiment Church was a foreshadow of us, the Church of Jesus Christ. Many of you may know all this, but it is all new and exciting to me.
The Tabernacle in the O.T. had three places in it, just as we have three rooms in us. . .The Outer Court is like our physical bodies; the Holy Place is like our soul, which consists of will, mind, and emotions; the Holy of Holies is representative of our spirit - the place where God's Holy Spirit dwells in us. I recently just understood that the H.S. is God's spirit, like we have a spirit. That opened up my understanding of a lot of things, like the way God speaks to our spirits and "gets through" to us.
Today, we the Church, the Body of Christ, are the dwelling place of God upon earth. . .His hands, his feet, and His voice if we listen. We are the temple of God, a house of prayer. Alice says, "It is not where your knees touch the ground, but where your spirit is that counts! It is not the position of your body, but the condition of your heart that matters! And finally, it is not where you dwell when you pray, but WHO dwells in you that makes you a house of prayer."
1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 1Co 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
Two-thirds of a person. . .the spirit and soul, are hidden. Only the body is visible. Yet most of us spend two-thirds of our time building up the one-third (our bodies) that will return to dust! That is why it says in Corinthians that "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Cor. 4:18 I never understood that verse until now; it was a puzzle to me.
It is within our mind, will and emotions (our souls) that sanctification occurs. Sanctification means to be "set apart for God." I now understand sanctification, it is so clear. Yet our five senses (taste, hear, smell, feel, touch) often control us. When our senses are aroused, they in turn stimulate our desires.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
When we consistently entertain sensual or worldly behavior, the process of sanctification is put on hold. Once we decide to surrender our minds, wills, and emotions to the Holy Spirit within us, the process of sanctification resumes. As we consider the tabernacle, we see how God made preparation for the sanctification procces to be facilitated.
Doesn't that all make sense? I think this will be one of those books that I will read over and over again. I would recommend it to all who have not read it. But then, that's just me.