Secret places are the most holy places too.

First, let me lay some scripture down for this:

“Across the inside of the Tabernacle, hang a special curtain made of fine linen, with cherubim skilfully embroidered into the cloth using blue, purple and scarlet yarn. Hang this inner curtain on gold hooks set into four posts made from acacia wood and overlaid with gold. the posts will fit into silver bases. When the inner curtain is in place, put the Ark of the Covenant behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.” Exodus 27:31-33

“At that moment, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart...” Matthew 27:51

“The curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” Mark 15:38

“The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the thick veil hanging in the Temple was torn apart.” Luke 23:46

Plus here is a few facts about this curtain: It was 10 metres tall by 20 metres wide, and was a thickness of approx 8 centimetres. It weighed about 4 to 6 tonnes and needed about 300 priests to carry it into place. It is said that two teams of oxen pulling in the opposite direction could not tear this curtain. This curtain was a whole lot different to the one found in your bedroom, it was more like the curtain found at a theatre to separate the stage from the audience, and a whole lot thicker than those!

And what’s my point of all this you ask? When Jesus was crucified and took all the sin of human kind upon him, atoning it once-and-for-all, and crushing his last breath out of his body - this amazing event took place over in the Temple at the same time; a curtain tore from top-to-bottom.

What is so important about this, that three of the four gospels recorded it?

Here is a simple answer. Intimacy.

Jesus was the final atonement, the final sacrifice, the final lamb to spill it’s blood - He was grace put into human form, to end the division between God and his people - and God was showing us the most incredible thing. “I want to dwell in intimacy with you, anyplace, anytime.”

This curtain you see, was a division from The Holy Place, and The Most Holy Place. It was a division which created a room where the Ark of the Covenant and God’s presence dwelt, and only once a year the high priest would go to atone the sins of Israel. His presence was so strong that the priest would have to go in their with a rope tied around his leg so that the other priests could pull him out.

By the act of God tearing the curtain (and I say God, because the curtain tore from top to bottom, so if you read those facts about this curtain again, you will realise how impossible it would be for a group of humans to have done it this way) God was showing human kind that He no longer would just dwell behind the curtain, separated from the defiled, sinful people. He would instead be intimate and involved with every person, because the sacrifice to make everyone holy had just happened.

And here is my point. Even the most secret places, are God’s most holiest places.

We defile our secret places by what we do in them, yet here’s the scary bit: the intimate, all-seeing, all-knowing, omnipresent God... was there also.

It turns out our secret places aren’t really that secret huh?

Our God is not just a God of intimacy when we gather for a church meeting, He is also a God of intimacy when we are chatting online, watching DVDs, reading Asterix comics, masturbating, listening to music, studying, writing blogs, day-dreaming, playing sport, gossiping, drawing, looking at things we should be looking at - and looking at things we shouldn’t... I think you get the drift...

God is a God of intimacy, I pray you have a revelation of what God’s intimacy really looks like, and what this miracle of the Temple curtain tearing means to you right now as you sit here reading this and pondering on it.

Persecution moment.

“Persecution comes when you live outside the box of conformity Dan.” - The Holy Spirit.

I was just praying for the persecuted church (we had a representative of Open Doors come to church last night and share with us about it, so it’s conviction is still hot on my heart) and the Holy Spirit gave me those words once I finished. Talk about a bit of an un-comfortable moment.

Do I live outside the box of conformity enough? Does my light shine from outside of the conformed culture in this country, or is it stuffed away under some bucket. Is my salt flavourless and dull, or is it still preserving what Jesus did for each and every person in this world.

When I was praying for the persecuted church just before, I grasped a sense of how genuine and sold-out these people are in their faith, it truly was a convicting moment, we don’t even know the meaning of the word “radical” compared to what their faith looks like.

One election down. One to go.

Obama is in. Will Clark be out? I am starting to hit panic mode as our election draws closer, and my frantic research is getting harder as the water seems to become more and more murkier. 

Does anyone even know what morals are anymore? It seems to me to all be about owning or selling things, and it is making it hard to get to a decision, cause each has it's pro's and con's.

I don't want to waste my vote, but it is so hard to make it count! Back to reading about all this shenanigan we call our election...