TUESDAY February 7, 2017
Called to Worship God
…I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. - Daniel 9:16-17
In Daniel 9:16-17, once again, we find the main reason why God allowed His people to be taken into captivity. The consequences of their sin had caused them to be so far away from Jerusalem–– their center to worship their God. How they must have wept and cried, they could no longer meet with God in the temple. The whole situation was centered on the worship of God. Now, Daniel earnestly prayed to the Lord and said:
We have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land (Daniel 9:5)
Notice how Daniel identified with the people’s sins and included himself; as he confessed the people’s sins. Daniel continued his prayer to the Lord. He asked the Lord to forgive and have mercy towards the city of Jerusalem and its people (Daniel 9:6-19).
Incredibly, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells Christians where God dwells in their lives: do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? When you put this truth into perspective, examine the walls of your own life. Is yourtemple in total collapse, desolate and in desperate need of repair?
…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
~1 Peter 2:5~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!