Valentines Day

I was reading in Leviticus 16 this morning. It is filled with tons of fine detail about the Day of Atonement. There are amazing preparations before the High Priest is ready to go (fearfully) into the 'Holy of Holies,' or the very presence of God.

I was impacted by the fact that if some little thing was awry, the entire nation might not have their sins atoned. The priest could be pulled out, dead, killed by the amazing presence of God.

And then I realized - we now have the right to come boldly into the presence of God. We have become a nation of priests, and the veil of separation has been torn apart. We can go into the presence of God without the fear of instant death.

It gave me pause. I simply said, "Good morning God - " and I realized that not only CAN we enjoy time in God's presence, He wants to enjoy time with His creation. He loves me and invites me into His presence.

What changed? Everything. Jesus' death provided a perfect, one-time sacrifice, which closed the gap, opened the Holy of Holies, paid the price, etc.

The detail of the High Priest's preparation for entering into the Holy of Holies once each year is nothing in comparison to the detail of the preparations made for Jesus to come as a baby, grow to be a man, and then die on a cross. The lineage of Jesus' family, the faithfulness of his human parents, every single little detail was arranged, and the prophets even laid them out for us centuries before.

God truly does love you - Happy Valentines day!