The tale of Two veils

While reading Tozer the other day I read something that never really struck me before, the thought of there being TWO veils. It really had me scratching my head to grasp this and then seeking God for help to understand deeper.

We all know the story about on that first Good Friday the veil, or really BIG curtain in the temple that separated man from the inner Temple where God's presence lived, was torn in two. (Mark 15:38) Upon the death of Christ it was torn in two from the TOP to the BOTTOM! If you think about that fact alone it is really cool! It was God's way of saying "No more separation between Myself and mankind. The penalty has been paid, sin has been absolved and now man can freely come to Me." So many people miss or skip over this fact of how the curtain was torn. I don't know why they skip this fact, but it bugs me bad each and every time! It's like telling half of a story.

Ok, so the veil that had for centuries separated man from God was no longer a barrier! So, now here we are left thinking, what the heck? If this is true then why can't I feel His presence? Why can't I hear His voice like some people claim to be able to do? According to Tozer, it is because of that second veil that we never hear about. Only this veil doesn't cover the Inner Temple entrance, but it covers our hearts! Our hearts are veiled off from God! Because He wants us to love Him by choice, this is our responsibility to seek His help in. (Sometimes I wish He wasn't such a gentleman. ☺) Don't get me wrong, it is nothing that we alone can do in our own strength, but rather we need to cooperate with the working of the Holy Spirit to remove this veil.

So what kind of thread is it made of? The obvious things first, un-repented sin. That is a no brainer right? But as you pray about what your veil is made of you might find other things being brought to mind. Things like regrets and shame of past sins, forgiveness, lack of trust in God, weak faith and business in the things of this world...the list can go on and on. It is amazing to listen to the things that the Holy Spirit reveals! So be still and listen. He will only deal with one thread at a time in this endeavor, and that is a good thing!

So as you take time to spend with God asking for Him to show you the different threads that your veil contains, allow Him to work you over and help you deal with the pain that may be involved as He begins to pull out the threads of your veil. As you work with Him, you will begin to feel His presence on a deeper level, hear the whispers of His still small voice much clearer and see Him in even the smallest things. .

Will you begin to allow Him to tear away at your veil one thread at a time? Such wonderful reward awaits you if you chose to cooperate.

Lord here I am yet again today seeking your help with this thick veil that separates my heart from You. When I step back and look at my veil I get over whelmed. Show me each strand that you wish to work on one at a time. I give you permission to pull and tug and begin the work of ripping it out, and I will do my best to cooperate with you. Thank you Lord for your help, your love and your tenderness as you work with me to tear away at  this veil that stands between us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Don't Scrimp!

Summer is for flowers! I love flowers! When I plant in the spring I try to make it shine forth God's glory and the beauty He created. This year my flowers were not cutting it. I used cheap dirt for my planters. The flowers acted like it; they weren't happy at all. Finally I got frustrated enough to start over. After all my flowers didn't show the beauty that God created them to have. So off to the flower stand I went. I had great ideas, but not the money behind those ideas. So I thought I would skimp. I bought some new dirt for my planters but the flowers were just too expensive for my idea. Then I saw it! I beautiful hanging basket! Full of flowers in brilliant vibrant colors! "What a testament to God," I said to myself. Instead of buying individual flowers to create my own planters from scratch, I thought I could save....aka scrimp.....money and buy that basket and simply divide it up into my planters. Then I could divide it up and spread that beauty around my porch. So I went to work. It was like a bowl of spaghetti! The branches were all intertwined and twisted. Carefully I worked to untwist, uncurl and free each individual plant. Carefully I planted them into their new forever homes. As the day went on I noticed that all was not well. They were wilting! Broken branches were dying before my eyes. By the end of the day they sure didn't display any glory to God at all. They looked more like they were hit by the curse of a fallen Eden. I waited a day hoping for a miracle. Picking away at what was dying or dead, praying that there would be some life left someplace. A resemblance of His glory had to be still in there! It was hopeless. They looked like dried flowers instead of what I had envisioned.

That is when God spoke to my heart. "What did you expect?" He asked. "If you truly wanted it to be for my glory, why did you scrimp? Don't you know that I would have provided money for it?" Then this verse hit me between the eyes, "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, [which is our hearts] which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house."

Often times I neglect taking care of my spiritual life in pursuit of other things. Even good things that are meant to give Him the glory often get in the way of my daily gathering of manna from His word.
So I spent some time in His Word and let Him set me straight on a few things, then ran off to the flower stand yet again. I came home with some individual plants and replanted my flower boxes. Yeah it cost me in the long run, but He is good for it.

Have you taken care of His house yet today? I highly recommend it before He blows away all your efforts for the day.

What's your Isaac?

So I've been reading The Pursuit of God by Tozer. It's an old classic but always is full of gems that never fade! Recently I read a section that spoke about Abraham and Isaac. It really made me think about my own life. Have you ever thought about Abraham and Isaac? Really thought about that whole story. If you aren't familiar with the story, here is the condensed version.

There was this rich old man, who just had a son (Isaac) with his old wife. A total miracle even by today's standards. Yeah they were that old. This son was promised to him by God and held the very future of the Israelites within him. So all is cool and Abraham loved this son, a bit too much. Ok, it must have been way to much because God asked him to do the unthinkable. God asked him to sacrifice Isaac to Him. Gulp. Not to do disrespect to the story, but God saved the day just in the nick of time! He provided a ram to be the sacrifice just mere seconds before Isaacs death.

So here comes my wow moment.  Abraham had everything. He was very rich by mans standards, but yet he possessed nothing. Everything he owned belonged to God.  God sat on the throne of his heart until Isaac came along and eventually took that place from God. How about you? Look deep inside at your heart. Who or what is perched on that throne in your heart? Is it a person? Things? Yourself? A pet? Money? What do you feel like you own?

The Bible tells us that God is a jealous God. He wants that place in our hearts. Look at what happened to Abraham. Isaac was on that throne and God wanted it back. What really is on your throne? Are you willing to surrender it up to God or would you like to have God take you up on that mountain where He asks you to sacrifice those things so He can once again take up that place in your heart that is truly His? When we cling to that thing that sits upon that throne in our hearts, we often put ourselves in needless pain, as God peals away our fingers from what we grasp way to tightly. Open your hand up today and offer that thing back to God. Give Him that seat of honor in your heart. He is the only one who fits it to a T.

What does your Isaac look like? Are you willing to loosen your grip or are you willing for God to ask for it as a sacrifice?