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blood sprinkled on the Mercy Seat to cover people’s sins. Jesus has done all of that for us. So what The greatest privilege we can ever sacrifice does God want from us today? He is looking for the fruit of have is to know God, to be in His our lips. presence, and to feel His love. We do this in praise and worship, However, the pressures of living in our culture can cause us to lose yet we should realise that everything we say is important. sight of this. As we prepare for With our tongues we have the a new year, now is a wonderful power to curse or bless, to give opportunity to examine our lives. We need to turn our hearts toward death or life. Jesus speaks very specifically about what defiles the Lord so they become tender people: “But those things that and melt within us. Ask the Holy proceed out of the mouth come Spirit to examine your heart and from the heart, and they defile a reveal any hard places within it. Has somebody wounded you? Are man” (Matthew 15:18). It is what we express. you carrying an offence? These So we must ask ourselves, do we cause hardness of heart, which express hope, joy, righteousness leads to breaking fellowship with and peace? Or do we express God Almighty. Come to Him to receive forgiveness, cleansing and anxiety, worry and complaining? These things come from our hearts. healing. As we hunger and thirst for His righteousness, His desires If our hearts are right before the Lord, the wrong things won’t come become our desires. David says in Psalm 27:4, One thing out. As David prayed in Psalm I have desired of the Lord, that I will 19:14, Let the words of my mouth seek: That I may dwell in the house and the meditation of my heart be of the Lord all the days of my life, to acceptable in your sight. behold the beauty of the Lord, and As we hear His Word and obey His calling, we will be salt and light to to inquire in His temple. As Christians, we can do this every this generation. So let’s enter the New Year by humbling ourselves, moment of every day of the year. We want to be filled with the Holy seeking forgiveness, and getting Spirit so we dwell in His presence, right with God as we start anew. where His face is shining upon us. And we have His promise in Psalm 23:6: Surely goodness and mercy And we never have to leave that temple, for it is within us. His throne shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of is in our hearts. the Lord forever. God bless you. In the Jewish temple, a multitude of sacrifices had to be made and
et hope, joy, peace and righteousness be in our hearts.
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