A Most Important Question

February 22

(Psalm 24:3 NIV) “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?”

(Hebrews 9:24-28 NIV) “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. {25} Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. {26} Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. {27} Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, {28} so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Psalm 24:3 asks a most important question: Who may enter into the presence of the Lord? Ascending the hill of the Lord and standing in His holy place are about entering into God’s presence. The question is disturbing, for it implies that there are some who will not or cannot stand in God’s presence. This angers those who do not want anyone, including God, to judge them. How dare God exclude me! How dare He exclude anyone! But God is not affected by our arrogance or our anger. He is the Lord. The Earth and everything in it belong to Him. He makes the rules. God asks this same question in many different ways throughout scripture. He does not want us to be in the dark about the answer. Over and over again He provides us with the answer, if we will open our hearts and minds to it. Jesus is the Answer! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day