Old and New: Devotions From Time of Grace MinistryNäide

The Lord God himself now dwells in you

Do the stories of the visible glory of the Lord make you wistful and nostalgic for the good ol’ days? Do you struggle with moving forward in faith but not sight? Do you long for more empirical evidence for God’s existence and God’s love? Do you resonate with Christian songs that plead, “Lord, show me your glory”?

As believers in the Lord Jesus, you have been honored by God to be designated as living temples for him. When you came to faith, the Holy Spirit came to live within you. You don’t have to make a pilgrimage to the temple. You are God’s temple. “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him--you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4,5).

You don’t have to envy Old Testament believers because they could see more. They had to live on promises. You are blessed to have heard the stories of the fulfilled promises and completed plans. God no longer needs a Jerusalem temple to live in. You are his temples--places of worship and places of spiritual strength, for you now carry the Spirit wherever you go.

It’s both a terrifying responsibility and an awesome privilege: with our words and witness we may be the place where some people meet God for the first time.