Hebrews 10 says something remarkable, “we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus.” We have to think back to the temple in the Old Testament where only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies and then only once a year and only after going through a lot of ritual. Even then, he went in with bells on his robe so people could hear him moving around and a rope on his leg so they could pull him out if God struck him down. Entering into God’s presence is dangerous.
But we can have confidence that we don’t need the ritual, the bells, the rope when we come to God because Jesus did it all for us, perfectly and once for all. Our faith in Jesus makes us clean before God. As such, the writer to the Hebrews says that we need to be sure to meet with each other that “we may spur one anther on toward love and good deeds… encouraging one anther.” We have such a marvelous privelege to enter into God’s presence and do it with other believers yet all too often we ignore it.
The psalmist says it best
Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.
