Daily Devotional, Year 2 – SEPTEMBER 21 (God’s Royal Priesthood Today! Part 2: “Sacrifices of Joy!”)
By admin On February 6th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional – SEPTEMBER 21
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God’s Royal Priesthood Today!
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Part 2:
“Sacrifices of Joy!”
To read Part 1, click here…June 16th (God’s Royal Priesthood Today!)
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“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion:
in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me;
He shall set me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me:
therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy;
I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.”
Psalm 27:5, 6
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David the Shepherd Boy – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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The Ark of the Covenant was the centerpiece of the tabernacle sanctuary, during the years of the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel, just prior to their entering into the Promised Land.
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Holman – The Tabernacle in the Wilderness – wikipedia – US public domain
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“YE ARE…A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD”
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“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light:” 1st Peter 2:9
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We have been chosen to be, as Peter in the above verse put it, a “Royal Priesthood”.
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Even the Book of Revelation testifies to this heavenly calling… “And (God) hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10.
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Now as New Testament priests, there is no more brick-n-mortar temple.
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No, today’s New Testament priestly action takes place in our heart.
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We are now “the Temple of the Lord”…
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Listen…“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1st Corinthians 6:19, 20.
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“PRAY WITHOUT CEASING”
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God has called us to be priests together with Christ.
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We are to be co-laborers with Christ, pleading for the 
people. Scripture commands us to… “Pray without ceasing.” 1st Thessalonians 5:17.
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As a Christian goes about his or her day, they are constantly praying and thanking the Lord, and interceding for others.
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Listen again to this great encouragement… “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light” 1st Peter 2:9.
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USMC- prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – public domain
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SPIRITUAL THINGS REJECTED BY WORLD
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For the people of the world, there could be nothing as boring and nothing as repugnant as becoming a priest unto God!
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The natural man would recoil at “such a dreadful commission!”
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And even when we first come into Christianity, the thought of being priests forever, is more than most of us could ever have the stomach for!
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Snap-Bar – Restaurant – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
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HOLY SPIRIT GIVES JOY
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But herein is one of the greatest of all truths: that only by the indwelling of the Spirit of Holiness could we ever find joy in the thought of being members of an eternal priesthood!
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But before the Reader recoils at this idea of being stuck in a room, let it be known that we who are of the royal priesthood will not be stuck in some brick-n-mortar building throughout eternity…
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Listen…“Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: ” Isaiah
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No, all of Heaven will be our Sanctuary! And when we look up at Heaven, does it look like a boring place?
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Not really!
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Yes, many believe that we will be traveling priests, making each new place we visit into our “altar unto the Lord”. (Genesis 8:20, 12:7, 12:8, 13:18, 1st Chronicles, 21:18, 26, etc…)
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Starry Night at La Silla – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license
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SACRIFICES of JOY
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But we should never think that service for God will be joyless and boring!
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The Bible refutes this idea by affirming…“therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD.” Psalm 27:6
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Here we see that our offering in His tabernacle is the sacrifices of joy!
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And from our heart, we are to sing praises unto the Lord!
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David the Shepherd Boy – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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FOR RIGHT HERE AND FOR RIGHT NOW!
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Now all these precious promises are not only for eternity future!
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No, our commission as royal priests begins right here and right now! That’s right! We don’t have to wait to become priests! We are to be priests for God on a 24/7/365 basis!
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And as we go about our daily duties, our hearts are to be lifted up in silent prayer, praise, and thanksgiving! Yes, our eternity begins right now!
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And though we are but a tabernacle in the wilderness of this dark world, we are to reflect the glorious light of Heaven to those around us!
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Our light from within shines out as our witness to the world: a shining witness of the hopefulness of our Salvation!
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Prayer at Day’s End – Angelus by Jean-François Millet – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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AN INNER JOY!
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Listen to another precious promise…“Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:11
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Yes, even in our times of sadness, we can have that inner-joy, knowing that our time of this earthly sojourn will soon be over, and our future sojourn through the heavens will be forever and ever!
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Woman with Bible – Braet von Überfeldt – 1866 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”
Ephesians 6:4
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And speaking of joy, we must make sure to live with our family in such a way as to show them that Heaven is a place of joy!
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And the parents need to show much heavenly love for their children. Whether engaging them in their little games and sports, or hugging them often, or just making life in the home nice and breezy.
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This is an integral part of what it means to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”
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The Christian parents must, kindly, patiently, and gently, guide your children through their childhood in such a way which will cause them to desire, yes, even yearn, to walk side-by-side with you along the joy-filled highways and byways of eternity!
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Family eating meal – Wikipedia – Public Domain
Family Portrait – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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PRIESTHOOD BEGINS NOW!
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So, let’s all take up our heavenly mantle and begin to walk through this thorn-strewn wilderness, ever lifting up our hands (spiritually) unto God, as we fulfill our great commission to be royal priests, offering up the continual, “sacrifices of joy!”
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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TO READ PART 3, CLICK HERE…
April 26 (God’s Royal Priesthood Today! Part 3: “Priest of the Home”)
Father & Son – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Give me the grace to rise to the responsibilities of being a royal priest. Give me the grace to pray without ceasing, no matter where I am. Give me the joy in ministering in Thy Tabernacle, as a faithful member of your royal priesthood…
Prayer – Mother and Daughter – Wikipedia – (cropped image) the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Ark of the Covenant Constellation, Pt. 2: How To Enter The Most Holy Place”, or you can also read…JUNE 21 (Love Is Not A Pick-n-Choose Buffet, Part 2: Our Royal Priesthood)
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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THE HOLY AND MOST HOLY PLACE
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“And thou shalt put the Mercy Seat upon the Ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place.” Exodus 26:34
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The Tabernacle in the wilderness was a picture of God. Just listen to Revelation… “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Revelation 21:22.
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So, instead of dwelling upon all the fine points of the earthly tabernacle, let it suffice to be said, this earthly tabernacle is merely a metaphor of God Himself. And the Most Holy Place is the heart of that temple, and upon the Ark, represents God’s throne, as is written…
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“And David arose…to bring up from thence, the ark of God…the LORD of hosts that dwells between the cherubims.” 2nd Samuel 6:2.
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So, if, as it states here, that God dwells “between the cherubims”, then this is speaking of the Mercy Seat over the Ark. But even though it speaks thus, we need to keep in mind that the temple itself, represents God Himself, as is written… “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” Revelation 21:22.
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Holy Place & Most Holy Place – wikipedia – public domain
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ARK SEEN IN HEAVEN
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“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Rev. 11:19
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The above verse from Revelation, speaks of God’s Temple in Heaven being opened. But this great constellation, the Sagittarius Constellation is actually the constellation of the Ark of the Covenant. So these two events go hand in hand simultaneously. The Ark Constellation, as sketched into this Wikipedia star-chart, is a representation of the heavenly Ark, as God begins to open up the spiritual concepts of that true Ark to our minds.
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Ark of the Covenant Constellation”
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TOMORROW:
SEPTEMBER 22 (All Comfy-cozy In Hell, Part 4: Laboring in the Very Fire!)
Campfire Pinecone – Emeldil at English Wikipedia – Share-alike license
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20+ MINUTE AUDIO JEREMIAH STUDY
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.
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THIS IS STUDY #629 PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…
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Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
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