Priest… I am a priest. Seems strange to even type those words. Stranger to think of myself that way. But….
“…. God chose you to be his people. You are royal priests. You are a holy nation. You are a people who belong to God. All of this is so that you can sing his praises. He brought you out of darkness into his wonderful light. “(1 Peter 2:9)
In ages past, before Christ, there were rigid requirements about who was permitted to carry out the office of priest. The priest was the intermediary between sinful man and a holy God. Priests were Jews but only Jews from the family line of Levi, with other requirements to be met as well. Much ceremony and ritual was to be done before the intercession could occur.
The rituals of that time were teaching tools that reveal to us exactly what it meant for Jesus to bleed, suffer, and die. Payment is made. The wages of sin being death, His death… is MY substitute. I am permitted to live.
Now I can enter the holy of holies. Now I can enter the Throne Room of The Creator of the universe. With confidence. Boldly ! (So let us boldly approach the throne of grace. Hebrews 4:16)
The Body of Christ has a charge to keep. “…. he has given us the task of bringing others back to him through Christ.” (2Cor.5:18)
“God has trusted us with the message, that people may be brought back to Him.
So we are Christ's official messengers. It is as if God were making His appeal through us.”(2Cor. 5:19-20)
I come before Him reverently because He is God and He is King. (Hebrews 12:28-29)
I come boldly because Jesus is my Friend, and through His Holy Spirit, I have access to The Father. (John 15:15, Eph. 2:14-19)
I come believing because Jesus said “..you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matt. 21:22).
Not a blank check for my every whim, but submitting my will to an all-knowing and Almighty God, just as Jesus did when He prayed “…your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt. 6:10)
And it is not just about me. “He wants everyone to be saved. He wants them to come to know the truth.”(1Tim.2:4)
Who will I meet on my path today that Jesus misses? Who will I see that may need Him so badly?
Lord, open my eyes and ears to be sensitive to others and to You as I carry out the business of my day.
