For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
John 16
What does Jesus say about the role of the Holy Spirit? How have you experienced these truths about the Spirit? While Jesus was alive in human form, He was a go-between for those who believed in Him and God. But through His death on the cross, He offered us so much more. A few chapters ago Jesus said, “unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (Jn. 12:24). When Jesus died, His righteousness was imparted to His believers so that God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, could be in us, just as He was in Jesus. We are not God, like Jesus was, but we now have a direct connection to Him. No external go-between needed.
That is why Jesus went on to say that when we ask for something in His name, it doesn’t mean that He goes and asks the Father on our behalf. “No,” He says. “The Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (Jn. 16:27). It’s a direct connection. The Holy Spirit’s presence in us proves that it is faith in Jesus that removes the guilt of our sin, makes us righteous, and frees us from the judgment due those who belong to this world.
2 Chron. 5-6
At the dedication service, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. What was God communicating to them? To you? Analyze Solomon’s prayer. What does he say about God and what does he ask repeatedly? What does that say about us? God revealed His plan for the redemption of the world through both His word and His representative action. Ultimately, none of this was about David, Solomon, Israel, Jerusalem, or a glorious temple building. Rather, all of those things were a very explicit demonstration of God’s greatest promise – Jesus.
All of the works God did and the promises He fulfilled throughout the Old Testament were partly so that the people of the time would have hope for what was to come. It was through faith in God’s promise that righteousness was credited to them. More than that, though, He did all of those things so that when His ultimate promise was fulfilled in Jesus, we would know that it was from Him. We can look back at the Old Testament story and recognize Jesus in all of it.
It is Jesus, Son of David and Son of God, who built a living temple, of which He is the chief cornerstone, for the Name of the LORD, the God of all. And we, the believers who make up that living temple, are the ones whom God’s presence fills. Any who turn toward Jesus, the cornerstone of this great temple, with prayer and humility, whether Jew or foreigner, God will forgive and bring back to dwell with Him. It is all just as Solomon said in his prophetic prayer.
Ps. 79
This is a prayer for God’s help when Israel was overrun by an enemy. How do you feel overrun and overpowered? Ask God for deliverance and help. We know from scripture that we, as believers, are Jesus’ inheritance. We are God’s holy temple; His dwelling place. Through that lens, I see a very sad truth in the first verse of this Psalm. “O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple” (Ps. 79:1a). From what I see, Christ’s Church has most certainly been invaded and defiled. The unholiness the overall Church is embracing as acceptable and even pleasing to God is rampant. The Enemy has broken in and sold his lies to those with divided hearts.
Lord, God, let my heart be wholly yours. Let me not fall prey to the Father of Lies. Help me take a firm stand against anything that stands in opposition to you. Keep me humble before my holy God. I know there will come a day when your mercy will come quickly to meet us in our desperate need and our deliverance will be complete. “Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever” (PS. 79:13a).