Living In His Presence

Historical Background and Introduction

The Jewish temple in Jerusalem was the place where animal sacrifices were carried out and worship according to the Law of Moses was followed faithfully. However, prior to this, sacrifices were carried out in the Tabernacle in the wilderness.

The Bible tells us that in the temple, a veil separated the Holy of Holies—the earthly dwelling place of God’s presence—from the rest of the temple. This signified that man was separated from God by sin. He could not enter beyond the veil! Only the High Priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil once each year to enter into God's presence for all of Israel and make atonement for their sins. The veil was about four inches thick according to tradition! It was fashioned from blue, purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. 

You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen.

Exodus 26:31

The moment Jesus died upon the cross, something miraculous happened in the Temple!

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom

Matthew 27:50-51a 

So, what do we make of this? What was the significance of the temple veil being torn in two when Jesus died? Above all, the tearing of the veil at the moment of Jesus' death dramatically symbolized that His sacrifice, the shedding of His own blood, was sufficient to forgive the sins of the whole world! It signified that now the way into the Holy of Holies was open for all people, both Jew and Gentile, for all time. When Jesus died, the veil was torn, and God moved out of that place never again to dwell in a temple made with hands.

God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.

Acts 17:24

Jesus said that true worship is to be in Spirit and in Truth when He declared the following to the woman of Samaria—

"The hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father ... But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

John 4:21-24

As long as the temple stood, it signified the continuation of the Old Covenant. We can now enter the Holy of Holies through Jesus. This is declared openly for all to see:

"Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near

with a true heart in full assurance of faith..."

Hebrews 10:19-22 

The things of the temple were shadows of what was to come, they all ultimately point us to Jesus Christ. The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin renders humanity unfit for the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered annually and countless other sacrifices repeated frequently showed vividly that sin could not truly be atoned for or erased by mere animal sacrifices. Jesus Christ, through His death, has removed the barriers between God and man, and now we may approach Him with confidence and boldness.

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, ... Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:14-16

This devotional book will lead us into a living relationship with God as a result of entering in through the veil! and is aptly called—

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Living in His Presence!  

Day by Day Topical Index

PART 1  | The Way into God’s Presence

Day 1 -  Introduction—Beyond the Veil

Day 2 -   Therefore...

Day 3 -  Enter in Boldly!

Day 4 -  God’s Forgiveness

Day 5 -  ...By the Blood of Jesus

Day 6 -  ...By a New and Living Way  

Day 7 -  ...By a New and Living Way (continued) 

Day 8 -  Having a High Priest over the House of God

Day 9 -  Let Us Draw Near

Day 10 -  With a True Heart

Day 11 -  In Full Assurance of Faith

Day 12 -   ...Having Our Hearts Sprinkled from an Evil

Conscience and Our Bodies Washed with Pure

Water 

Day 13 -  ...Having Our Hearts Sprinkled from an Evil

Conscience and Our Bodies Washed with Pure

Water (continued)   

PART 2  | Entering into God’s Presence

Day 14 -  In Your Presence is Fullness of Joy

Day 15 -  Come Before His Presence with Thanksgiving

Day 16 -  Times of Desperation and Trouble!

Day 17 -  He that Comes to God...

Day 18 -  Asking of God

Day 19 -  The Holy Spirit Helps, Strengthens and Empowers

Day 20 -   Seek the Giver and Not Just the Gift!

Day 21 -   Abiding in Christ

Day 22 -  The Secret Place

Day 23 -  The Fear of the Lord

Day 24 -  The Secret Place—God Our Refuge

Day 25 -  The Secret Place—God Our Strength

Day 26 -  The Secret Place—Allowing God to Do His Work

Day 27 -  The Emmaus Road

Day 28 -   Counsel and Understanding

PART 3  | Prayer Is the Battleground

Day 29 -  Spiritual Warfare

Day 30 -  Spiritual Warfare—Who Is the Enemy?

Day 31 -  The Heavenly Places

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PART 1

The Way into God’s Presence

DAY 1

Introduction—Beyond the Veil

...We have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil...

Hebrews 6:19

The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom at the moment Jesus died upon the cross. This is significant and is crucial to remember. It is God’s removal of the Old Covenant and the establishing of the New Covenant! The very presence of the Veil in the Jewish Temple signified the barrier of sin between us and God. The tearing down of this Veil tells us the reverse is true—the barrier has been torn down.

It was God Himself Who tore down the curtain that separated man from God. This indicated that a new way was opened into the presence of God. If God opens up a door, then no man can close it. The significance of this is beyond measure. It is necessary to understand just why God tore down the curtain in the first place and what this really means.  We will examine this more closely.

The days we are living in are called the days of God's Grace (or the Dispensation of Grace) and all because of this incredible occurrence the tearing of the curtain which clearly has opened up The Holy of Holies. This signifies a new era of grace—but how does

it do this?

Tradition tells us that the thickness of the Veil or curtain was the width of a man’s hand, that is, about four inches thick. Its height was about thirty feet, the same as its width. The Veil was definitely meant to be a barrier to prevent entry as well as to conceal everything behind it. Behind the Veil, God’s presence would abide high and lifted up. This area was known as the Holiest of All.  The High Priest entered it once each year to ask for atonement of the nation’s sins through the blood of the sacrifices and all the people would wait outside of the tabernacle. Were they in fear and trepidation waiting for Him to return, hoping that God would accept the offering? This background will help us see the significance of what Jesus has accomplished through His death and resurrection and why the veil was torn down. 

When Jesus was crucified upon the cross and died, He became the sin offering to God! His own shed blood was to be the sacrifice for sin. After Jesus rose again from the dead, He went back into Heaven to His Father (The True Holy of Holies) as our Great High Priest, presenting Himself and His own shed blood as the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world! The resurrection of Jesus confirmed that His shed blood was sufficient to forgive all our sins!

"Now where there is remission (forgiveness) of these, (our sins) there is no longer an offering for sin."

Hebrews 10:18

This is the significance of the torn-down veil. This is what is meant by God’s Grace. Jesus has put away sin once and for all by the sacrifice of Himself through His

own shed blood and provided for a new and living way

into God’s presence! Even eternity will not be long enough for us to fully grasp just what Jesus has accomplished at Calvary. Nevertheless, we can benefit from God’s amazing love in sending His only Son to die for us. We simply have to receive Him ourselves as our Lord and Saviour.

As the Hymn writer said:

Give me a sight, O Saviour,

Of Thy wondrous love to me,

Of the love that brought Thee down to earth,

To die on Calvary.

Oh, make me understand it,

Help me to take it in,

What it meant to Thee, the Holy One,

To bear away my sin.

K. A. M. Kelly (1869-1942)

It has often been said that Grace is God’s unmerited favour. When you consider the fact that we were all enemies of God and condemned sinners lost as a result of the Fall, we realise that what Jesus did was entirely because of His love, grace and mercy. We did not deserve it! Now, in Him God receives us and forgives us. His sacrificial death, His shed blood has paid the price (ransom) for our sin.

Below are some of the things that God has done for those who will come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ by believing upon His Saving Grace and receiving Him as their new life:

•  God has blessed us

•  Accepted us

•  Made us holy

•  Made us without blame before Him in love

•  Adopted us into His family as sons and

daughters

•  Redeemed us (i.e. paid the cost or ransom to

buy us back through the blood of Christ)

•  Forgiven us ...!

Ephesians Chapter 1

The important thing to remember here is that it had nothing to do with man. As we begin our journey of meditations on entering into His presence through the veil, one thing is important to keep in mind—the initiative was entirely God's. He accomplished it all through His Son Jesus Christ. He alone has made a way for us to freely enter directly into God’s presence having removed the barrier of sin for us through His own blood.

The Bible puts it this way:

"...For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone

should boast." 

Ephesians 2:8-9

How do I freely come into God’s presence? As already mentioned, the