Tehillah Generation Chapel
Daily Manna | Wednesday, February 14, 2018 | Reading: Exodus 33:1-11, Exodus 4, Gen 3:1-21
Topic: The Tabernacle of God 357
Scripture: But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say not of this building. (Heb 9:11)
Note: 2Cor 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Today is an unusual day based on the Christian liturgical calendar. It’s Ash Wednesday and at the same time had been celebrated by loved ones and families as a point of reflection for the renewal of their love towards each other. Ash Wednesday is traditionally known as the beginning of Lent, a period dedicated to fasting and prayers for a period of 40 days prior to Easter.
The reference point for Ash Wednesday is Easter, which is the only biblically recognized festive period for believers. Easter marked the period for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead after 3 days in the grave. In Easter, Jesus demonstrated exactly what Paul talked about in the dissolution of His earthly house of tabernacle, which is His body. Christ conquered death and the grave through His resurrection, when He rose up in glory, power, with immortal, incorruptible and indestructible body meant for eternity.
The 40 days fasting period, beginning on Ash Wednesday, mirrors the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert, fasting and praying, and being tempted of the devil. This important day as well marks the celebration of love among loved ones and family called Valentine’s day. On this day, what readily comes to the minds of most people is the expression of love through unfettered sex. Single and unmarried folks become the key architects of such unbridled celebration of casual sex in a manner that has no regard for the word of God. The day has been reduced to a celebration of sexual lust, immorality, licentiousness, debauchery and revelling in wild passions of sin.
Today marks a day that interestingly should serve as a reflection for most people if their first love on the gift of salvation through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. Instead of thankfulness to God for being gracious, the key question bothering the minds of the youth is whether it’s permissible on this day of love to engage in sex. This astonishing question is getting asked by people who aren’t even married. As Ash Wednesday begins the Lent that mirrors the fasting of Jesus in the desert, it’s pertinent for believers to take a cue from the Master who overcame every temptation that the devil threw at Him. May we on this day mirror the victory of Jesus when He overcame satanz as victors over sin and satan. May this day of love become our turning point for victorious lives in Christ Jesus.
Food for thought: May we turn the troubles, temptations and tumults of today into a turning point of victory that mirrors the victory of Christ over satan in the wilderness.
Declaration: And Jesus answering said to the devil, “It is said, you shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Luke 4:12
©Author: Rev Fred Aboe
