ReNEW

"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." Psalm 15:1‭-‬2. We cannot get close to God unless we walk uprightly, work righteousness, and speak truth in our hearts. It's a change which happens on the inside first! The Israelites did a lot of outward service to The Lord, but as we've previously discussed, they made quite a few mistakes along the way. It was time for a reNEWal! Time to gain a NEW perspective of why their service was so important-a perspective of the heart!

Remember the first set of 10 Commandment stones that Moses broke? The ones which were written with the finger of God? God renewed & restored them, but in a different way:

"And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone." Exodus 34:4.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel." Exodus 34:27.

God spoke the Commandments to Moses, but this time, Moses was the one writing! God created man in His image, yet man sinned & needed to be cleansed, renewed & redeemed. God wrote the first set of 10 Commandments, yet man broke them as well. It was now up to man to desire to make a change from the heart. It was now up to Moses to rewrite the law upon the stone, yet engrave it in his heart and remind the people of the fact that this is not just a connection to God in servitude, but in love.

After this writing took place, Moses definitely showed the outward change which took place inside...because it shone brightly on the outside:

"And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him." Exodus 34:29.

He didn't even realize the outward after-effect he was experiencing! All he knew was he had a personal, heartfelt connection with God! When Aaron & the rest of the people saw him, they were afraid to go close, but Moses told them to come so they too could receive the law with their whole hearts too. This is very similar to the reNEWal we are to have with God too:

"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." 2 Corinthians 3:3.

We are to keep the law in our hearts! Just like the Israelites did the work of the tabernacle, we are to be tabernacled with Christ in His church! Just look at what happened after Moses finished speaking to the people:

"And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments." Exodus 35:21.

Their hearts were stirred & they had willing spirits! Rather than having murmuring spirits about them, they let their inner light shine forth, just like we can do with Christ on the inside of us:

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16.

It's hard for people to see our good works & service for what they are if we are not shining a light on it! When people see how much we love God, they'll know we are working out of a genuine, willing heart. When we let our light shine from a place of deep, inner connection with God, people will surely be attracted to it & want to serve God too! It's all about having God's Spirit on the inside, reflecting on the outside!

Do we sometimes just drag ourselves through each day? Have we maybe been unaware of where our hearts are at through the process of life? Has it been hard to come to church & serve God willingly?

Let's get RENEWED! Let's gain a new heartfelt perspective toward God and toward all the work we do in life. And remember, whatever you do, do it with your whole heart & remember who you belong to:

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ."
Colossians 3:23‭-‬24.