Abiding in the Presence of Jehovah

The Fifth Dimension sings Up, up and away My beautiful, my beautiful balloon Suspended under a twilight canopy We'll search the clouds for a star to guide us. I am so glad that I do not need to search the clouds for a star to guide me...the "STAR" has already made the path clear and visible to the eye that wishes to behold Him. . ..and that is how we felt this a.m. in the worship centers in which we participated. We were up in a spiritual sense and away into the presence of Jehovah. The passage in Hebrews brought this full force as we looked into the New Covenant of Hebrews 8 (the longest OT quotation in the NT which is from Jer 31 which just happened to be my quiet time devotions!!! ).
Today Pastor Jeff used this passage. See:
http://bible.org/byauthor/25/jeff_miller
Jeff gave the illustration clearly of the contrast from the Temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel, and then Herod to the "true" tabernacle noted in Hebrews 8. The Temple here on earth was majestic but the tabernacle in heaven will be greater, far greater. In the earthly tabernacle/temple the Most Holy Place was visible only to the High Priest and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. When Jesus sighed "it is finished" the curtain between the two was torn from top to bottom so that ALL could now enter in. With the New true tabernacle, the curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place is fully drawn back and one day we will see Jehovah in all of His glory. "We behold the Lamb of God,Risen for the sins of man, And we behold Him, In majesty, We behold the Lamb of God" As we looked at the contrast between the Old Covenant to the New Covenant he used the illustration of an area rug. In the Old Covenant sins were covered, like one might use an area rug to cover a spot, the sin is still there but covered from the naked eye. But, in the New Covenant it is as if God picks up our sin symbolized by the illustration of the old carpet and removes it completely so that there are no more stains, no more marks, it is replaced by a new "carpet" ..our new spiritual life and it is done by the blood of the Precious Son of God's death on the cross.
The marvelous thing is that Jesus said "it is completed, finished, done" and He sat down at the right hand of the Father. He removed the stains of sin, He replaced them and now no longer do I need an "area rug" called offerings and sacrifices but now I am pure and holy in His presence. One day I/we (who have accepted this blood sacrifice of the pure Jesus who gave His life willingly for me/us) will be in His presence. I will behold Him in all of His glory and bask in His presence.

We will see the risen Lord,
We rise and His command,
And we behold Him,
In righteousness,
We will see the risen Lord.