“Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.” –King David in Psalm 26:8.

In David’s day the house where God lived and the place where His glory dwelt was in the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Tabernacle. Later David’s son, Solomon, built the Temple with its Holy of Holies and God lived there. The temple was destroyed twice, the last time in 70 AD and has never been replaced.

The reason is because now Christ-followers are God’s temple. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19.) “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27.)

Let Christ in you be your Bible commentary. Let the Holy Spirit directly speak to your heart and teach you as you read the Holy Book.

I woke up this morning with this poem developing in my heart:

If you read the Bible
As a book of rules
You’ll miss its many jewels
And wonderful tools
That can guide you to
A beautiful life.
But if you read it
As a love letter
From God’s heart to yours
It points to Christ in you,
The hope that matures
As inexpressible
Joy and glory.

The Bible isn’t merely a book of religious history, rules, and information like a textbook or a handbook. It contains living words that help us hear the still small voice of God speaking directly to our heart. When we approach the Bible analytically, we unintentionally put our mind above our heart, but when we approach the Bible with humility, poverty of spirit, and spiritual hunger its words will ignite the fire of God within us.