155 Years of Ministry: Richland ARP

     Quick!  What Bible verse mentions the number, 155?
     I couldn't find one either.  But I did find this very thought provoking verse:
-Exodus 20:17 "The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze."
     There it is: A verse for our 155th Anniversary.  Hold on… Let's think about this.
     The book of Exodus is about God's grand plans to redeem a people to Himself and to bring them into a covenant relationship with Him, and to maintain that relationship based upon the proper worship of the true and living God!  Not every one in the world has this sort of privilege!
     Blessings (or curses) would flow out of this covenant relationship when the two parties maintained faithfulness to the terms of the covenant.
     One aspect of the covenant was that God would accept the worship of His redeemed people if they would simply approach Him in a way He found pleasing.  This "approach" was also a template to help us understand concepts such as holiness, order, beauty, sin, forgiveness, mercy, merit, priorities, and a host of other life pursuing convictions.  And yet beyond all those thing, there was a instructive template for the people of God to prepare to see the fullness of the ministry of Jesus Christ in this Old Testament dispensation.
     Are we really talking about a tent in the wilderness with furnishings throughout? At first glance, yes!  With exacting details designed by God to reflect a heavenly and spiritual worship found acceptable to Him in an earthly and physical setting.  All those precise measurements were needed for a place of worship because it revealed the devotions of the worshipper, who by their careful obedience, would reveal their true desire to encounter the very presence of the God they loved.
     But take a step back and look at that tent and those furnishings and WHO do we see emerging from this tabernacle design?  A true High Priest, a pure sacrifice, a sweet savor, a holy anointing, true food and drink, atonement purchased, redemption applied, and the entire structure of the ceremonies of worship are understood to be a complete depiction of the saving person and work of Jesus Christ -- who "tabernacled" with us!
     Let's not miss those specific details of worship; they are still needful today!  Not in the measurements of our sanctuaries; but in the faithfulness in how we proclaim the whole Christ to the whole world! 
     Thank God that He has persevered with us for 155 years to herald this proclamation!