You Have Direct Access to God
By Rick Warren

“You come to him as living stones, a spiritual house that is being built into a holy priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5 GW).

God says that you are a priest. Depending on your background, that may be scary or confusing. Peter is saying that the two benefits that priests have are now available to everyone who is a believer.

In the Old Testament, priests did two things:

1. They had the right, privilege, and responsibility to go directly to God. They could pray and talk to God, worship, and fellowship with God. Everybody else had to go through a priest.

2. The priest had the privilege and responsibility of representing God to the people and ministering to the needs of other people (serving).

Those are the very two things that are true of you when you become a believer.

The Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross, there was a veil in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies, where God’s Spirit was, from where man was. Only priests could go behind that veil once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, God ripped that veil — about 70 feet — from top to bottom, symbolizing that there no longer was a barrier.

You now have direct access to God. You don’t have to pray through anybody else. You don’t have to confess through anybody else. You don’t have to fellowship with God through anybody else. Read your Bible, talk with the Lord, and fellowship directly with him.

You have also been gifted for ministry to serve other people. Every Christian is a minister — not a pastor, but a minister. Anytime you use your talents and gifts to help others, you are ministering.

“He saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because that was his plan long before the world began” (2 Timothy 1:9 TLB). Why did God save you? So you could serve him. A non-serving Christian is a contradiction.

How do you know what your ministry is? Look at your talents, gifts, and abilities. When you use those talents and gifts to help other people, that’s called ministry — nothing fancy or scary about it. It’s just helping others. Can you be a priest in a sales office? You bet you can. Can you be a priest as an accountant? Of course. Driving a truck? Sure. Anytime you’re helping other people in God’s name, you’re ministering.

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Talk About It

How are you using your gifts and abilities to serve God and others?

How have you grown closer to Jesus through other believers’ ministry and service to you?

How do you make the most of your status as a priest? Do you take full advantage of your direct access to God?

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

Eternal Realities Complete Audio Series

It’s time to get the truth . . .

Questions about life after death are too important to leave unanswered – it’s time to get to the truth.

That’s why Pastor Rick put together an audio series called Eternal Realities: Heaven and Hell with clear, biblical answers about what happens when you leave this earth, and how you can be absolutely certain of your eternal destination.

This 3-message series gives you evidence from God’s Word on:

The reality of Hell – and why you don’t want any part of it.

The reality of Heaven – and the incredible hope it gives life here and now.

The eternal choice we all make – and how to be certain you're going to heaven.

An eye-opening resource for any Christian, Eternal Realities is also the perfect series to share with people you know who have questions about life after death or who may not realize the eternal significance of their earthly decisions.

So request your copy of Pastor Rick’s Eternal Realities Complete Audio Series when you give below to help share the hope found in Christ with more people. The good news about Heaven is too good to keep to yourself.

This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.