Heading to the Fore

Psalm 37:6a “He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn…”

By God’s grace, I participate in a Bible study called Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). This year’s amazing study is on the book of Revelation and will be completed after 30 weeks, 26 of which have already passed. With the 2nd advent of Jesus Christ and the coming of a new heaven and new earth in Revelation 22, believers are promised that the curses of sin and death will be removed. Hallelujah! Communion with the Father and the Lamb is promised to be up close and personal in a way that we have only dimly imagined. Believers will dwell with the Lord and be in His presence constantly and enjoy intimate communion – actually face to face! His name will be on our foreheads. Our foreheads will truly face each other.

Significant in Ephesians 6, we are told to protect our heads with the “helmet” of salvation. We know from science that the body’s heat is protected from the cold best when we cover our heads. When we became children of God, we were sealed with the Lamb’s name on our foreheads as opposed to the “inhabitants of the earth” who will receive the mark of the beast. God knows and seals those who belong to Him.

High priests were marked with the designation “Holy to the Lord” in the history of God’s people. They wore a gold plate (diadem) on their foreheads that carried this engraving. This indicated authority and dignity. When Jesus became the only High Priest that we will ever need, He sealed us with his Name by His blood. This carries authority and dignity. Our faith is now credited to us as His righteousness. We carry His mark on our lives. There will be a special designation on our foreheads when we are introduced to the new heaven and the new earth, the Holy City, the New Jerusalem.

Exodus 28:36-38 says, ” ‘Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.’ ”

Now Christ is our Head, the Head of the Body – His Church. His Name is over all names. His name is symbolically, maybe even literally-in-a-spiritual-sense, engraved on our foreheads! He bore our guilt and shame to redeem us. He is our Righteousness and makes it shine like the dawn.

Bringing Christ to the fore is all I need to do. Situating Him up front in my life is my act of worship in response to His great love. Jesus is the One Who makes me acceptable to the Father by the diadem He places over my forehead that says “Holy to the Lord.” My Redeemer lives – He is my covering, my Intercessor, the Lover of my Soul – engraved on my forehead forever.