No More Veil

Matt Miles • April 13, 2023

   As we just celebrated our Savior’s resurrection, I was reminded of a vitally important aspect of the death, burial and resurrection - the veil in the Temple that separated the Holy of Holies was torn in two. This allows us to have the personal relationship with our Savior today.


   In the garden, Adam’s sin separated them from their Creator, and an angel with flaming sword was placed between them and the place of perfection in the Lord’s presence. Later, when the Lord had personal contact with people in the Temple, it was only for the High Priest once a year. Nobody else ever had the opportunity to be in His presence because of our sinful state. Even the High Priest, if you remember, couldn’t have any unaccounted for sin or not follow exactly all the procedures God commanded, for risk of being struck down while in the Holy of Holies. The separation was spiritual and also physical in the form of a veil of massive size. The High Priest had to work his way through the massive amount of material to come into the Lord’s presence. There was no accidental or unintentional encounters with the Most High. That separation continued until Jesus’ sacrifice said, “It is finished.”


   At the moment Jesus, our Creator and Savior, died, our sin separation was reconciled. The mighty veil was torn from top to bottom. The presence of the Lord would forever be with those that call on His name. The separation that started in the garden does not have to exist now. We have the ability to have a personal relationship with our Creator once again. No more need of a high priest to speak to the Lord on our behalf. God hears, moves and shakes us by His Spirit, in relationship with each of us. In eternity, with our corrupted flesh gone, our physical relationship will be restored. Praise be to God for the Resurrection! Genesis from the beginning set the stage for why Jesus needed to do what we acknowledge only He could do for us. No more veil or separation, only relationship that impacts our life for eternity. Blessings.

By Ryan Cox June 18, 2025
Moses & History (part 3)
lined up books
By Matt Miles June 18, 2025
Over the course of time a person can accumulate many things. Most of the stuff we collect is meaningless to most everyone else, but when a person collects books, they can be treasured for a lifetime and even beyond. In this age of digital media, physical books seem to be less important to many people. Digital books are searchable, and copy/paste functions make it easy to use those great quotes. Yet, there is still something great about a physical book, things you can’t get digitally: the turning of pages, the feel of it in your hand, and the “book” smell. For our founder Dr. Sharp, physical books could never be replaced by digital. While my collection of books is growing each year, it is dwarfed by Dr. Sharp’s collection. Over the years he collected thousands of titles for research and enjoyment. Through the course of his ministry he had to sell his book collection a couple of different times to support his family, only to start collecting again when he was able to do so. When Doc passed his office full of packed bookshelves to me and said he would clear the shelves, I laughed out loud at the prospect of having loads of empty bookshelves. So I urged him to instead leave his books for my, and anyone else’s, use. Little did I understand that the four bookcases in my office were only a fraction of his entire collection. A couple of years back when Doc moved from his house, it was decided that his book collection would be stored at the office. Our thought was to establish a library, yet none of us had time to plan, organize and catalog all 79 boxes of books. They sat piled in his office until last year when my daughter Megan joined our ministry. She has a love of books, both reading and writing. So we offered her the task of cataloging and establishing Doc’s library. Can you picture me, a bbq lover, being offered a table full of succulent smoked offerings - brisket, sausage, ribs, pulled pork, chicken, turkey and all sides? Yep, that was Megan’s response to the library. For over four months she cataloged and organized the entire collection. The Dr. G. Thomas Sharp Library was completed earlier this year in his old office space, with overflow into my office. The entire 2700+ volume agglomeration is digitally cataloged for searching and locating. As you might expect, there is an extensive collection of creation and evolution subject matter, yet the library is full of many different categories. It very much reflects Doc’s love of gaining knowledge and research. An extensive commentary collection and multiple Biblical reference sections are invaluable to our ministry. There is even a whole bookcase housing books that are over 100 years old. Our desire was not to just house books but to also make a place of honor and inspiration. One wall exhibits Doc’s many diplomas, and throughout the library we have placed personal memorabilia of the mission trips he took over the years. Come, grab a book, relax in the sitting area and allow Doc’s handwritten notes from the margins or post-it notes bring a smile to your face. For those who may be more ambitious, Doc's office chair resides at the credenza for anyone to sit and be inspired to study. This is a place to honor Doc’s life and love for books. We at CTF have already utilized this great resource for further study, and we are so thankful to Diane and their family for donating these books for continued Kingdom growth. Blessings.
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