It’s been almost 200 days since Day&Night’s last worship evening in the church of Mark. Today, we are thrilled to announce that we can finally gather again!
Day&Night is open every weekdays in the morning (06am) and the evening (07pm), until summer break on June 25th.
Limited to 20 people. If you would like to join, kindly remember to send a notice to Day&Night. ✉️ post@dayandnight.no Ⓜ️ facebook.com/dayandnightoslo
Perhaps, this latest lockdown could help us understand a little better the context surrounding a major event in the history of the people of God. After 70 years of captivity outside their homeland, King Cyrus made a public declaration granting the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. He lifted all restrictions related to temple worship.
Stirring up the hearts
Daniel’s prayers triggered the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy. God answered his prayers by stirring up the heart of the great King Cyrus. Then the leaders among the people, the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem.
They arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings (…) both the morning and evening. Excerpt from Ezra 3:1,3
Cold hearts, cold feet
A lockdown is tedious, hence the excitement to gather again after half a year! Perhaps, we experience a glimpse of the joy that the captives of Israel experienced upon their returning to their homeland. The Levites were able to re-establish a rhythm which had been broken for 70 years, it must have been wild! However, their exhilaration didn’t last long. The building of the new temple quickly faced fiery opposition.
Stirring up the hearts, again
The enemy’s schemes caused the work to be discontinued until it eventually ceased altogether for a period. The prophesies of Haggai and Zechariah came during this very context of spiritual apathy. Their words again stirred up the hearts of the leaders among the people, the priests, and the Levites.
- Prophetic words caused Daniel’s intercession to align with God’s purpose, which caused hearts to be stirred up.
- Some years later, Haggai’s and Zechariah’s prophetic words caused the whole nation to align with God’s purpose, which caused again hearts to be stirred up.
Lord, stir up our hearts!
What was God’s purpose? Re-establishing the right priority: seeking God first!
Let us pray that God will stir up our hearts as the restrictions start to lift. Let us believe that God will awaken His Church. The King of Kings has made a public declaration granting us the privilege to build His temple, the Church. Let us arise from this season of spiritual slumber and pray: “Lord, stir up our hearts!”.
Day&Night is committed to following the guidelines issued by the Norwegian authorities related to COVID–19. Last press release (May 21st): here.
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