Going to God’s House

“I love your sanctuary, LORD, the place where your glorious presence dwells.” (Psalm 26:8, NLT)

For just a few brief seconds my mom was distracted, and I was free. My short legs pumping, I dashed away, Caught up in my toddler fun, I did not see the long arm stretching down until it stopped my progress and gently returned me to my mother. I had been caught running in church by my pastor. It’s strange that the memory of that moment has stayed with me so long. Even at that young age I think I understood that running in God’s house was not acceptable.

As I grew older, I learned more rules of “being good in church.” Don’t talk or giggle during service. Don’t pass notes, chew gum, throw things on the floor, or distract others who are worshiping.  The pastor of our small assembly was not above pausing mid-sermon to give a reproving look to a mischief-maker. We were taught to respect God’s house and His Word.

JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

My childish antics were very minor compared to what Jesus discovered in the Temple. The house of God had become a place of commerce rather than a house of worship. The Lord was angered by their lack of reverence for His house. The things of God had become commonplace to them.

Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” (Matthew 21:12-13, NKJV)

Was it coincidence that once He drove out the irreverent, “The blind and lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them” (verse 14)? God does mighty things when we reverence Him, His Word, and His house.

REVERENCE IN THE SANCTUARY

God has always demanded we honor His house and His Word. Leviticus 19:30 says, “You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary. I am the Lord” (NKJV). This Old Testament verse was written at a time when God’s house was not an elaborate building of stone and marble. It was a tent in the wilderness. Yet this tent was His dwelling place, and the people were to approach it with awe and respect.

If moms of the past were to teach church manners today, I can just imagine some of their instructions. They might not question gum chewing, but they would certainly question Starbucks cups or food in the sanctuary. They would also expect cell phones to be silenced and put away. Checking social media, texting during service, or making numerous trips to the restroom would be a definite no.

A PLACE TO MEET GOD

King David was a worshiper with a deep love for God. We can feel his awe and respect for the things of God by the words he wrote in Psalm 27:4.

“One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire [seek, look for] in His temple.” (NKJV)

When we enter the house of the Lord, what matters most is not the comfort of the pews or the beauty of the building. It’s what we will experience there and Who we will meet there. We have entered a house of prayer, and God awaits us there.

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20, NKJV)

PERSONAL REFLECTION

• What do you feel when you enter your church?
• What does “respect for the house of God” mean to you?
• What do you enjoy most about being in a community of believers?

Devotion by Mary Loudermilk