Old Testament: Micah 5
Poetry: Psalm 84 (day 2)
New Testament: Luke 18:9-14
How excited are you about going to church? You might think church is boring, the singing doesn’t inspire you, the sermon puts you to sleep, the building is nothing to write home about, etc. If you think like this, you are probably also thinking, “Why even bother going to church when there are so many more exciting things I could be doing?”
If you think church is bad now, just imagine how bad it was when they used a tent as a church (called the Tabernacle), and slaughtered animals to cover sins. How well would you have liked going to church then?! (Can you imagine the smell?)
Our reading today is from Psalm 84, which starts out, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!” The writer wasn’t talking about the throne room of God in heaven, he was talking about the Tabernacle (tent) where he went to worship God.
Psalm 84 continues, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
The writer wasn’t getting excited about visiting a tent, he was getting excited about being able to be in the presence of God. He was yearning, fainting, crying out to be near God.
Verse 4 goes on to say, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.”
I’m guessing the writer is referring to the singers whose job was to stay at church and sing praises to God all day long. He was envious they didn’t even have to leave there to go to work (they were at work) – they were so lucky! They got to be near God all the time.
Verse 10 says, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
You may dread going to church. The writer of Psalm 84 dreaded having to leave church. He’d rather spend one day at church than almost 3 years anywhere else. He’d rather be a doorstop at church than party all the time with his wicked friends.
Why did the author crave going to church so much? The answer is: because he loved God, and he associated being at church with being in God’s presence – so he couldn’t get enough of it.
Today, as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we have far greater access to God than the people in the Old Testament (including the writer of Psalm 84) had. We’re told in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
God didn’t just send Jesus to die for our sins, God also wants to adopt us as His children. And there’s an inheritance involved – the Kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “… No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”
I don’t know about you, but I have a pretty vivid imagination, and can imagine some amazing things. But, according to this verse, I can’t imagine how great the Kingdom will be. Start with no more death or mourning or crying or pain, add in a little euphoria in the presence of God forever, and you’re just scratching the surface for what God has prepared for those who love him.
I want that!
God wants to adopt us as His children, but there’s a catch. He will only adopt us if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savor, are baptized, and live our lives for Him. Only then will we get to live with Him forever.
Maybe, our level of excitement in going to church is related to our level of excitement for God. Once we recognize how much God has already done for us, and what He has planned for those who love him, we’ll get more excited about God. And once we do, I suspect we’ll get more excited about going to church too.
-Steve Mattison
Reflection Questions
- What are your thoughts and feelings right now about going to church? Where do you think they come from?
- How excited for God are you? What has He done for you already? What do you know about – and what can you imagine – about being in the Kingdom of God? Have you already been adopted into God’s family? Are there steps you need to do in this adoption process?
- Is there anything about your perception and understanding about going to church that you think God wants you to change?
Seek Grow Love 