Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 27:4-6
Ps 27:4-6
4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
Eph 2:19-22
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Habakkuk says that the Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him. Daniel prayed three times a day, looking toward Jerusalem where the temple of God had been before he was taken to captivity. For the Jewish people, it was in the temple that the Lord dwelt and made his presence known to them.
For us today, the temple of God, his dwelling among us, is his church. This is not the church building, but his church is all who are his children. In Acts we read the Lord added to his church daily those who were being saved. The church is not an institution that exists outside of the people who make it up. It is God who saves, and he alone can add or subtract from his family, his kingdom, his church. The church (as God would have it) is not man’s idea, nor is it dependent on us for its life, vitality or longevity. God gave this fellowship for our benefit.
The more we are a part of the local church, the more active we are in it and the more faithful we are in gathering with others in it, the stronger we will become and the more good we can do for his cause. Some have declared the church to be dead, but it is only as dead or alive as those who make it up.
Holy Father, giver of all things good, I thank you for your church. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your family and for the encouragement I receive from my brothers and sisters. Use me to further your cause. Guide me to be where you want me to be. Forgive me when I fail to do and to be all I should be. I ask you for unity among your people. Help us to love each other and to show it so we can attract those who do not know you. As you are holy, so we are to be your holy temple so help us always follow your will. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
