I Love My Church!
Today’s Verse:
How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! ~Psalm 84:1
Psalm 84 is a psalm that speaks about the writer’s love for God’s house. His opening statement is “How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!” In this psalm, we are challenged to rise to a high level of adoration, appreciation, and love for the house of God. On this Lord’s Day, may it be our claim that “I love my church!”
We see the craving.
"My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." The psalmist had a strong desire and longing to be in the house of the Lord. Our longing should be to be in the Lord’s presence at church. We must desire that God’s presence is real and at work in us. Worshipping God at church is meant to be a life-changing experience that causes us to grow more into the image of our Lord. We should come away with knowing that the Lord’s presence is on our life.
We see the contentment.
"Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God." The sparrow and swallow find the house of the Lord as a place where their young can be born and raised. Church is intended to be a place where there is safety, peace, and satisfaction. Parents should find church to be a safe place to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We should be contented with staying in the church for a long time. We should be contented that the church is a house of prayer where God meets His people.
We see the capability.
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them." Church is where we draw out spiritual strength. In fact, the psalmist said that people who love church go from strength to strength. When we get our roots deep into church, we get stronger and stronger. We find God’s grace as His strength is made perfect in our weakness. When God’s people lift us up in prayer, we find ourselves going from strength to strength. When we assemble as a church for extended seasons of prayer or to evangelize our area, we go from strength to strength. The strongest Christians are those who know that we need more church and not less.
We see the commitment.
"For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." The psalmist acknowledges a high level of commitment to the Lord’s house. Our Western mindset thinks of church attendance as a Sunday morning ritual, and not a perennial responsibility. We must come to the place where church is our favorite and most important place to be. When we are committed to the worship and service of God, God is a sun and shield to us. He makes His face to shine upon us. He promises that no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. Do you love your church? Do you desire to be in the house of God? Is going to church a delight or a drudgery? Is serving the Lord something that you look forward to, or something that is a waste of your time? May the Lord work in us to delight our soul in being at church.
Have a church-inspired God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Proverbs 22-23