I have worshipped in many different places in my life. Packed into apartment buildings in Asuncion, Paraguay, crowded into school hallways, underneath flat topped trees in Zimbabwe, in open air mud and thatch roofed buildings, in air conditioning.
It is good to be a good steward of our church building. It is good to take care of what God has given us. But sheet rock and carpet is not necessary. If a tornado came through, the church of God would still meet. If it flooded and the floor had to be torn up, the church of God would still meet. If we had to sell this plot of ground and move to a different location, the church of God would still meet. This building, this structure is not essential for worship. The church Jesus died for is built brick by brick not from mortar and stones but souls. It is comprised of the people who know and worship the almighty God.
It doesn’t so much matter what our GPS location is when we worship. It matters who we worship and whether we do so according to His will. It matters if our heart was in it, if we meant what we said.
Otherwise, beloved, it wasn’t worship. It was pretense.
The Lord has always felt strongly about worship and the heart:
1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
Psalm 51:16-17 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
May each of worship him with all our hearts, according to His truths.
Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash
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