Tag Archives: church

God’s Domain

09 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Bible, Devotionals, Psalm 84, Psalms

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Reading:                                       Psalm 84

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
(Verses 1-7)
How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion (NIV).

Reflection
Where does God live? If you were going to pay God a visit where would you go? Some of us would head off to a church. The psalmist speaks of travelling to the temple in Jerusalem. Psalm 84 was often used by pilgrims as they made the long journey to the holy city to be near to God in His temple.

Eric E.Wright 12

Awakening the Dawn — photo courtesy of Eric Wright

When I read the phrase, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!” my mind instantly flashes to pictures of nature. I see God there, in the dazzling sunset, in the mountain grandeur, in the forest depths, in expansive prairie vistas, in the wind whipped ocean breakers, and by the sunlit babbling stream. God is there. This is His dwelling place. It is just as David declared, “The earth is the LORD‘s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).

Nature is God’s domain. He formed it, planned it, spoke it into existence. It is his dwelling place. Our attempts to create a dwelling place for him are feeble at best. After overseeing the construction of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, King Solomon, that master temple builder of the Old Testament declared, “There is not enough room in heaven for you, LORD God. How can you possibly live on earth in this temple I have built?” (1 Kings 8:27).

But here in Psalm 84 the psalmist marvels that nature has invaded the temple. Swallows have built their nest in the temple, close by the altar of God. He exclaims, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.” Indeed, there is no better place to be than near to the heart of God. 

Response: LORD God, I want to be near to you today. I want to dwell where you are. Please come and stay with me. Be as close to me as my next breath. Amen.

Your Turn: Where are you closest to God? Do you long to be near Him?

Loving the House of God

25 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by in Bible, Devotionals, Psalm 26, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 26

(Verses 8-12)
LORD, I love the house where you live,
the place where your glory dwells.
Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with those who are bloodthirsty,
in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
I lead a blameless life;
deliver me and be merciful to me.
My feet stand on level ground;
in the great congregation I will praise the LORD (NIV).

Reflection
In America, Canada and much of the western world, people have been abandoning the house of God in droves. In the most recent census survey, by far the largest growth has been among those who identify themselves as having no religion. This move to “no religion” is most pronounced among our young people. There are many factors that have led to this decline. Perhaps a hard look in the mirror is needed for us to see what we are doing wrong. Jesus attracted people. Why are his followers today repelling people?

IMG_20150503_090438

North Gower United Church — photo by David Kitz

David had a completely different attitude toward the house of God. Hear the cry of his heart, “LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.”

No one had to drag David to the LORD’s house. He was eager to meet with God there. Really, that’s the secret. If God is in the house—if His glory is present—it will be hard to keep people away. The question we need to be asking ourselves is, “Is God in the house? Is His glory dwelling here among us?”

If God is truly, tangibly present among you, look out! The transformational power of God will overwhelm individuals and ignite the congregation. I have seen it happen and there is no experience quite like it.

I live in expectation of His appearing among us. The living Christ visits His church. Are you anticipating His coming? Have you set the table for Him? Have you prepared your heart and your mind? Have you put out the welcome mat?

All too often church has become program maintenance. The focus is entirely wrong. Church in its most vibrant form is God dwelling among us—God breathing upon us. That was the Book of Acts Church. That’s the church I love. When we have found that place—when we experience the LORD of that place—we will join David in declaring, “My feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the LORD.”

Response: Come, Lord Jesus, dwell among. This is my confession: “LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.” Lord come and dwell in my local congregation. Manifest your presence there, so that many will see it and be changed by your Spirit. Amen.

Your Turn: Do you love the house of God? Why or Why not? Is God showing up at your church? What are you doing to make the place ready for Him?

His Faithful People Rejoice

17 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by in Psalm 149, Psalms

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Reading:                                         Psalm 149

(Verses 1-5)
Praise the LORD.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.
Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds (NIV).

Reflection

I previously wrote that as we draw to the end of the Book of Psalms, we are slowly building to a crescendo of praise to the LORD. Today’s reading from Psalm 149 expands and amps up the level of praise.

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Praise from this earth, Grey Nuns Park, Orleans, ON — photo by David Kitz

For some praise to the LORD is one dimensional. It involves singing a hymn or worship chorus to the LORD in a place of worship at a designated time. Usually this simply means in church on a Sunday morning. But praise that is birthed by the Spirit of God can be much more than just that. Psalm 149 calls for a wide range of praise. It begins by calling for a new song. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

It would seem that the Creator would like to hear something fresh and creative. That’s so much like Him. After all, His mercies are new every morning. See Lamentations 3:22-23. Now don’t get me wrong. There is a place for the tried and true, and the old and familiar. But genuine praise is like fresh homemade bread. It’s best served warm from the oven. Stale worship invigorates no one.

Secondly, our praise for the LORD can take a variety of forms. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

Just yesterday I watched a couple do a beautiful dance to a popular worship chorus. The words, the music, and their expressive movements, added heartfelt meaning to their praise. God was glorified in their dance. We were created to move and our posture and movements can reflect an expressive exuberance for God. 

Finally, Spirit initiated praise knows no bounds. It refuses to be confined to a church building. It is after all an outward expression of a thankful heart. There is a place for praise, wherever we find ourselves, whether it’s from our bed, on a park bench, a subway car, or as we stroll down the grocery aisle. Praise the LORD!

Response: LORD God, renew in me a heart of praise. I want to lose my self-consciousness as I praise you. This is all about you. True worship is not about me. I want to praise you with my whole being. Amen.

Your Turn: Is it possible to be God focussed when we are self-focussed or self-conscious?

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place

18 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by in Psalm 84, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 84

For the director of music. According to gittith. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

Verses 1-7

How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion (NIV).

Reflection

Where does God live? If you were going to pay God a visit where would you go? Some of us would head off to a church. The psalmist speaks of travelling to the temple in Jerusalem. Psalm 84 was often used by pilgrims as they made the long journey to the holy city to be near to God in His temple.

Gatineau Park Trail

Gatineau Park trail — photo by David Kitz

When I read the phrase, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!” my mind instantly flashes to pictures of nature. I see God there, in the dazzling sunset, in the mountain grandeur, in the forest depths, in expansive prairie vistas, in the wind whipped ocean breakers, and by the sunlit babbling stream. God is there. This is His dwelling place. It is just as David declared, “The earth is the LORD‘s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1).

Nature is God’s domain. He formed it, planned it, spoke it into existence. It is his dwelling place. Our attempts to create a dwelling place for him are feeble at best. After overseeing the construction of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, King Solomon, that master temple builder of the Old Testament declared, “There is not enough room in heaven for you, LORD God. How can you possibly live on earth in this temple I have built?” (1 Kings 8:27).

But here in Psalm 84 the psalmist marvels that nature has invaded the temple. Swallows have built their nest in the temple, close by the altar of God. He exclaims, “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.” Indeed, there is no better place to be than near to the heart of God.

Response: LORD God, I want to be near to you today. I want to dwell where you are. Please come and stay with me. Be as close to me as my next breath. Amen.

Your Turn: Where are you closest to God? Do you long to be near Him?

Glory in the Place of Worship

25 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by in Psalms, Thursday's Thought

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I have seen your power and your glory in the place of worship (Psalm 63:2, CEV).

Cathedral 2014-07-10

Ottawa Cathedral – photo by David Kitz

Reflection

This week’s I Love the Psalms theme is glory.

This is David’s heartfelt statement of fact, “I have seen your power and your glory in the place of worship” (Psalm 63:2, CEV).

I stand in full agreement with David’s profession. I too can say I have seen God’s power and glory in the place of worship. I have seen God visibly at work in the lives of his people as they gather for worship. I have sensed his presence with me at church.

The great pity is that there are many who have not encountered God–truly experienced His power and glory in the place of worship. Transformation occurs when we show up and the LORD shows up. It’s His power and His glory that change us, not a hymn or a sermon, though those have their place. But they fall flat unless we meet God in them.

Our prayer should always be to have our eyes opened to the glory of God in the place of worship.

Response: LORD God, open my eyes to you. I want to see you. I want others to see you. I need to be changed by your presence in my life and my place of worship. Amen.

Your Turn: Is there something you do that makes you more aware of God?

Altered at the Altar

05 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by in Devotionals

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Have you been altered at the altar? Has God changed you there—really changed you in the hidden places?

Every rightly built house of God has a change table. Most often it’s called an altar. God fixes us up there. That altar can look quite different depending on which church tradition you follow. But the purpose for the altar is always the same. It is the place where we are cleaned up. Sin is washed away.

What parent throws out their infant on the first occasion when they soil their diapers? Every parent knows that baby messes come with the baby. Changing diapers quickly becomes a part of the family routine.

As a father of two infant sons, I had ample opportunity to practise my diaper changing skills. I would lay the baby on the change table and in a minute or two everything was fixed up—put to right—on that change table.

God has a change table for us. He is intimate with us there. The outward trappings of righteousness are stripped away. He sees us completely. You see there is no place for human pride at the altar of God. Our heavenly Father gently lays us down and does his work on us. There is nothing we can hide. Why would we want to? Let’s deal with all of it.

Cleanse me should be our only cry.

I am reminded of what happened at the dedication of the first temple. Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud,  and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13-14 NIV).

Landestreu Church, Landestreu, SK, Canada

Landestreu Church, Landestreu, SK, Canada — Photo by Donald Adam

But isn’t the altar just for babies? LORD, haven’t I grown and matured since my first trip to your altar? I would like to think so. I’m not tripped up by the same things anymore. Surely, I don’t have to humble myself yet again!

If we have outgrown the altar, then we have outgrown God. And that’s preposterous!

The LORD God Almighty has not lost any of his awesome power or majesty, simply because we have grown older and supposedly wiser. We are still in need of His correction, His discipline, His mercy and His love. I still need to get onto God’s change table on a regular basis. Moral perfection keeps eluding me. The smugger I feel about my self-deluding, superior spirituality complex, the more I prove that I need to be altered on the altar.

I hear God whispering “Lay down. Lay it all down. I want to change you.”

Response: Lord Jesus, forgive me. Change me. I am not the person I want to be. I need your help to change. Thank you, Holy Spirit for working on me from the inside out. Amen.

Your Turn: Have you been altered at the altar? Have you outgrown the altar?

Do you love the house of God? Why or Why not?

11 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by in Psalm 26, Psalms

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Reading:                                      Psalm 26

(Verses 8-12)

LORD, I love the house where you live,
the place where your glory dwells.
Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with those who are bloodthirsty,
in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.
I lead a blameless life;
deliver me and be merciful to me.

My feet stand on level ground;
in the great congregation I will praise the LORD. (NIV)

 Reflection

Here in Canada people have been abandoning the house of God in droves. In the most recent census survey, by far the largest growth has been among those who identify themselves as having no religion. This move to “no religion” is most pronounced among young people. There are many factors that have led to this decline. Perhaps a hard look in the mirror is needed for us to see what we are doing wrong. Jesus attracted people. Why are his followers today repelling people?

David had a completely different attitude toward the house of God. Hear the cry of his heart, “LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.”

No one had to drag David to the LORD’s house. He was eager to meet with God there. Really, that’s the secret. If God is in the house—if His glory is present—it will be hard to keep people away. The question we need to be asking ourselves is, “Is God in the house? Is His glory dwelling here among us?” If God is truly, tangibly present among you, look out! The transformational power of God will overwhelm individuals and ignite the congregation. I have seen it happen and there is no experience like it.

I live in expectation of His appearing among us. The living Christ visits His church. Are you anticipating His coming? Have you set the table for Him? Have you put out the welcome mat?

All too often church has become program maintenance. The focus is entirely wrong. Church in its most vibrant form is God dwelling among us—God breathing upon us. That was the Book of Acts Church. That’s the church I love. When we have found that place—when we experience the LORD of that place—we will join David in declaring, “My feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the LORD.”

Response: Come, Lord Jesus, dwell among. This is my confession: “LORD, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells.” Lord come and dwell in my local congregation. Manifest your presence there, so that many will see it and be changed. Amen.

Your Turn: Is God showing up at your church? What are you doing to make the place ready for Him?