TODAY’S MEDITATION – Let’s learn to worship the Lord with fear (Psalm 84)

The Bible teaches us that in the last days, the Holy Spirit will be poured in all: men, women, slaves, Jews, Gentiles. The fact is, even Moses who used to be to face with God yearned for the Lord to put His Spirit upon everyone (Numbers 11:29). My brother, my sister, Moses prayer was actually for people to be able to have the kind of intimate relationship that he already had with God.

You see, today’s Psalm says this: “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.” (Psalm 84:1-4).

My friend, do you long to get away from the bustling world to meet God inside His dwelling place? It is sometimes amazing to see how believers pick and choose things from the Scriptures to suit their selfish desires. Sad to say that we should learn from the pagans sometimes: near my house are a Muslim mosque and a Hindu temple. Oh… come and see worshippers of false gods amassed during their time of worship while many believers of Christ know how to find excuses for not fellowshipping as commended by the Lord. What is most amazing is to see their behaviour out of the time of worship: their temples are constantly full of people come to pray and offer sacrifices to their gods. My friends, I have been observing it for several months and out of curiosity, I once entered the Hindu temple. This led me to think that we, the Christians, are lazy, greedy, ungrateful and unfaithful… and we do not even know how to worship Jesus as He deserves for what He has done for us. I also understood why many unbelievers are not taking Christians seriously: they know what worshipping means! Christians only want to benefit from the grace… Yes, because we have freely received His Spirit and the grace of God, because we can meet God everywhere, many believers neglect the house of God. Yet, going to a church building is part of our Christian life: if Jesus established the Church while knowing we were going to receive the Spirit of God, then we should understand its importance for Him. When we see the temples built by non-believers, it is a shame. When we see non-believers flock to their temples daily pray gods who have no mouth to speak or ears to hear, it’s a shame for us believers, because our God is the living God and His house should be a house of prayer. Christians, we have something to think about!

This reminds me of Cornelius. My friend, Cornelius did not have Jesus, but observed the principles of God and He was abundantly blessed… and on top of that God sent Peter to lead him to Christ: “He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him… The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. (Acts 10:2-5).

We should then understand that God is looking for God-fearing people, true and faithful worshippers, not wandering calculators who give to Him in proportion of what they expect to receive in return… As long as you do not have the fear of God, even wisdom is still a bit far from you: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Psalm 111:10). Yes, the wisdom of God who help you have the right attitude in life, the right attitude with people, the right attitude as a believer. My friend; you want to grow in strength, grace and glory? You need to have the right attitude in His presence! His presence is where two or three are gathered in the name of the head of the Church, Christ. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.