Love Your Church—Jesus Does! – Part 3

And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. 1 Kings 8:11

Only when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the temple and set in its rightful position, which was the central place, did God’s glory fill the temple. ‘Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place…[And] the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord’ (vv. 6, 10-11). There’s a lesson here for all of us, particularly those in church leadership. Christ alone must have center stage! Programs and promotions are fine but only when Jesus is honored as Lord, His Word preached and His presence reverenced and relished, will His glory fill the church (his people!). Next time you’re standing in God’s house singing His praise, pause and remind yourself: it’s about Him, not me! One day the telephone rang in the clergyman’s office at the Washington church President Franklin Roosevelt attended. A voice enquired, ‘Do you expect the President to be in church on Sunday?’ The pastor answered, ‘That, I cannot promise. But we expect the Lord to be there, and that should be incentive enough for a reasonably large attendance.’ Hymnist Fanny Crosby wrote these words: ‘Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.’ Next Sunday don’t just fill the pew, be filled by God’s presence – and leave with His presence in you!

Prayer
Heavenly Father, it is all about You and doing Your Will! Help me always to remember that. In Jesus’ Name, Amen