‘The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.’ 1 Kings 8:11 NKJV
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.’ (1 Kings 8:6, 10-11 NKJV) There’s a lesson here for all of us, particularly those in church leadership. Christ alone must have centre stage! Programmes and promotions are fine but only when Jesus is honoured as Lord, His Word preached and His presence reverenced and relished, will His glory fill the church. 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, fill God’s house with your heartfelt praise.
SoulFood: 1 Chron 16-18; Luke 12:49-59; Ps 119:41-48; Pro 21:1-3
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2014
