Often times, we tend to think that church is a one-hour event on a Sunday morning in a building where believers come together to worship the Lord who is in heaven. While this is true in the tangible sense, it isn’t biblically accurate. In the Old Testament, God resided within a temple made by human hands. In the New Testament, God became a person, like you and me. God sent His Son to become the Savior of the world.
“He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins, and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.” (1 John 2:2)
God is with us. He has been since Adam and Eve departed His Garden for disobeying Him. In the O.T., you had to go to the Temple to worship God. Through certain people who were known as prophets, God would speak on behalf of people. Priests would atone for people’s sins at the Temple through blood sacrifices with animals. In the N.T., Jesus’ death on the cross opened up the door to the Temple and church became a lifestyle. What once separated God from sinful man, via a curtain in the Temple, was now past tense and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, God walks within every man who repents of their sins and puts their trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him.
Insight into the curtain that hung in the Temple, read Exodus 26:31-34. God resided in the Ark of the Covenant. Read Matthew 27:50-52 and learn what Jesus did to usher in a godly lifestyle that we are privileged to live out today.
“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By His death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:19-25)
In the passage of Hebrews, you read how church is a lifestyle beyond the walls of a building. Church is a way of life, and its impact is felt everywhere. As God moves in your life, you are called to live out your faith in such a way that it prompts others to look to God and be changed by His love, grace and mercy.
God needs you to be His church from Sunday to Saturday. This means that His presence must be present in all your moments each day. In the morning, “God, show me what You want me to learn in Your Word as I start my day with You.” As the day progresses, “Lord, what do you want me to do right now?” When He makes something clear, follow His leading in obedience. You keep looking to Him with this question. When your day comes to a close, “Lord, thank you for (what transpired today), and give me rest tonight so I can live for you tomorrow.”
The mindset of God’s child is one of “surrendering what I want” and operating in the strength and wisdom of the God who is in control. You live for Him now. “Lord, what do you want me to do with (this situation that is in front of me)?” Since you do not know what tomorrow will bring, or even an hour from now, you can fully trust God with every moment of your day.
Today, be the church. Someone needs you to be, then start it all over again tomorrow or until God comes for you.
Carol J German 