THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
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An elderly lady was teaching the four and five-year-old Sunday School class. During one of the lessons, they were learning about the building of Solomon’s temple. The teacher explained that when the temple was finished, the presence of the Lord filled the temple.
All of a sudden, the children’s eyes widened, and they were filled with excitement.
Soon the teacher discovered, however, that the source of their excitement was not joy that God had come to dwell in the temple; but the children had imagined God filling the temple with presents!
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Ps 68:4-8
4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him.
5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
7 O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people, when thou didst march through the wilderness; Selah:
8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
(KJV)
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The presence of God, when we go to worship, should really bring excitement and anticipation to our souls. Too often, we’re more concerned with our presents from God rather than the personal presence of God.
The present of church family is a great gift from God (see verse 6 above). But the present of God’s salvation is the greatest gift ever given to man.
Salvation brings with it the company of God’s personal presence. At first, it makes our hearts quiver and shake, as did God’s presence upon Sinai when He spoke to Moses (See verse 8 above). But then, the presence of God brings peace to a soul because we realize He loves us enough to forgive and save us.
In church we should:
Sing with joy of God’s wonderful love;
Pray with understanding that He’s actually listening and intends to answer our prayers;
Study the Sunday School lesson expecting God to reveal something about Himself to us;
Give, realizing that all we have comes from our benevolent Father;
And we should listen to the sermon as if God were personally using the pastor to speak to our hearts.
Love ya,
Bruce
mcge3582@bellsouth.net
http://www.linktojesus.org
God's presence is the best present of all.