MAY 30

Hebrews 10:21-25
Memorise Psalm 27:4
“…to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”
In Psalm 27:4, David yearns to dwell in the Lord’s house forever. Here he refers to his eternal dwelling place in heaven with God. Right here on earth, Christians can actually begin to partake of this heavenly joy in some small measure by worshipping in church. Going to church for worship serves to remind us sinful and fallen people of the glories of heaven and to immerse ourselves in praise and worship together with other members of God’s eternal family. In this manner, we can encourage each other in the faith and to spur each other on in our co-labouring for the Lord. This would not be possible if we chose to stay at home on the Lord’s Day. But can we worship from home?

Ideally, Lord’s Day worship should take place in the Lord’s house, which is the local church, together with other believers after the pattern set for us in the N. T. when Jesus’ disciples gathered for worship on the first day of every week after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 20:7). The key point to note is that it is not about the actual physical location of the meeting (for there are churches that meet in people’s homes), but it is about the people that make up the church. God’s instruction to His people was that they are not to forsake the assembling of themselves together (Hebrews 10:25). The purpose is so that we can come together to mutually encourage one another, and to provoke one another unto love and to good works. These things can only be accomplished when we gather together for the common purpose of worshipping and serving the Lord.

We often ask ourselves the wrong questions and end up frustrated because we do not get the answers we seek. Instead of asking whether we can or cannot worship from home, we are far better off asking what it would take to keep us from going to church on the Lord’s Day for worship. Our response to this question will reveal the true condition of our relationship with the Lord.

Thought: If I look forward to vacations overseas here on earth, then shouldn’t I look forward to having a foretaste of heaven every Lord’s Day even more?
Prayer: Lord, help me to love Thee by loving to come to Thy House to worship Thee.