I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. — Psalm 138:2

God’s temple for Christians is either their bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) or the group of people who make up his Church (1 Cor. 3:16). Because the people in our churches have flaws, many of them are very harsh on their hypocrisy. But God loves the Church, and we should love it too. Anyone who destroys his Church by making it split up will be destroyed completely. God’s love for his people is shown by how he has kept the Church going through all the wars and persecutions of history and by how patient he is with the imperfect people who are in his Church. But God is still at the heart of the Church, and only he should be lifted up. His Word, not just their own will, is still in charge of the Church.

 

Thought

God’s temple for Christians is either their bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19–20) or the group of people who make up his Church (1 Cor. 3:16). Because the people in our churches have flaws, many of them are very harsh on their hypocrisy. But God loves the Church, and we should love it too. Anyone who destroys his Church by making it split up will be destroyed completely. God’s love for his people is shown by how he has kept the Church going through all the wars and persecutions of history and by how patient he is with the imperfect people who are in his Church. But God is still at the heart of the Church, and only he should be lifted up. His Word, not just their own will, is still in charge of the Church.

 

Prayer

I thank you, Holy and Unapproachable God, for your unwavering love and faithfulness demonstrated in the preservation of your Church throughout all of history. I will value your Church and give it my all to help it develop and mature so that it more closely resembles Jesus. I understand that you and you alone must be exalted above all else, and that the church must never take precedence over your will as it is revealed in your word. Give me the strength to stay true to you even if the church I’m a part of doesn’t fully honor you. In Jesus’s precious name I pray. Amen.