Hey Church!
As you make your plans for the weekend, I want to encourage you once again to carve out adequate space on Saturday night and Sunday morning to prepare your hearts and minds for worship. It’s so easy to slip into the habit of simply “showing up” to church, like a work meeting that was scheduled weeks ago but still somehow caught you by surprise. But I’m reminded today that God takes spiritual attendance on Sundays and not merely bodily.
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
His eyes scan the worship center (and your living rooms when worshiping remotely) not to count heads, but to search your innermost thoughts, weigh the intentions of your heart, and receive the honor He is due. That should be a sobering thought! Even still, the grace of Jesus is so great that He personally stands “in the midst of the congregation,” praying and singing over you with love and pleading to the Father on your behalf (Psalm 22:22; cf. Heb 2:12).
So let’s set aside the things of lesser importance that may distract us from the awareness of His presence and prepare a worship offering suitable for such a gracious and merciful God. Resolve in your heart, with King David, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24). And then seek to lay down your whole self–your soul, time, energy, and agenda–upon His altar as a living sacrifice this Lord’s Day.
Your brother,
Ryan