Old Testament reading: Deuteronomy 12-13
“You shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses.” The heading preceding Deuteronomy 12 in my Bible says “A Prescribed Place of Worship.” Man has never been at liberty to worship God according to his own dictates or conscience (cf Heb 11:4). As Israel prepares to enter Canaan, God commands the utter destruction of all things pertaining to the inhabitant’s idolatry. A complete removal of every vestige of idolatry was commanded to prevent the inquiry into and temptation to imitate idolatrous practices (v 30). Six times in this chapter we find the phrase, “the place where the Lord chooses.” We should note that worship is always conducted by Divine prescription. In Israel’s case, by place, priesthood, offering and day. In the New Testament, worship is still mandated by Divine prescription and authority (John 4:23-24, Col 3:17). We might also add that God has chosen the place where He is to be worshiped today. It is not a physical location, as was the discussion Jesus had with the Samaritan woman (John 4:20-21), but rather a spiritual location of God’s choosing. One must be a kingdom resident to worship and serve God acceptably – “Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb 12:28). The kingdom is the church (Matt 16:18-19; Col 1:13).
New Testament reading: 2 Corinthians 1-5
2 Corinthians, at least the opening pages, is quite a contrast from Paul’s earlier epistle to these brethren. This second epistle begins with an exaltation of God as “the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort” (1:3). One of the beauties of God’s comfort is its usefulness in the hands of those who love God – “that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (1:4). One aspect of Divine comfort is the assurance of deliverance from evil. Deliverance does not always mean God gets us “out of a tight.” It does mean God promises to take care of us and give us strength to endure as we keep our eyes focused on Jesus (Heb 12:1-4). Finally, consider Paul’s statement of faith in God who had delivered in time past, delivers in the present, and will deliver in the future (1:10). Our God delivers!
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