The House of God

By Ron Thomas I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of Jehovah (Psalm 122:1, ASV).     This speaks to the attitude of heart/mind. Those who love the Lord have a desire to do as He commanded, and there is a desire to be in the presence of the Lord. In the days of the Old Testament, it was appointed for the men-folk to make three trips to Jerusalem to worship the Lord according to His commands. There were those who went because they were commanded; Psalm 122:1 does not give attention to those who thought/think like this. It does give attention to those who went (and go) because they wanted to please the Lord and present themselves to Him that they might be received.     A New Testament application: do you love the Lord? If so, does your attendance reflect that? Except Jehovah build the house, They labor in vain that build it: Except Jehovah keep the city, The watchman waketh but in vain. (Psalm 127:1).     This verse does not need explanation, for the reading of the words makes it clear what is meant. That which man builds from the ground up will decay. It is just that way. That which the Lord built from the ground up will last until He no longer wants it to last. It can be no other way.     The basic unit of civilization is found in the individual; as each individual marries, the two become one, called a family. It was the Lord who instituted civilization with His creation of the family. Society, however, a liberal and progressive society, seeks to destroy what the Lord created. It won’t work, however, that is, it won’t work in the end. Try as it might to thwart all things associated with God, those who do so (and / or support) will meet the One who created it on Judgment Day. What will they do then?     If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do? (Psalm 11:3). If the Lord builds a nation, that nation can’t fall! What about Israel, did not the Lord build that? He did! Did they not fall? They did! What gives? They fell through their rebellion. It was not long after the Lord brought them to the land of promise that Israel started wandering off the course the Lord set for them. Because they wandered off, the Lord in His mercy was slow to respond (purposely), and they continued to exist longer than they deserved. Still, they fell into sin and were carted up into physical captivity. They suffered much.     The Lord did not establish the United States of America, but we would not exist if He did not allow us to come into existence. Since the time of our existence, the moral underpinnings of our country are all but destroyed. “Lord, have mercy on our country!”     In the New Testament, the Lord built only one church; it is called the Lord’s church, the church that belongs to Christ (the church of Christ). With the Lord anchoring and building up His church, the church is able to get through any storm. Yet, in our confidence, if we allow our anchor to be removed by the force of strength that Satan hurls at us, we will be blown away by the wind. Satan will only have success if individual saints allow him to infiltrate the mind of corrupt one’s thinking. Writing about the church, Paul said, Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye (1 Cor. 3:16-17, ASV).     Don’t allow yourself to be defiled and, therein, defile the Lord’s body, His temple, the church.

- Ron Thomas preaches for the Church of Christ at Rio Grande in Bidwell, OH. He may be contacted at etsop95@gmail.com. Visit the congregation’s website at: https://www.churchofchristatriogrande.com