"So Jacob came to Luz that is, Bethel, which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother." - Genesis 35:6-7
Bethel means "house of God". Bethel was the place where Jacob had met God many years before while running away from Esau his twin brother. There he slept on a rock and had a divine dream where he saw a ladder, above it was the Lord, and on it were angels ascending and descending. God had revealed Himself to Jacob in a big way at Bethel. But now, some 30 years later, Jacob returns to the place and renames it "El Bethel" which literally means "God the house of God". Jacob had the realization that he was not coming to a place but to a Person, that it wasn't about the house of God but the God of the house!
We must also come to this understanding in our lives. It is not about the Person's place but about the Person in the place!
You see when we worship God it's not about what we say or how we say it but Who we say it to. It's not about how loud I can be, how low I can go, or how high I can raise my hands. It's about Him with the nail pierced hands! He alone is worthy of praise! If you're worshipping because it's Jesus Culture instead of Jesus minus the culture you're missing the point and it's not gonna last. When we lose sight of the God in the house of God we focus on ourselves instead. Some come to prayer to show their praying skills, to teach others, or to outpray others instead of to humbly talk to God and pray for others. Some open their bibles to find the word of God instead of the God of the word. If we lose sight of why we do what we do and Who we are doing it for we will lose interest or become miserable in ourselves. It's not information we should be after but transformation! It's not about a big head for the book but a big heart after God that we're after. All this to say, don't let the place replace the Person!
We must also come to this understanding in our lives. It is not about the Person's place but about the Person in the place!
You see when we worship God it's not about what we say or how we say it but Who we say it to. It's not about how loud I can be, how low I can go, or how high I can raise my hands. It's about Him with the nail pierced hands! He alone is worthy of praise! If you're worshipping because it's Jesus Culture instead of Jesus minus the culture you're missing the point and it's not gonna last. When we lose sight of the God in the house of God we focus on ourselves instead. Some come to prayer to show their praying skills, to teach others, or to outpray others instead of to humbly talk to God and pray for others. Some open their bibles to find the word of God instead of the God of the word. If we lose sight of why we do what we do and Who we are doing it for we will lose interest or become miserable in ourselves. It's not information we should be after but transformation! It's not about a big head for the book but a big heart after God that we're after. All this to say, don't let the place replace the Person!
- CHECK YOURSELF: NEXT TIME YOU OPEN YOUR BIBLE, COME TO PRAYER, AND COME TO CHURCH EXAMINE YOURSELF. AND ASK YOURSELF WHY AM I HERE? WHO AM I DOING THIS FOR?
- “A HOLY SITE MUST NEVER TAKE THE PLACE OF A HOLY GOD” -Warren Wierbe