Guest blogger: Dawn Levene - The desire for God's presence

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. (Psalm 100:4)

For the past few weeks, I have noticed a charge to the congregation displayed on the screen as we enter the sanctuary, reminding us that we are entering into the presence of God and that we should therefore quiet our hearts and prepare to enter into a time of prayerful reflection and stillness. This charge led me to research what this means and what our posture should be as we enter the sanctuary of God.

I realize that coming to church is not merely a ritualistic tradition, but is a profound spiritual engagement. It symbolizes our approach to the divine presence, reflecting reverence, preparation, and intentionality. It should also reflect the importance of faith, thanksgiving, purity, and total surrender to God. We enter not with pride, but with a heart bowed low, recognizing that this is holy ground, not because of the physical structure but because God’s presence is there.

Psalm 100 instructs us as believers to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. This underscores the significance of approaching God with a heart full of gratitude and adoration. It acknowledges God’s goodness and exalts his majesty. It sets the tone for worship, aligning our heart with God’s presence.
In the Old Testament, priests underwent purification rituals before entering the sanctuary, symbolizing the importance of holiness. For modern believers, this translates to self-examination, repentance, and a commitment to living righteously. We ought to come with faith and expectation.

Hebrews 11:6 asserts that it is impossible to please God without faith. This verse highlights that belief in God’s existence and his benevolence is essential for worship. Faith fosters an expectant heart, anticipating God’s movement during worship.

Psalm 46:10 exhorts us to “Be still and know that I am God.” This cultivates a posture of humility and surrender. It’s an invitation to still our thoughts, to quiet our spirit, and to allow our soul to be open to God’s presence; to lay aside all distractions, burdens, and to acknowledge God’s sovereignty. In the context of worship, it means relinquishing personal agenda and focusing entirely on God’s presence. This creates a deeper connection with the divine, where we experience peace, rest, spiritual renewal and transformation.
 
The presence of God is holy, and this demands reverence. So when we enter the sanctuary of God on a Sunday morning, we are participating is a sacred act that demands intentional preparation and a heart attuned to divine engagement. A heart to worship. A heart of thanksgiving and praise. A heart of stillness and surrender. A heart filled with faith and hope. We enter not as people who deserve to stand in God’s holy presence, but as those who are invited by grace; we enter not out of fear, but out of love and awe. Don’t rush in casually or stay at a distance. The presence of God is our inheritance, our daily bread, and our eternal home.

No Comments


Recent

Archive

 2024

Categories

Tags

1 Corinthians 10 1 Peter 4:8-9 1 Thessalonians 5 1 Timothy 1:15-17 2 Corinthians 13:5 2 Peter 1:5-7 2 Timothy 4 Abundant Life Adoption Affirmation American cullture America Anger Anonymity Anthropology Anxiety Apologetics Approval Arguments Atheism Baptism Barnabas Battle Be still Bible Study Bible doing Bible reading Bible study fellowship Bible Billy Graham Bob Pierce Bonhoeffer Books Breath Prayer Brennan Manning Brian Fearon Bronx Brooklyln Tabernacle Church Busyness C.S. Lewis Cape Coast Castle Central African Republic Character Charles Spurgeon Charleston Cheap grace Christian media Christian privilege Christian publishing Christmas Church growth Church life Church College Commitment Communication Community Compassion Competition Confidence Contentment Coronavirus Counseling Courage Cove Service Cowardice Craig Wolfram Critical Race Theory Criticism Cross Culture D.L. Moody Daniel David Death Deborah Depression Despair Diane Langberg Discernment Discipleship Discipline Disicpleship Distractions Divine sovereignty Division E.M Bounds Easter Ebenzer Ecuador Edward Kimball Election Elisabeth Elliot Enabling Encouragement Endurance Envy Ephesians Eternal life Eternity Evaluation Evangelism Faith False Teachers Fame Family Fasting Father Fear Fellowship Footwashing Forgiveness Francis Chan Freedom Friendship Fruit of the Spirit Gaia McDermott Gates George Mueller Gift exchange Gino Marozzi Giving Glory God's character God's faithfulness God's goodness God's leading God's love God's plan God's power God's presence God's slowness God's sovereignty God's wrath God\'s faithfulness God\'s love God\'s power God\'s presence God\'s sovereignty God\\\'s presence God Good Samaritan Gospel Grace Grief Haiti Handel's Messiah Happiness Hartford City Mission Healing Heaven Hebrews 11 Hell Hiddenness of God Hiring History Holiness Hollywood Holy Spirit Home Honesty Hope Horatio Spafford Hospitality Houston Human responsibility Human rights Humility Hypocrisy Identity Ideologies Idols Immanuel In memory of Information overload Injustice Insecurity Integrity Interruptions Intimacy Isaiah 40 Isaiah 58 Isaiah 9 Israel It is well with my soul JI Packer Jeremiah 29:11 Jeremiah 29 Jeremiah 8:11 Jesus' death Jesus' love Jesus\' love Jesus Job Joe Barone John 13 John 6:5-9 John 6 John 8 John Mark Comer John Newton Jonah 2:7-9 Jordan Perterson Joseph Joshua Joy Judgement Judges Justice Kanye West Kingdom of God Knowing God Lamentations Lament Las Vegas Leadership Leaf by Niggle Legacy Lent Les Miserables Lessons learned Loaves and fishes Longing Lord's Prayer Love Does Love Loving people Luke 10 Lynne Pleau Mark 10:21 Mark Driscoll Marketing Marriage counseling Matthew 16 Matthew 26 Memorial Day Men's conference Mercy Mike Yaconelli Ministry of presence Ministry Missions Money Moralistic Therapeutic Deism Moses Music Nancy Butler New Year's New life NewLife Old Testament Opinions Oppression Optimism Order Orlando Outreach Parenting Passion of the Christ Passion Pastoral care Pastoral ministry Patience Peace Pentecost Perseverance Perseverence Peru Phil Vaglica Philip Yancey Philippians 4:13 Play Pokemon Go Politics Poverty Power Prayer Preach the gospel to yourself Preaching Pride Month Pride Prison ministry Privilege Progress Prophecy Prophet Prosperity Gospel Proverbs 14:4 Proverbs 3:5-6 Proverbs Psalm 13 Psalm 27 Psalm 37 Psalm 46:10 Psalm 46 Psalm 51 Public Speaking Purpose Quiet time R.C Sproul Reflection Relationship with God Relationships Relativism Relevance Religion Reputation Rest Resurrection Rev 2:4 Revival Rich young ruler Righteousness Romans 5:1-5 Romantic love Ron Luce Running Sabbath Sacrifice Salvation Samaritan's Purse Samaritan\'s Purse Same-sex marriage Samuel Sanctification Satan Saul Seculosity Self-Image Self-Worth Self-denial Service Sex Trafficking Sex Shirley Prey Signifigance Silence Sin Smartphones Social justice Songs of Ascent Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Formation Spiritual Gifts Spiritual Warfare Spiritual growth State of the Nation Statues Stories Street Church Stress Success Suffering Suicide Sunday School Survivor Syria Take up your cross Technology Teen Mania Thanksgiving The Bible Recap The Hartford project The Ragman The Sound of freedom The Underground The Valley of Vision Theology Tim Keller Titanic Titus 2:11-12 Tolkienn Tony Campolo Tozer Trauma Trevin Wax Trusting God Trust Truth Uconn basketball Unanswered Prayer Unity Uvalde Valley of Vision Vows Waiting Williams Syndrome Wisdom Witness Work World Vision Worry Worship Zechariah accountability accusation addiction bitterness cancel culture child trafficking confession conflict cool devotion disillusionment divorce emotions evil evolution faithfulness foster care glory days gratitude idolatry influences listening marriage nostalgia pastor perspective problem of Evil prodigal son purity of heart racism recovery redemption relevant repentance story temptation the one Jesus loves time management treasure trials tribalism violence vision