“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, “Without any doubt the Lord is in this place, and I did not realize it.” So he was afraid and said, “How fearful and awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven.” – Genesis 28:16-17 (AMP)

Jacob, the patriarch of the nation called Israel, had an encounter with God as he journeyed to Padan-aram. Jacob had always known God and assuredly, he must have been taught by his father, the art and act of making sacrifices on altars to God as a form of the worship of Yahweh. So, he must have known that physical locations matter in the worship of the Almighty God.

However, he didn’t come to the awareness that worship to God starts from the heart, and the physical location only complements the state of the heart during worship. In the text for today, Jacob called the place where he met God the house of God and the gateway to heaven. What it means is that, Bethel, for that was what he called it, is an access point to God and that would be the best place to worship God.

He was ignorant of the presence of God because he never thought God could come to him the way He did in a land distant from home. In the New Testament, Apostle Paul mentions something similar to this when he said the body of the believer is the Temple of the Living God (1 Corinthians 6:19) and by implication, the heart is the altar where the sacrifice of worship is first made. This boils down to the fact that if the heart is not set right, the body which is the temple will be defiled and this will make the worship unacceptable.

Dear believer, you have to know and settle this in your heart that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost, and can mean in other words, the house of God. God in dwells your body and thus, His presence is with you. You have to know this for this knowledge will inform how you use your body. The reason many worship God unacceptably is because of the state of their heart and how they use their bodies.

Your heart and body matters in your worship, not just your songs and words. Songs and words of worship that would be acceptable before God has to come from a heart and a tongue is consecrated. The presence of God makes the difference and this must be your daily pursuit and desire.

Practical Application: In what ways can you use your body and condition your heart to give acceptable worship unto God?

Confession: My heart is the Lord’s and it is sanctified for the Lord alone. No impurity is allowed to stay in my heart. I worship God acceptably and His presence is always with me.

Related Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Bible Reading: Genesis 28

“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, “Without any doubt the Lord is in this place, and I did not realize it.” So he was afraid and said, “How fearful and awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven.” – Genesis 28:16-17 (AMP)

Jacob, the patriarch of the nation called Israel, had an encounter with God as he journeyed to Padan-aram. Jacob had always known God and assuredly, he must have been taught by his father, the art and act of making sacrifices on altars to God as a form of the worship of Yahweh. So, he must have known that physical locations matter in the worship of the Almighty God.

However, he didn’t come to the awareness that worship to God starts from the heart, and the physical location only complements the state of the heart during worship. In the text for today, Jacob called the place where he met God the house of God and the gateway to heaven. What it means is that, Bethel, for that was what he called it, is an access point to God and that would be the best place to worship God.

He was ignorant of the presence of God because he never thought God could come to him the way He did in a land distant from home. In the New Testament, Apostle Paul mentions something similar to this when he said the body of the believer is the Temple of the Living God (1 Corinthians 6:19) and by implication, the heart is the altar where the sacrifice of worship is first made. This boils down to the fact that if the heart is not set right, the body which is the temple will be defiled and this will make the worship unacceptable.

Dear believer, you have to know and settle this in your heart that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost, and can mean in other words, the house of God. God in dwells your body and thus, His presence is with you. You have to know this for this knowledge will inform how you use your body. The reason many worship God unacceptably is because of the state of their heart and how they use their bodies.

Your heart and body matters in your worship, not just your songs and words. Songs and words of worship that would be acceptable before God has to come from a heart and a tongue is consecrated. The presence of God makes the difference and this must be your daily pursuit and desire.

Practical Application: In what ways can you use your body and condition your heart to give acceptable worship unto God?

Confession: My heart is the Lord’s and it is sanctified for the Lord alone. No impurity is allowed to stay in my heart. I worship God acceptably and His presence is always with me.

Related Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

Bible Reading: Genesis 28