Psalm 122:1-9
When you love God, you want to be where He is. For King David, that meant going to the Temple in Jerusalem. God set His city apart from all others and declared that this was the place where He would dwell. Second Chronicles records God speaking to Solomon:
“My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.”
2 Chronicles 7:15-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ch.7.15-16.NLT
Jerusalem will be honored forever, and we are also encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Yet we also find this exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well:
“Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.””
John 4:21-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.4.21-24.NLT
What changed? According to the Apostle Paul, as recorded in First Corinthians, we have now become the temple of the Holy Spirit.
“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.3.16-17.NLT
And again,
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.6.19-20.NLT
When we accept Jesus as Lord, He confers His righteousness on us, thus making us holy and a place where His Spirit can dwell. He sends His Holy Spirit to live within us—to be our Advocate, our Helper, and our Guide. We don’t have to travel to Jerusalem to worship God; rather, we can worship Him anytime and anywhere, as long as we worship Him in spirit and in truth. In fact, we carry His presence with us wherever we go.
“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.19-22.NLT
And God loves it when His children get together in His Name. Where two or more are gathered in His name, He is there. That is why David is rejoicing in being able to go up to the house of the Lord—and we are encouraged to do the same in Hebrews:
“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.10.25.NLT
It is a comforting, yet sobering thought to know that God’s Spirit is with us wherever we go. He sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything. My prayer is that we make Him proud each and every day.
“My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.”
2 Chronicles 7:15-16 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ch.7.15-16.NLT
Jerusalem will be honored forever, and we are also encouraged to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Yet we also find this exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well:
“Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.””
John 4:21-24 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.4.21-24.NLT
What changed? According to the Apostle Paul, as recorded in First Corinthians, we have now become the temple of the Holy Spirit.
“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.3.16-17.NLT
And again,
“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.6.19-20.NLT
When we accept Jesus as Lord, He confers His righteousness on us, thus making us holy and a place where His Spirit can dwell. He sends His Holy Spirit to live within us—to be our Advocate, our Helper, and our Guide. We don’t have to travel to Jerusalem to worship God; rather, we can worship Him anytime and anywhere, as long as we worship Him in spirit and in truth. In fact, we carry His presence with us wherever we go.
“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.2.19-22.NLT
And God loves it when His children get together in His Name. Where two or more are gathered in His name, He is there. That is why David is rejoicing in being able to go up to the house of the Lord—and we are encouraged to do the same in Hebrews:
“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:25 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/heb.10.25.NLT
It is a comforting, yet sobering thought to know that God’s Spirit is with us wherever we go. He sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything. My prayer is that we make Him proud each and every day.
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