Church Is an Awesome Place
Jacob was fleeing from the wrath of his brother Esau. He was heading to his mother’s country, Padan Aram, and to his uncle Laban’s house. It was now nighttime, so Jacob laid down, and in a dream, he saw a ladder extend from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending upon it. In the dream the Lord gave Jacob the same promise He gave to his grandfather and father, Abraham, and Isaac.
When Jacob woke up, he realized the Lord was present in that place, although he didn’t know it when he arrived. Therefore, he names the place “Bethel,” which means, “house of God.”
Jacob said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Genesis 28:17)
Jacob sets up a memorial anointing it with oil and worships God promising to give to God a tithe, a tenth of his possessions and wealth, when he returned.
This story of Jacob mirrors the lives of many within the church today. They enter the doors of the church (house of God) never knowing or convinced that God is present, because there is so much going on in their lives. They simply don’t expect the presence of the Lord to meet with them showing them amazing things and speaking His promises into their lives.
But church is a place of Jesus’s presence. Not only is He present when two or three are gathered in His name, but He is also the head of the church (Colossians 1:18). Therefore, when we come to church, we need to enter in a spirit of reverent fear and expectation, because it is an awesome place, a place where heaven’s gate is open, and God’s counsel and blessing is opened up and made known.
Therefore, when we enter the church, let’s do so with this expectation of anticipation knowing that it is an awesome place, because God presence is there for us.
He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” Genesis 28:17 (NIV)
Dennis Lee is Senior Pastor at Living Waters Fellowship, Mesquite, Nevada. He presently has two books, “From Here to There: A Journey to Spiritual Transformation,” and “Wells of Living Waters,” He also writes a religious column for a local newspaper entitled, “Rediscover the Bible for Life,” along with daily devotionals and thoughts that he posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Living Waters Fellowship’s Website
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