Latter Glory

“‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts.” Haggai 2:9

I just adore our church! By the time we walk into the worship center the greeters have been positioned to welcome us and video screens have been prepared to display God’s word for us. Every seat has been prayed over prior to our arrival and a prayer team has been chosen to both encourage and pray for us at the end of the service. We are surrounded by the sweet voices of all as we lift our songs of worship to God. They work all week to ‘prepare the temple’ and we are the beneficiaries of the hard work.

‘Preparing the temple…’ such a phrase falls fresh upon me this morning. We all carry within us the temple of the Lord…the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I wonder if I am working as hard as my church in preparing my meeting place with God where we fellowship? Do I examine my heart’s worship center to ensure it is not cluttered with distractions? Am I praying for His will over every facet of my life, not just some of them? Am I doing everything I can to keep my temple holy? Have I created a center for worship like my church has? The more attention we pay to the seat of our heart where God indwells, the greater glory He will show in our lives. Every action…every word…every thought should be aligned with the attitude of Jesus. He stated that everything He gave was what God had given to Him. We are no different since we have been given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of things to come. With each passing day, the intimacy we gain with God will be more than the previous days…the latter will be greater than the former.

But like my church the preparations must be done…the heart must be hungry…the temple must be attended to. When our devotion and love grows for God through daily supplication and meditation, our lives will fling open the doors of our temple welcoming all people to benefit from the glory of God.