The phone rang in the office of the Washington church where the President of the United States attended. The caller asked, "Do you expect the President to be there Sunday?"

"I can't say," replied the pastor. "But we do expect God, and that should be incentive enough for a reasonably large attendance."

In the Old Testament, God associated Himself in a special way with the temple. Solomon said that not even the highest heaven could contain God, let alone the temple he had built (1 Ki. 8:27). Yet he asked God to identify Himself with the temple so that when an Israelite prayed "toward this place," God would hear and answer the prayer (v.30).

That ancient temple of stone has been replaced in this age by one of flesh—the church, which is called the body of Christ (1 Cor. 3:16-17), and is made up of all believers. Wherever Christ's followers gather to learn more about Him and to do His will, God's presence is assured (Mt. 18:20; 28:20).

So when we go to church, we can expect to meet God not because God lives in the building but because we are His temple. We meet the Lord as we allow His Spirit to speak to us through the teaching of His Word, as we encourage one another, and as we lift our hearts in worship.  — Dennis J. De Haan