Daily Devotional For Saturday, May 23, 2026
Good morning and good day Southside! As I choose Scripture from the readings for the One Year Chronological Bible, today’s passages focus on Solomon bringing the Ark of the Covenant into the newly finished Temple. It has to be a huge celebration for Solomon and all the people that day. 1 Kings 8:9 states: “Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt” (NLT). From the time the Ark of the Covenant had been constructed to the time it went into Solomon’s Temple, a period of 480 years has passed.
At the dedication service, the service had to be cut-short because of what 2 Chronicles 4:13-14 states:
“The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the LORD with these words: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the LORD. (14) The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the LORD filled the Temple of God” (NLT).
Can you imagine being at church in a worship service and all of sudden out of nowhere, smoke begins to appear around us all and in a moment we all are suddenly aware that the glorious presence of the Lord is there? We are led to believe that this smoke/cloud that appeared was the same the Hebrews had followed in the wilderness.
In the Old Testament when God’s Presence showed up, people froze in their tracks. Why? They were experiencing the sinless, perfect holiness of God in comparison to their sinful and unholy lives. It was literally a “show stopper.” We see this with Isaiah when he entered the Temple one day in Isaiah 6:1-7:
“It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the Temple. (2) Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. (3) They were calling out to each other, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!’ (4) Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke [sounds like above]. (5) Then I said, ‘It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’ (6) Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. (7) He touched my lips with it and said, ‘See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven’” (NLT).
Today, we have the Presence of God in the Holy Spirit living inside of us as Christians. In that day, the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple were the physical reminders of God’s Presence with God’s people. Puritan Bible scholar Matthew Henry writes this:
“The temple, though richly beautified, yet while it was without the ark was like a body without a soul, or a candlestick without a candle, or (to speak more properly) a house without an inhabitant. All the cost and pains bestowed on this stately structure are lost if God does not accept them; and, unless He pleases to own it as the place where He will record His name, it is after all but a ruinous heap” (Source: Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 2, "Judges to Job", p. 491).
The same thing can be said about the church today. Apart from Christ, we are nothing and we can do nothing. It is always tragic to me to pass a church whose buildings are there, but no people. The church has gone out of existence. No longer is the Gospel preached. No longer are disciples being made. No longer is God being praised and glorified through His people. This strikes home to me. Why? My hometown church in Greensboro closed. It was eventually sold to some daycare center, who went out of business. Then it was sold to an Islamic group, where now it is an Islamic Learning Center, where Allah and the Koran are taught. I really like what Old Testament scholar Philip Graham Ryken writes in his commentary:
“Unless the Lord is with us, none of the work we do in the church—none of the teaching and preaching, none of the caring and sharing, none of the mercy work or missionary evangelism—will make any difference for the kingdom of God. What would a prayer meeting be without the presence of God to guide people in their prayers? What would a Sunday school class be without the help of the Holy Spirit in teaching and applying the Scriptures? What would mercy ministry be without the living presence of Christ in feeding the hungry or visiting the prisoner? But when God is in the house, his Word goes out with power and his Spirit changes people’s lives from the inside out. What a blessing it was for Israel to see the glory of the Lord filling the temple of the Lord. It was a blessing for the king, because the cloud confirmed that God would indeed condescend to bless the house that Solomon built in his name. It was a blessing for the priests, too, because it showed them the glorious holiness of the God they were called to serve” (Source: Philip Graham Ryken, Reformed Expository Commentary, “1 Kings,” pp. 196-197).
We are blessed also when the Lord shows up in our worship services. We become acutely aware of who we are versus Who He is. Genuine worship is transformative, not entertaining. It is not a show we put on, but an act of humility we take. If you ever want to get something out of a worship service and you did not make a decision for the Lord or you did not allow the Lord to transform you in some sinful area of your life, that is on you – not the Lord. He was there. The question is – were you?
Reflection Assignment: When you come to a worship service at church, do you come to be transformed by the Holy Spirit or do you sit there making judgment calls on the lights, the sound, the music, the sermon, the comfort of the pews, etc? If our attention is on us instead of the Lord, then we “have our reward” as Scripture says. I challenge you the next time you come to worship, then truly worship and experience what the Lord will do in your life.
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalms 147:1, “Praise the Lord! How good to sing praises to our God! How delightful and how fitting!” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, please forgive when I make worship about me rather than You. Forgive me when I sit there waiting for something to happen rather than asking You to transform me more into the character of Jesus Christ. Lord, I want to know You and the power of Your Resurrection. I want to be more like You when I leave worship than when I first entered. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly