LUKE 4:16-21 – And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Imagine what it would have been like to experience that Sabbath Day when the Lord Jesus appeared.  Well, let’s do just that. Inject ourselves into the scene. Granted, we are not those who are keeping the Jewish Sabbath, but for the sake of today’s lesson, we are in attendance. We are in our place in the synagogue like we do week in and week out.  There are even times we are tired, distracted, and maybe a little dull of hearing because of the routine.  But this time it is different.  An unfamiliar face just entered the synagogue. He took a seat, and then He stands up. The attendant gave him a book.  We are close enough to see some of it.  It looks like the book written by the prophet Isiah.  Now we are alert.  The Stranger stands up, reads from the book, finishes, gives it back to the attendant, and sits down.

Our eyes and hearts are wide open over what we just witnessed. So refreshing were His Words. So liberating are His Words to our hurting hearts.  Soon the service ends, the unfamiliar face is gone, and we wonder, even hope, He comes back next Sabbath.  What He said was riveting!

Now back to our world.  Remember, and this is so important and easy to forget.  Jesus comes to church today as well. Not literally, but spiritually and really.  Every time His people gather, He is there. Every time His Word is taught, preached, and sung; He is there.    Are we coming to church with the weekly awareness, anticipation and expectation of meeting the Lord in our time of corporate worship?  I hope so because He has promised to be there and He cannot lie.

One of the most penetrating truths concerning the Presence of the Lord comes from the Old Testament saint Jacob.  Let his experience with the Presence of the Lord never be ours – Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place. He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:10-16).

PRAYER: “Father, protect me from the danger of a lukewarm heart toward Your church.”

QUOTE: “If church is boring, don’t immediately blame the church or its leaders. It might be us.”