Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” Mark 13:2 (NLT)
Throughout history, religion has centred itself around temples and holy places. Jesus, on the other hand, didn’t come to build another temple.
At that time, Jewish leaders offered sacrifices in the temple to cleanse the people. The people relied on this ritual to give them a sort of temporary right standing with God. As long as they obeyed the rules and followed the rituals, they were okay. But Jesus said that the temple would be thrown down.
Instead, you and I are temples of the Holy Spirit, if we believe. There is no longer a system, ritual or set of rules that sets us right. We’re right with God when we accept that Jesus’ sacrifice gave us that right standing once and for all.
Although our faith is not about an altar or a building, this doesn’t mean that church is unimportant. Church is where we gather together as a family of believers to learn, grow and serve together. It’s about the people, not the building—just as family isn’t about the house. You may have a home where your family gets together, but family is about relationships. The same is true with church.
God doesn’t reside in a building and there isn’t an extra dose of His power in church. He’s in you, so you can talk to Him anytime. In fact, you could be sitting in a movie theatre and have a great moment with God. Don’t box God in with religious notions about how, or where, He is at work.
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