Listen to Devotion

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Go to church. If you figure out what’s going on there, it can be a mountaintop experience.

I’m not talking about the kind of church where they tell you how to be good enough to go to heaven. That kind of church is scary because deep down, you know you will never be that perfect, no matter how hard you try. When you go to that kind of church, it is like approaching Mount Sinai, where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. That was terrifying.

I’m talking about the kind of church where you hear the good news that Jesus is your Savior, no matter how sinful you are. That kind of church is like the mountain in Jerusalem, where the temple was built by Solomon, where animals were sacrificed as a picture of the sacrifice that Jesus would be once and for all on the cross. At that kind of church, you worship with people who are declared perfectly righteous through faith in Jesus. At that kind of church, even if you worship with only a few people, you are also worshiping with the angels whose songs you will hear fully when you go to heaven.

And won’t that be a mountaintop experience? Until then, go to church and enjoy a little taste of it.

Lord, lead me to rejoice whenever I go to your house. Amen.

Daily Devotions is brought to you by WELS.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.