The book of Samuel shares that The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. (Sam 6:11)  We can partake of that same blessing by following Obed-Edom’s example to worship in our homes.

Obed-Edom was not forced to worship. Instead, he willingly prepared a place in his home and his heart for the presence of the Lord. He prioritized the presence of the Lord in his life and made a complete shift in his home without realizing its forever effects on his household.

When the ark of the Presence of the Lord entered Obed-Edom's home, he was not to touch – for it was holy, separate. Even though he had invited the Presence of the Lord (the ark) into an intimate and comfortable place, he had to reverence the holy presence, resisting complacency, avoid treating it like any other piece of furniture in his home. The ark of His presence held a place of reverence and priority. His entire family must be admonished to reverence this Presence of the Lord and must be led into the order of business from there on out. Listen family - Don't touch it! Don't get comfortable! Don't play around it! This is the presence of the Lord in our home. It's not in the outer court. It's in the living room of our home, and we must be careful not to get comfortable with the Presence of the Lord and misuse the moment we have before us to honor the True and Living God who is here to bless this household.

We must do this in our homes today. We must turn from our casual reverence and prioritize the presence of the Lord. We must step out of our complacent churchy mindsets and analyze our relationship with God and see where the temperature of our love exists.

I remember the first day I began to pray and get on my knees before God regularly. He told me - when you come before me don't talk about the obvious; your monetary needs; your physical needs and your family needs. Instead of asking for money, for healing, and for your family to be saved, know that IAm has provided already. I Am Present. Tell money what to do! Activate the healing that's been appropriated for you, I will save your family. You see, when we approach prayer with a gimme attitude, we never go deeper into a real relationship because we focus on our needs instead of His face. He clearly says to seek His face and not our needs being met. Relationship level 101 is a need-based relationship. When we set up an altar in our home and the Lord is present  - we need only to command what his presence has released to our household. This is the blessing of the Presence of the Lord.

Let's look in the book of  Matthew 18:2-4 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. First, Jesus says come to him. Then he tells them how to come to him, like little children.

We come to God in the relationship as children. Why children? Because children love, no matter what the parent does or how they are treated. Children don't have a care in the world. They completely trust that all of their needs will be provided for. When they are face to face with their father the don’t realize they are getting more or less than another child; they enjoy what they have in that moment. They make room in their hearts and that door stays open and even reopens after being abused. There is a parent child bond that is not easily broken. Children trust full-on. Children live full-on. Nothing is made up. They don't say words to impress you that have no meaning to them. They simply repeat I love you and express their hearts in innocence.

These are the attributes we bring into our relationship with God. We worship with honesty. Be who we are without comparison to others. Just present yourself honestly before him according to John 4:23, 24.

Next, is to seek truth. Our relationship is built on seeking his face and seeking truth.

When King David retrieved the presence of the Lord from Obed-Edoms' house, this was because David's heart had been longing for the presence. He had heard of the blessings befallen upon Obed-Edoms house. The presence of God brings a blessing attached to it when you honor and prioritize Him, and when you build an altar in your home. So after David retrieved the ark, Obed-Edom decided to pack up his family, his house, and his life and follow the presence of the Lord. He made a decision that he didn't want to go back to the way things were before he prioritized his life and household around the Presence of the Lord. So he left with the ark and he followed it.

Worshipping God in our home should be no different than any place we worship. Because of the thoughts, ways, and traditions we have attached to musical worship within the church, we look for new ways to express our worship from our home. There's no choir. There's no praise team. There's Youtube music, but there's no live band leading, singing and dancing for us. Now we must decide to invite the Presence of the Lord for ourselves. We must be accountable to Him when he shows up.

Now, we must look at why we do the things the way we do in church but not at home. Now, we see where we are presenting ourselves in honesty to the Mighty God. Now, we can explore and be made aware of how deep or how shallow our relationship has been and we can immediately do something about it. We don't have to be full of formality. We have to be HONEST. We don't have to be a bishop or pastor or some other title in our home before God. Just be honest before Him. God is not impressed with the stuff we do in church buildings. He's impressed with a heart that is filled with worship, obedience and seeking Him in Spirit and pursuit of Truth.

How do we worship at home? Find a dedicated space and make time for God. Just as you would set up and desk and computer for your job - set up an altar to speak with the Lord. Sit there and release yourself, your thoughts your distractions and be still before him. Sometimes, many times in fact, talking is not required, but your attentiveness is very much required. For as you lay before him, he will begin to speak to you as you wrap your head with your garment so you can't see, can't hear, can't eat, can't smell, like Elijah at the mouth of the cave. When he wrapped himself in his own garment, he closed off his natural senses to the world around him to hear the voice of the Lord. Remove the distractions of traditions and religion and who you think God is and allow yourself to experience Him face to face like never before. The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Is it you?

May we all make an altar for the Lord and begin to worship and be blessed by the Great I Am like never before.

Derick Thomas is a Leadership Trainer, and Certified Behavioral Consultant as well as a Dove and Stellar Award Nominee, Songwriter, Producer, and runs Sound of the House Ministries with his wife Jill.

“We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.” 2 Corinthians 6:3 (NIV)

Have you ever played a game where you were forced to wear a blindfold and rely on someone else to guide you to a destination? If that person isn’t careful, you may end up tripping, falling, slipping, crashing, and burning. When you put on that blindfold, you expect the person will lead you in the right direction; that they’ll act as a guide to the desired destination.

For the believer, it’s the same thing. We’re called to guide people, to help lead them to Jesus. But sometimes, we become stumbling blocks to that destination. In the above verse and subsequent, Paul tells the Corinthians how he and his fellows ministers keep from becoming stumbling blocks.

Paul touches on this subject a few times in his letters. In 1 Corinthians 8:9 (NLT), Paul warns, “Be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.” Then again in Romans 14:13–20 (NIV), he says, “Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister… It is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.”

Paul wanted his readers to know that each of them, and us, were ministers. When Paul says “our ministry,” he’s not just talking about his companions, the apostles, or church leaders. He’s empowering us to take ownership of our faith.

“Our ministry” refers to Paul’s ministry, the ministry of everyone at the church in Corinth. We’re all ministers of the gospel, ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11–21). And when any legitimate blame can be attached to us as ministers, the impact and credibility of our ministry is weakened.

Paul’s words ring as true today as they did in 55 AD. As ministers of the gospel in our homes, schools, workplaces, social circles, and churches, we must become stepping-stones, not stumbling blocks. We must point people to Jesus by the way we think, speak, and live, in public and private remember “there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed” (Luke 8:17 NIV).

“What I'm Sayin Is”, This is a matter of grave importance as it could be the difference between eternal life and death for countless people. The last thing any of us should want is to cause someone to either fall in his or her walk with Jesus, or never even come to know Him because of our life.

Think About It…