2026-08-31 | ⛪ Is God Really Present in Our Church? | Ezekiel 48 Devotional (7-Step QT)
7-Step QT Notes
1. 🙏 Quiet Time
Pause.
Take a deep breath.
Ask God to help you recognize his presence and show you how your life and church can make that presence visible to others.
2. 📅 August 31, 2026
Today’s passage reminds us:
The true glory of God’s people is not found in impressive buildings, successful programs, or material prosperity, but in the presence of the Lord among them.
3. ✝️ Ezekiel 48:23-35
The remaining land is allotted to Benjamin, Simeon, Issachar, Zebulun, and Gad. The city measures 4,500 cubits on each side and has twelve gates named after the tribes of Israel. Its circumference is 18,000 cubits, and from that time on its name shall be “The LORD Is There.”
4. 📖 Key Verse
”And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.” (v. 35b)
5. 📝 Reflection
The house where I spent my childhood was built by my father himself. My father, who was a schoolteacher, designed the house and hired the workers. I was told that on weekends, he carried bricks and painted the walls with his own hands, gradually completing the home he had dreamed of for so long. After leaving his hometown and fleeing south during the Korean War, he cherished a lifelong desire to own a house in his own name. When he finally achieved that dream, how joyful and proud he must have been! We could see how deeply he treasured the house from the nameplate he hung on the pillar beside the front gate.
A traditional Korean house nameplate may seem unfamiliar to people today, especially to those of us living in North America. Here, houses are generally identified by street numbers and addresses. In Korea at that time, however, homeowners often carved their names in Korean or Chinese characters on long pinewood nameplates and hung them in clearly visible places beside their front gates. These nameplates helped visitors and delivery workers find the right house. When I ordered jajangmyeon as a child, I would explain, “It is the house at the end of the main road. The nameplate says ‘Shim ○○.’” Yet the nameplate had a more important purpose. It clearly identified whose house it was. It was a visible declaration of the owner’s identity. By hanging his nameplate, my father was also showing that his lifelong dream had finally been fulfilled.
The final verse of Ezekiel, today’s QT passage, communicates something similar. God gives the city a name, as though he were placing a nameplate at its entrance. Significantly, he names the entire city, not merely the temple. He does not call it “The City of Peace,” “The City of Prosperity,” or even “The Holy City.” The name God gives it is “YHWH Shammah,” which means “The LORD Is There.” The city’s glory does not rest in impressive buildings or material prosperity. Its glory is found in the presence of the LORD himself. Through this name, God declares to Israel and to the whole world that he has fulfilled his promise of restoration and abiding presence.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is the true name of our church? Its official name may be OOO Church, but could we confidently hang a nameplate at its entrance declaring, “YHWH Shammah: The LORD Is There”? Scripture speaks clearly. Jesus Christ is the owner and Lord of his church (Matthew 16:18). God also makes his home among us and lives with us (John 14:23). Therefore, our worship, fellowship, and daily lives should clearly demonstrate that God is present among us. When they do, not only believers but also the whole world will come to know rightly the God who dwells among his people.
6. 💬 What does this passage speak to you today?
- What do I normally use to measure whether a church is healthy or successful?
- Does my worship, speech, and treatment of others show that Jesus is the Lord of my life?
- Where do I especially need to remember today that “The LORD Is There”?
- What is one practical way I can help someone experience God’s love and presence this week?
7. 🙏 Prayer
Our heavenly Father, thank You for choosing to dwell with Your people.
Forgive me for measuring my church and my life by appearance, popularity, comfort, or worldly success.
Help me recognize Your presence and make Christ visible through my worship, relationships, words, and actions.
May our church and our daily lives boldly testify to the world, “The LORD Is There.”
Amen.
Scriptures
📖 (Ezekiel 48:23-35, ESV).
23 “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. 24 Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. 25 Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. 26 Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. 27 Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. 28 And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. 29 This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord GOD.
30 “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, 31 three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. 32 On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33 On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35 The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.”
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