It’s kind of easy to miss. What, with all the fire and smoke . . . the mountain trembling, the unseen trumpet blowing . . . and the thunder! . . . whoa, the thunder is enough to shake you in your boots (literally). And then, there’s what’s happening on top of the mountain . . . God and Moses, one-on-one . . . and the giving of the ten commandments. A lot to take in. But at the end of Exodus 20 something caught my attention . . . perhaps a bit anti-climatic from all the rest . . . nevertheless another observation about God . . . what’s more, a promise from God. Wanna know where at least one place of blessing is?

An altar of earth you shall make for Me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause My name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.   (Exodus 20:24 ESV)

It wasn’t about the altar, itself . . . nothing fancy-shmancy . . . God’s not impressed with the ornate . . . the expensive isn’t required for admission. But it was about what was going on at the altar . . . sacrifice . . . offerings . . . worship. So, in every place where the Lord ordained that His name would be remembered . . . in every place where there would be a fresh consideration of the holiness of God . . . in every place where there would be a heartfelt recognition of the need for blood to atone for the sin of men . . . in every place where there would be a willing self-determination to offer feeble offerings to a great God . . . in that place, God promises, I will come to you . . . I will bless. you.

And hey! I know such a place. Lord willing, in a couple of days, I’ll be gathering with those “of like precious faith” in a structure of wood & drywall. Nothing too fancy. But, it’s a place where the name of the Lord will be remembered. There’ll be opportunity to “offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name” (Heb. 13:15) . . . something of His name, His holy character, will be explained from the pulpit — and by God’s grace, and through the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit, explanation will become illumination . . . and then, we’ll gather around a simple table, with a couple of simple emblems, and we’ll remember the sacrifice . . . we’ll recall the price paid for our sin . . . we’ll marvel at the entrance into intimate fellowship that is ours through the blood of Christ. In that place, where God’s name is remembered . . . we will come to worship . . . and, so He promises, He will come . . . and He will bless.

Oh, the anticipation that should be mine because of this simple promise in God’s word. Far from being just “the right thing to do”, far from going through the motions on another Sunday, I should come prepared . . . and I should come expecting. Prepared to remember the Name above all names . . . ready to exalt the Name in my singing . . . ready to revere the Name as it’s revealed through His word . . . ready to respond to the Name as I partake of the bread and the wine. Mine is to come prepared to remember . . . His will be to provide the blessing.

Easy to miss. Same time, same place, every Sunday. Routine has a way of making things . . . well, routine. But remembrance . . . minds fully engaged in the conscious recall of who God is . . . hearts determined to focus anew on the wonder of what God has done . . . souls stirred by heaven itself with the reminder of being His people . . . His treasured possession . . . a called out kingdom of priests . . .a hand-picked, holy nation . . . “that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (Ex. 19:5, 1Peter 2:9-10] . . . yes, remembrance has a way of inviting God to come . . . remembrance has a way of invoking God to bless.

In every place where I cause My name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.