Jesus got into a theological scuffle with a woman at the well in Samaria. It wasn’t the banter about water, it wasn’t the profound uncovering of her past and present, it wasn’t about her gender or ancestry — it was about a place. In particular, a place for worship. Was it supposed to be on the mountain or was it in Jerusalem? Jesus sets the record straight by telling her that the real place of worship is the heart. Matt Redmon has written perhaps the single most important worship song of the last 20 years, reminding us that a heart of worship is really all about Jesus.

So, what does this have to do with Deuteronomy? Beginning in Chapter 16, “a Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God” (16:1) is instituted in “the place where the LORD your God will choose to establish his name” (v. 2), and then this phrase is repeated seven more times in connection with God’s relationship with his covenant people. 

The first time God’s place is mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis when he creates an amazing garden and puts Adam and Eve there to enjoy it. (The late Myles Monroe called it “the spot”). Well, we know the rest of the story — and yet God redeems them and through history he has been bringing men and women, boys and girls to the place where he reveals how much he loves us. God desires to establish his name in our hearts … it is the location of living sacrifice for us today, the place for our spiritual worship.

“How about your heart, is it right with God; That’s the thing that counts today.”

David Van Huisen, Panama City Beach, Fla.