"Another Social Club?"

"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching".  Hebrews 10:25

The other day I read a survey that was made among Christians who were asked, "What criteria would a church have to meet in order for you to attend it?".  The top four questions/answers they gave are:
1)  It would have to be a place where I can find friends.
2)  Is it a place where I feel free to be myself-- safe from judgment or condemnation?
3)  Will being there add value to my life?
4) I want a place where my life matters because I am cared about.

I understand the concerns these people had.  We all want to be acknowledged, loved, accepted and find relationships that are genuine.  But I noticed there was something missing.  Where was Jesus?  Everything pointed to "I/Me/My".  The answers were all about the individual and satisfying something in them and for them.  Yet, that "something" was not of a spiritual nature. 

What is our motive behind going to church?  Why do we bother to make the effort to go if it is all about what we need and want?  Don't get me wrong, I strongly believe in going to church.  I believe that this is where we should seek out relationships.  As Christians the people we associate with should be of "like precious faith" and we should be "equally yoked" with them.  Church is the place for that to happen.  But if that is all that church is about, or all it is to you.... then join a club, you can find that there.

The church is supposed to be a place where we can encounter God corporately.  Jesus called it a "house of prayer".  He called it "His Father's house".  It is God's house.  It is a place where He is acknowledged.  It is a place where we can grow spiritually.  It is a place where we can hear the preaching of the Word and be refreshed, exhorted, corrected, instructed and strengthened.  It is a place where my spirit man can be ministered to so that I have what I need to be able to go back into the "battlefield" of a sin-sick world and bring hope and life to them.  It is a place where I receive encouragement to keep "fighting the good fight", to keep "pressing toward the mark", to keep "running the race".  It is a place where I can be embraced by others when the battle has been too hard and I have taken a "hit". 

Church is designed by God to be a wonderful place of encouragement, healing and restoration.  We should go to church.  We should be part of a church.  But we should remember that the church is not just another social club or gathering.  It is God's house and we should go for the right reason-- Him.

Have a great day.  Church is more than a social club.

"A Place Called Praise"

"Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion".  Psalm 114:2

The word Judah means praise.  Praise is a sanctuary.  Praise isn't just something we do.  It isn't just words that we speak.  It isn't just something verbalized.  It is a "place".  Our praise provides a place for the Lord.  The Bible tells us that He inhabits the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3) Your praises form a place for the Lord to come and inhabit.

The Psalmist said that he would bless the Lord at all times; the praise of the Lord would continually be in his mouth.  When?  When things were going well?  When things were perfect?  When he was at peace?  No, not only in the good times of life, but at all times-- including the bad times.

When you are going through trials, problems, temptations and difficulties, the enemy of your soul wants to steal, kill and destroy you.  He wants to steal your praise.  He wants to stop you from praising the Lord.  He wants to get you to murmur, complain, be negative, and speak words of fear and defeat.  He knows that your praise will bring the Lord's presence closer so much so that He will dwell in the midst of those praises. 

It is easy when things are going badly to withhold our praise.  Praise is the last thing we want to do.  But it is the greatest thing we can do.  It will cause the enemy to flee.  It will hold back the destruction.  It will calm the storm.  It will settle the anxious heart.  It will lift the heavy burden.  It will cause the dark clouds to roll back.  It will bring peace because it brings the Prince of Peace near to you. 

So don't let your circumstances cause you to withhold praise from the Lord.  It is the most important thing you can do.  Don't look at the situation but look at the One who can make the situation work together for your good.  It may not be easy to praise Him in the storm, but it is necessary if you are going to make it through the storm.  Praise is a sacrifice.  You are going to have to press on and do it by faith--not feelings.  Praise Him even if you don't feel like it. 

Have a great day.  Praise is a place that we prepare for the Lord to inhabit. 

"Separated Fellowship"

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord".  Romans 8:38,39

Nothing separates us from the love of God.  He loved us and demonstrated that love for us while we were still sinners by sending His Only Begotten Son Jesus into the world to die for our sins.  So, what we do or don't do is not what makes Him love us or stop loving us.  He is going to continue to love us anyway.

But if we sin, that sin will separate us from His presence.  It will separate us from close, intimate and personal communion with Him.  It will place a wedge between us and Him.  It will cause us to run from Him instead of running to Him.  It will cause us to hide from Him instead of drawing near to Him.  The guilt and shame and self-condemnation will hold us back from our relationship with Him.  This is what happened to Adam and Eve.  When they sinned, they ran and hid from God.

If you have sinned, yielded to temptation and fallen.  Confess your sin.  He is faithful and just to forgive you.  Repent of what you have done.  Repentance is two-fold.  It involves turning from your sin and turning to the Lord.  We see true repentance in the story of the prodigal son.  He turned from the pigpen and turned to the father.  In this story we learn what repentance means through the prodigal son, but we learn what true love and forgiveness is through the father.  The father loved him; therefore, he ran to meet him, he embraced him, he welcomed him back into relationship and he restored him. 

The Lord loves you, even if you "mess up" or sin.  Because He loves you, He does not want there to be any division between the two of you.  Because He loves you, He wants unbroken fellowship with you.  Therefore, you can rest assured that if you will repent and turn back to Him, He will forgive and embrace you.  Why?  Because He loves you.       

Have a great day.  Nothing separates us from God's love, so don't let your sin separate you from fellowship with Him.  Repent of it.  

"Maintaining Peace"

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid".  John 14:27

We all face trying circumstances.  We all face times of testing.  We all face unpleasant situations.  We all go through hard and dark places in life.  There are some places we walk through that we don't like.  We would love for them to be different.  We want them to change or make them go away.  Many of these places are out of our control.  We don't have the power to do anything about them.  When these times in life come, there is only one course of action that we can take if we want to have and maintain any level of peace in our lives.  It is to TRUST GOD.

Paul faced shipwreck, imprisonment, beatings, contradictions of sinners and persecution by the religious crowds.  Yet, he had peace through it all.  Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, but we don't read where he begged for his life and for escape.  He had peace.  The three Hebrews were thrown into the fiery furnace.  They didn't go "kicking and screaming".  They had peace.  All of these men faced tremendous testing, but we see peace through it in their lives.  Why?  Because they TRUSTED GOD. 

When the trials of life come, and they will, the devil wants to steal your peace.  There is only one way to keep that from happening.  TRUST GOD!  Keep trusting Him no matter what the situation looks like, no matter how you feel about it, when it is not the ideal situation, when there is nothing you can do about it, when it is not what you like, when you want to change it and when fear comes. 

Remember this if you want to have and maintain your peace in trying times:  God is for you; God is with you; God is working on your behalf; God is in control- nothing takes Him by surprise; God is bigger than the situation; God will work all things together for your good.  Therefore, TRUST HIM. 

Have a great day.  You are going to have to trust God if you want to maintain any level of peace in trying situations.  

"In Church Or In Christ?"

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new".  2 Corinthians 5:17

We get concerned about people when they aren't "in church".  (And so we should-- it is important to be in church.)  But being in church, working in church, holding a position in church is not what makes you saved.  You can sit in church every time the doors are open.  You can serve in church at every event they have.  But that still doesn't make you saved.  Salvation only comes when you are "in Christ".

What does it mean to be "in Christ"?  When we come to God in repentance, and receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord by faith, we become a "new person".  We aren't just changing our attitude or behavior.  We aren't just turning over a new leaf.  We aren't just acting better and doing better.  We now take on the identity of Christ.  We are become a brand-new person.  Christ has made us, and is making us, brand new. 

We take on a new nature-- His holy nature.  We take on a new identity-- His identity.  Our sins have been forgiven.  We have left our old sinful life and are embracing the new life we have in Christ.  It is a life of inward peace-- not condemnation.  It is a life of hope-- not hopelessness.  It is a life of freedom-- deliverance from bondage of sin.  It is a life of acceptance by the Father-- not rejection.  It is a life of love-- not fear and hate.  It is a life of forgiveness-- not judgment.

While you should be in church, just being "in church" doesn't and never will save you, it doesn't make you right with God, it doesn't write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life, it doesn't make you a child of God and it doesn't give you eternal life.  Being in Christ is what saves you.  It is what makes you accepted by God.  It is what makes you right with God.  It is what gives you eternal life.  

Have a great day.  Are you only "in church" or are you "in Christ"?  There is a difference.  Only one will save you.