Is Jesus Christ real to me?
I am not asking whether you know things about Him but do you know God, are you enjoying God, is God the centre of your life, the soul of your being, the source of your greatest joy?
He is meant to be.
~ MARTYN LLOYD-JONES, Spiritual Depression
I’ve been a church-goer all my life.
- I’ve sat in umpteen Bible classes
- I’ve listened to thousands of sermons
- I’ve sung “Amazing Grace” and “Just as I Am” too many times to count
- I’ve read through the Bible several times and have memory verses hidden in my heart
But so what?
Who really cares?
Because those things aren’t the point.
Those things should lead to the point.
To the God-Man.
To Jesus Christ.
Am I loving him? Am I loving you?
If going to church and sitting in classes and listening to sermons and singing songs and reading your Bible and memorizing scripture isn’t centered around the highest goal—knowing God and glorifying him through loving him and loving others—um, aren’t you missing something?
Like, the main thing?
* * *
If you’re going to church this week (and do go!), why?
At least think about it.
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14 comments:
It's so easy to drift out of focus and then just go through the motions. Thanks for the reminder.
A question we should ask ourselves for sure every Sunday! Why am I going - it has to lead us to Him for sure.
I have to ask myself often. Especially on Sunday mornings when I don't want to get out of bed...
Very challenging question for us, Lisa...a great one to ponder and ask ourselves more than once...
God has been dealing with me on the subject...to go deeper in my relationship and not to go through the motions with my worship. He deserves more than that; He deserves my very best!
I think church is a "support group" for all of us forgiven sinners. It helps us to stay accountable, to encourage others and be encouraged by the love, songs, prayers, and worship of our grace-giving Jesus. I love my church (and it is small compared to most) but it's a place "where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came" like on Cheers.It recharges us to continue living the Christian life the best we can each and every day in the world that can easily bring us down at times. I love my sisters and brothers in Jesus - the ones that meet together at the place where we go, and those online and in the world at large!! What a great community of believers!
Sandy (your sister)...I need to figure out my Google account name again - ha
I went to worship God, to sacrifice my time to the One who owns me. You're right, it is a matter of the heart, not the actions...
You have a great point here.
Ginger
Great question Lisa.... Knowing Him is what really changes us...... Knowing Him makes all the difference
Sandy,
I think you summed up so well what church is about:
to stay accountable, to encourage others and be encouraged by the love, songs, prayers, and worship of our grace-giving Jesus.
I go through periods where my attitude is oriented that way, and unfortunately, periods when my attitude is more negative than positive.
Trying to remind myself that when I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, it’s much easier to stay positively-focused.
And I also agree that we have a great community of believers not only in person but online as well. How wonderful is that!
Love you my sweet sister!
Lisa
My sweet s-i-l sent me this in an e-mail today.
Why Go To Church?
A church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday...
"I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 203,000 sermons.
"But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor.
It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals.
"But I do know this... They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.
"Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"
A great analogy. Thanks, Bonnie!
I loved this, and that email you posted within your comments, too! I can personally say that I was a baby Christian for 30 years, doing it all, saying it all, but Jesus was not my ALL in ALL. He is now!!!
Good reminder to make the time in church meaningful. To spend the time drawing closer to our Lord in heart worship.
Blessings,
Janis
Some people go out of tradition. They don't even think about the why.
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