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PONDERINGS March, 2009 My son had surgery recently and with that and some
other health things that have gone on we have not been able to attend church the way we normally do.
I know that his remarkable recovery has been due to the many prayers that have been said for him, and I do so appreciate
that . I do
not function well without the input of church attendance. My week goes badly. It is
much longer than a week should be and I just plain miss it. Church gives me a renewal of spirit and of faith. And of course the Bible talks about this.
In Hebrews 10:24-25 it says And
let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 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.If you are not attending church regularly you are
missing out on so many blessings. I am not talking about just attending church on Sunday morning for that
service. I am talking about Sunday School, where you have the opportunity to ask questions to discuss problems,
to really get to know your brothers and sisters in Christ. I am talking about Wednesday night Bible study
when we break down books of the Bible verse by verse and study them and learn so much. I am talking about
Sunday night service where we get less of an evangelical message and learn to be mature Christians and experience real growth.
Spiritual growth. Quoting a Mark Copeland study " Assembling together with other Christians is very important. It is a means
of stimulating on another to love and good works. We encourage one another in our service to Christ, therefore Christians
should make a strong habit of attending church. Attending as often as possible, for worship, Bible study, etc.
The more we attend the stronger the habit becomes, the less we attend the weaker the habit becomes. Christians who make
it a habit to skip the assemblies struggle in their efforts to grow spiritually; no CHristian has become stronger by neglecting
the assembly!" Spiritual
growth is a choice.
It doesn't happen by default (unlike
physical growth). Spiritual growth (like emotional maturity) occurs only when we choose to grow If we do not make that choice, and stick to
it, there will be no spiritual growth! Are you making the right choice today
and every day...? Matthew 11: 28-30"Come to Me, all you who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Attend church. Lighten your burden while you lighten your heart and grow as a Christian. April, 2009 Tonight is a business meeting night at our church. Before I make my way over there, I will
use my non-existent psychic abilities to make some predictions. First there will be very few people there. In fact there will probably
be more kids in the youth group and team kids, than there will be adults. Why do I think this will happen?
It happens every month. The
same people who are there every month are the ones who will be there tonight. Why do I predict this?
It happens every month.Of this
small group of people the suggestions, motions, 2nds, and discussion will come from an
even smaller core group of people. Once again it happens every month.The decisions that are made in our church will without fail, not be agreeable
to everyone. That is human nature. I am not talking about physical or verbal fights
breaking out in the aisles. I am not talking about grumbling continuously. But haven't
you ever had the thought, well, I believe I would have done that differently. We can
always find something to complain about. In this particular case though, we can do something to make a
change in the things we disagreed with.Even
some people who come to church faithfully for other services, do not come to business meetings.I have to admit I don't enjoy all the meetings but I certainly see their
purpose. We decide who we will have teaching our Sunday School classes and the offices in the church.
We decide how the money given to God will be used in God's house. Some of the decisions
seem mundane and some involve large sums of money that may be donated to local or not so local ministries. No
matter what the question the answer involves you in some way as a member of this church. You have the opportunity to be a part of those decisions.
Your voice will be heard and your opinion matters. I am sure there were many times when the disciples got together and made decisions on how money
was to be spent, which direction who was going in. Who they would be teaching God's
word to. When
Paul said God was leading him to preach to the Gentiles, they probably had a meeting about it. Doing the business of the church is doing God's business.
Don't you want to be a part of that.
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