Do you "go" to Church or do you "go" to Worship?

Do you "go" to church or do you "go" to worship? A friend sent me this little story.

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 3,000 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!" When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!"

Again the question, "Do you "go" to church or do you "go" to worship?" I believe there is a difference. If you are a church “goer,” (the first man in the story) then you may believe that the church must be all things to all people, and foremost yourself. You may leave and feel as though your needs have not been met. However, if you are seeking God and nourishment from Him, (the second man) then you will find Him, and in His presence you will find the nourishment you need.

Consider just for a moment, how different "church" would be if instead of getting up and going to church, we would get up and ready ourselves for “worship.” Then we would leave the service, “spirit” filled and ready to do whatever it takes to make our churches relevant for today.

For me, I thank God for the churches that Joey and I have been so privileged to attend and/or serve these past 36 years. Through the sharing the love that Jesus has place in you, you have loved us when we needed love, shared food from your tables, comforted us in our grief, counseled us during times of need, held us up when we could not stand alone, cried with us when we cried, and laughed when we were filled with joy, prayed for us when we were weak and needed God's strength and help, and most of all you have been our adoptive "family, brothers and sisters in Christ. You (Campfield, Flint Hill, Mt.Pleasant, Floyd's Creek, Zoar, Double Springs, Boiling Springs, Christ Covenant, Big Springs, Trinity, and Valley View) have been faithful to God and to us.

Is there anyone out there who God has blessed through your church relationships?

Rid Yourself of Fear

What do you FEAR most?
Have you identified your FEAR?
Can you imagine living just a short time without that FEAR? What would that freedom feel like?
I just finished another of Thomas Nelson's books, FEARLESS, by Max Lucado.

Fear to me, if unidentified, is like a thief that robs us of all the opportunities of living the victorious life that Christ would desire for us. We all have, or have had fear, and that fear will "always be at our door." Whether we want to admit it or not, as we observe and interact with individuals and their responses to situations, their fear(s) will soon surface. Lucado defines fear as "an emotional response to a threat that causes us to escape or avoid the threat." He goes on to say that "if fear is not dealt with, it can lead to a worse situation or unacceptable behaviors.”

Over the years, I have seen how hard it is to react out of my faith rather than my fears. But this can be done. I haven't gotten it all perfected, but Lucado has certainly challenged me to continue my journey, combating fear by trusting God rather than myself.

One way I try to keep myself in check is to ask/remind myself daily of the question, "Do I respond more out of fear of failure, rejection, calamity, or out of the power of the risen Christ in me?" God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control (2 Timothy 1: 7). WOW! Can you imagine your life without fear?

Make sure you get a copy of Lucado's book Fearless. It is truly life changing. It is truly a tool to show you a life of freedom - free of our fears. Read it yourself, then share your copy with a friend.

On a scale of 1-10: Which are You?

What number are you on a scale of 1-10. I mean, holistically. Holistic in the sense of the “whole person” or put simply, the mind, body, and spirit. What about mind, body, and spirit? Actually, if all your components are not functioning at its best then the whole suffers. Ever thought of that? So, how is your mind, your body, or your spirit? Consider the areas of your life that are, or that are not working the best (personal, sexual, career, financial, worship, relationships, etc. ) Can we be perfect in such a way that we are functioning at our fullest potential. How does one affect the other? We cannot deny that a handicap in one area does not affect the other. Thus, if we want to function at our fullest potential, then we must seek perfection. Does God really expect us to strive for such perfection? Is it possible to grow in the likeness of Christ? We can but not alone.

There is only one way to accomplish such perfection and it is through Christ. Paul so states in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” So it is only through Christ in us that we can accomplish that which God created us.

There are no gray areas. God gives us direction as how to grow as Christ. We are challenged in Hebrews 12”2 to, “…focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Then he received the highest position in heaven, the one next to the throne of God.”

The journey to Christ’s likeness is not always “a party” but it is rewarding in the greatest sense? In fact in John 6:60, 66 we are told, On hearing it, many of the disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

How about you? There were/are times in my life that the cost was just too great, and became disobedient in those areas. I am not perfect. You know, it is ironic that my blog still remains, Getting Fit with Friends, because I have gotten lazy. I would say socially, and mentally I am still in the game, but I have slacked off spiritually and physically, I am on the bench. No, I am not perfect, but I refuse to remain there, for I want the best life has to offer. What about you?

If you dare to redirect your life to experience fullness then join me the next few postings as I seek the word to become ”whole”. We need to be the image of Christ. What does it look like to be “like” Christ? Luke 2:52 says, Jesus grew in wisdom [MENTALLY], in stature [PHYSICALLY], and in favor with God [SPIRITUALLY] and with man [SOCIALLY].

Looking forward to hearing from you.

How Great is Our God?

I am writing this in response to Matthew's blog, God vs. Darwin. Check out his response. I too realize that our God is truly magnificent. When I hear a song or someone speaking about His greatness and how He designed us I am reminded of a great message entitled, How great is our God! by Louie Giglio. This section talks about Laminin, an amazing molecule in the human body. If you have not seen this before, then take a look.



How Great is Your God? Would love to hear from you.