EDITOR’S NOTE: The following was first published in THOUGHTS WORTH THINKING January 5, 2011. It bears repeating that we all might appreciate God and His word, and Christ and His church with greater diligence.
WHY GO TO CHURCH?
If you're spiritually alive, you're going to love this! If you're spiritually dead, you won't want to read it. If you're spiritually curious, there is still hope!
A Churchgoer 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. However, for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the preachers 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. However, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. However, 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!
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And While on That Thought …
The number one element that ill affects Christians and their faithfulness is apathy. The “it doesn’t matter” attitude seems one of Satan’s greatest poisons into which he dips his fiery darts. (Ephesians 6:16) Such an apathetic attitude exhibits itself in lackadaisical actions such as BEING ON TIME for Bible study and worship (symptoms of which appear first in those who habitually rush through the door with only seconds to spare before starting time and are manifest in those who have no chagrin about entering several minutes late and/or leaving before services conclude.) This same spiritual illness oft exhibits itself in LESS THAN ENTHUSIASTIC SINGING, PRAYING, OR STUDYING. Among the strange effects of this spiritual illness is the disruption upon those souls who ARE dedicated to worshipping in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Because they sit in areas of the building where others shamelessly exhibit a lack of attention to the reverence of the gathering, the minds of the otherwise sincere often fade from the reality of reverence they so fervently crave. The distraction interrupts their focus of righteously discerning the importance of our worship to God. Finally, is the sinful influence such a poisonous attitude has on younger souls. Unfortunately, the effects of apathy are extremely contagious, often inflicting spiritual harm to the second and third generations of those infected with the illness. If Dad and Mom don’t have to attend, or be on time, or can “just get by” in whatever semblance of worship they give, then the child believes such an attitude is acceptable practice for him/her. Strangely, we ALL see the fallacies of such illogical reasoning when it comes to work, school, or any secular activity regardless of its importance. Why then do Christians exhibit an “it doesn’t matter” attitude toward what they admit is the ONLY venue of salvation for their eternity? Do they think that since they once obeyed the gospel, their obligation to Christ and Him crucified is complete? If so, they could quit school after a year, or retire after a few years of work, or attend to their employment at their leisure. They know that type of attitude will not work in secular areas: and they NEED to know its sinfulness will not work in God’s area either! Let’s PROVE we love God – let’s FAITHFULLY serve Him!
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A few days ago, someone sent an email stating “The end is near!” He had misapplied several passages from the Old and New Testaments, attempting to decipher the exact day and time of the Lord’s return via using Daniel’s seventy weeks, the apostle John’s statements of 1260 days in Revelation, and misinterpretation of several other passages. Such predictions of the exact date and time of the Lord’s return have existed for years, and to date (no pun intended) all have been wrong! HOWEVER, the Lord said, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” (Matthew 24:36) The question is not WHEN shall He return but ARE WE READY for His return!