If you attend church, why do you go there? What is it that drives you to get out of a warm bed on Sunday mornings or give up your Saturday evenings to attend your house of worship? When you are there, is it just another part of you routine in life? Is it kind of like doing the laundry or washing dishes? There have been times in my life when I attended church out of a perceived obligation or feeling that going to church is simply something you should do every week. I am guessing many people have this same feeling judging by the jump in church attendance on Christmas and Easter. Somewhere inside most of us, there is a yearning to be within the house of God, even if only twice a year. I am asking these questions because chapter 122 of Psalms is all about the house of God.
"I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord. The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the Lord, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the Lord. For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.” For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good."
Notice the Psalmists says he was GLAD when asked to go to the House of the Lord! Going to church should never be something routine or done begrudgingly. There is peace there! If there is not peace there, then something is being done wrong. I'm going to just call it out like it is. If the people within the church congregation are causing strife or are causing others to not want to be there, then these are all issues that need to be addressed! One of the main focuses of the church I attend is on building healthy relationships. If there is someone gossiping or causing division within the body, it is addressed. If there is offense, we are encouraged to go to the offender and talk about what happened so as not to allow the offense to grow and fester. Too many times within the body of Christ we allow the enemy to destroy a place designed to be a house of safety and refuge. If we attend church only to talk about what Sally so-and-so did with Billy-whats-his-face then we seriously need to check ourselves and our heart.
At the idea of being in the house of God, our eyes should pop open early on Sunday because we are so eager to spend time with other believers! Why do we arrive at work early, yet get to church just after the offering plate is passed? As for me, I can't wait to be at church on Sunday! Actually, most Sundays I am there for most of the day (on the ones I serve). I may seem weird, but I LIKE to be there that much! I love seeing people coming into Gods house during all three services. I love watching as families come in and as the weeks, months, and years pass being able to witness the growth and transformation in their lives. Sometimes this happens not even through direct conversation, but by watching their eyes and their expressions! You can tell when someone is broken and lonely and also tell when later, as God has worked on their heart and they have found PEACE within the body of Christ, you see a light there you have never seen before!
My prayer for each of you today is for a fresh EXCITEMENT to come into your lives! An excitement so that you want to be in God's house more. I pray going to church does not feel like an obligation, but an HONOR! If you have a church home, and someone invites you to attend a Sunday evening service, I pray you become so hungry that you jump at the opportunity to go to church again! I pray for a hunger inside of you to simply have MORE of God! There is something amazing that happens when the people of God come to church with an EXPECTATION of meeting Him there!
"I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord. The Joy of Going to the House of the Lord Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the Lord, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the Lord. For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.” For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good."
Notice the Psalmists says he was GLAD when asked to go to the House of the Lord! Going to church should never be something routine or done begrudgingly. There is peace there! If there is not peace there, then something is being done wrong. I'm going to just call it out like it is. If the people within the church congregation are causing strife or are causing others to not want to be there, then these are all issues that need to be addressed! One of the main focuses of the church I attend is on building healthy relationships. If there is someone gossiping or causing division within the body, it is addressed. If there is offense, we are encouraged to go to the offender and talk about what happened so as not to allow the offense to grow and fester. Too many times within the body of Christ we allow the enemy to destroy a place designed to be a house of safety and refuge. If we attend church only to talk about what Sally so-and-so did with Billy-whats-his-face then we seriously need to check ourselves and our heart.
At the idea of being in the house of God, our eyes should pop open early on Sunday because we are so eager to spend time with other believers! Why do we arrive at work early, yet get to church just after the offering plate is passed? As for me, I can't wait to be at church on Sunday! Actually, most Sundays I am there for most of the day (on the ones I serve). I may seem weird, but I LIKE to be there that much! I love seeing people coming into Gods house during all three services. I love watching as families come in and as the weeks, months, and years pass being able to witness the growth and transformation in their lives. Sometimes this happens not even through direct conversation, but by watching their eyes and their expressions! You can tell when someone is broken and lonely and also tell when later, as God has worked on their heart and they have found PEACE within the body of Christ, you see a light there you have never seen before!
My prayer for each of you today is for a fresh EXCITEMENT to come into your lives! An excitement so that you want to be in God's house more. I pray going to church does not feel like an obligation, but an HONOR! If you have a church home, and someone invites you to attend a Sunday evening service, I pray you become so hungry that you jump at the opportunity to go to church again! I pray for a hunger inside of you to simply have MORE of God! There is something amazing that happens when the people of God come to church with an EXPECTATION of meeting Him there!
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