Ephesians 5:19-20
Many years ago in our previous church there were a great number of professional people in the congregation – insurance salesmen, doctors, lawyers, and accountants. Week after week I noticed how much of the conversations before and after worship were centered around business transactions and financial agreements. Even churches that do not have members using Sunday mornings as business opportunities we can find people who engage in conversations (or even arguments) that have nothing to do with God or spirituality.
This passage from Ephesians gives the early church and us some guidance in how to behave in our times of worship. What are we to do? How does a person make music in his or her heart?
Gathering for church and for worship is not only a time of togetherness with God, it is also a time of communing with other believers. That time should not be spent in petty squabbles or in marketplace transactions. Instead, it is to be a holy time, a time of worship and spiritual focus.
When we gather to worship we should engage in words and music that offer praise to God. We should engage in instruction and encouragement, times of comfort and courage. God should be the center of our attention and activities when we have church.
And, as we offer praise and thanks to God, we can also build one another up in the spirit. We can allow ourselves to be edified and strengthened in our faith, allowing God to equip us and prepare us for the “church” we need to do outside the walls of our place of worship.
If we can follow the instructions of Ephesians by keeping our spirits and actions focused on God and the betterment of His kingdom, then church will begin to lose that negative connotation that it has been given for so long. If we can come together with music in our hearts, music of praise and fellowship, then we can make church that time of holiness it should be.
DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to put that music of praise and thanks in your own heart?
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