Why Church? 3

John 4:24

A speaker at last year’s annual conference was wearing a suit and tie when he got up to address the gathering of two-thousand who were wearing shorts, jeans, t-shirts and polo shirts. As he removed his jacket and loosened his tie he commented that good speakers should be more like their audience so that there is no mental separation between the two that might hinder the understanding of what is being said.

In John we have Jesus explaining our worship of God. What does he say of God? What must the worshipers do?

Just as a good speaker tries to imitate the audience so a good connection can be made, so a good worshiper will try to imitate God to make a similar connection. If we are to spend time in church worshiping God, then we must understand something about God. He is not an object that can be brought out and looked at. He is not some distant entity that we cannot reach.

Rather, God is spirit. God is that power and eternal flow of love and compassion that seeks a place within our hearts. To approach God properly, to make our time of church a holy time, a time of connecting with the Almighty, we must adopt a spiritual attitude.

Worship is not merely a social activity and opportunity to converse with one another. It is not merely a peaceful time of gathering where we can find our own comfort and strength. It is a time where we bring our own souls near to the eternal soul of God. It is a time of communing with the Lord, a time of adoration and connection.

To achieve this holy time and holy experience, to truly worship and adore God, we must center our attitudes in our spirits. As we prepare for worship and enter into the time and place to be with our God we must ready ourselves for the experience. Outward distractions, worries, concerns, and personal interests need to be put aside so that we can approach our Lord with our own spirit.

We must approach God in truth. And that truth should be that we love God and desire to honor Him and praise Him. In truth we must also open ourselves up to receive the Holy Spirit and presence of God that we might be changed for Him.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be certain that you are worshiping God in spirit and in truth?

Teacher 5

Psalm 119:89-92

I caught part of a television show about an ancient engineer who designed simple machines to convey water to arid lands. Experts uncovered many of his designs and plans, and discovered that they still work. Using the natural power of rivers he made water wheels and simple pumps that lifted the water high into the air, conveying the water into aqueducts.

There are certainly other ways to irrigate land today, but these machines with designs that are thousands of years old are still feasible. The principles, although old, are valid.

Education today is not what it was thousands of years ago or even hundreds of years ago. Society functions differently than it did even half a century ago. It is easy to think that what once was valid is no longer applicable.

But in fact, the word of God is eternal. The laws and teachings of our Lord are still as true today as they were at the beginning of time.

In this portion of Psalm 119 the writer makes comment on God’s word, His commands and laws. What does he say about them? Why does he say these things (look at verses 90 and 91)? What benefit does the psalmist celebrate?

The morality of our society seems to be an ever-changing thing. All around us we can see decaying morals and acceptance of those things that were once forbidden. It has been said more and more that the church, Christianity, and faith in God is obsolete.

But God is constant. God is eternal and so is His love, and so are His commandments. By listening to the teachings of Jesus, by following the word of God, we can be given the directions we need to navigate through the trials and temptations of our world. Although what is acceptable and considered good may seem to be in flux, the truth is constant. The truths of God and the teachings of Jesus are still valid and worthy of our time and attention.

By holding fast to the goodness of God, by trusting in His constant mercy, by working to understand the lessons of Jesus Christ, we are able to overcome the troubles of the world. The word of God keeps us from perishing in our afflictions. It is up to us to listen to and understand the teachings of Jesus.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How will you live out the teachings of Jesus?