What Now? 9

Colossians 2:6-8

I rarely have the Lord’s Prayer as part of the Sunday service. I know this disappoints many members in the congregations, but I think it is more important that we learn to pray in our own words and pray from the heart.

The Lord’s Prayer was the first prayer I learned as a child. I remember the day I finally memorized it – probably when I was about seven years old. I knew all the words but I couldn’t tell you what any of it meant. When I hear the Lord’s Prayer being said in church I wonder every time if people know what they are saying or if they are simply speaking what they have memorized.

The letter to the believers in Colosse offers some encouragement. As believers in Christ, what are we to do? What should be our attitude? What should we guard against?

Belief in Jesus requires more than just the words declaring that we believe. If we will be truly Christian in our faith then we must live out what that means. We must make the Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit of God part of who we are and how we act. All of the lessons from Jesus should be what our faith is founded upon, and these should give us the strength and ability to live out our faith.

How do we live out our faith? We do so by being merciful to others. We live out the love of God by welcoming the non-believers into a life of belief, a life where they may have a genuine connection and relationship with Jesus. We live out our faith by doing what we can to help those in need – physically, emotionally and spiritually.

A relationship with Christ means that we let the teachings of Jesus guide us and govern us in what we do. Would Jesus ignore that poor person? Would Jesus forget about the person in the hospital, the widow alone at home?

Of course he wouldn’t. So we shouldn’t either. We should take the time to be with those who need our presence and our compassion.

Our faith is all about living in love and not about memorizing prayers, mindlessly reciting responses, or singing familiar songs without paying attention to what the words mean. Our faith is about bringing others into that place where we hold our love for God and one another in common.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you find someone who needs you today and go to them?

What Now? 8

Romans 14:16-18

A sore spot in many churches today is the implementation of modern styles with the use of current music and unique ways of preaching – like video clips, pictures, discussions and hands-on activities. Contemporary music and worshiping without sitting in pews is foreign and unacceptable to many traditional believers. Usually the solution is to separate – have a traditional service AND a contemporary service – but that seems to go against what we read in Acts 2 of having everything in common.

In his letter to the emerging church in Rome Paul offers some guidance. What does he urge in verse 16? What is our faith NOT about? What IS our faith about?

We have seen that the early church brought a change to the way things were. The changes started with Jesus, who went against tradition and tried to show what was at the heart of faith. Like the old religion we too can get lost in our traditions. We can fall back into the same tired old ways of going about our faith. But we need to keep ourselves out of the stagnation of the old ways of doing things.

I am not promoting that every tradition needs to be jettisoned from the church. Rather we must approach our faith – old traditions and new behaviors – with a spirit and heart that is focused on serving God. Instead of allowing our faith to fall asleep we need to let the Holy Spirit breathe new life into us so we can actively live out God’s love and reach the lost.

Being welcoming to the new believer can be considered unclean by many. Changing our ways to accommodate those unfamiliar with church can be unacceptable. But we cannot allow what is done with good intention to be considered evil. Faith is about more than ritual and tradition.

If contemporary music is used in worship, not to entertain but to reach a person at their level of experience and comfort, then there can be nothing wrong with that. If the worship service deviates from traditional methods to present God’s word in a new and dynamic way that new believers can identify with, then there can be nothing wrong with that. Our faith needs to be about sharing righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What is something new you can bring to your faith life?

What Now? 7

Mark 7:5-6

I have heard it said on several occasions that the problem with today’s world is young people just don’t know the old gospel songs. The thinking is that if we could all practice religion the way it was done years ago everything would be good. I can’t believe that if everyone could learn the words to “On That Great Getting’ Up Morning” the world would be a better place. Our faith needs to be real and true, founded in our hearts and lived out in our actions in whatever form our current society calls for.

In this reading from Mark Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders of the day. What was the problem? How did Jesus respond?

The last word in Acts 2:44 is koinos. It is Greek and means “common” – as in, the believers “had everything in common.” But the same word is used in Mark 7:5 (and many other places, such as Acts 10:14, Romans 14:14, and Hebrews 10:29) and means “unclean.”

We may be able to infer that sharing something with others, having something in common, was an unacceptable – unclean – practice among the Jewish religious leaders. If we look at Jesus’ response to the criticism of the Pharisees we can see that many who held to the old religion were focused on the ritual, the appearance, of holiness. Such an approach was a selfish approach. The emphasis was on the individual achieving purity, and such an approach was elitist, separating the faithful from others.

Jesus brought a new approach to faith. The rituals were not as important as the heartfelt actions and commitment to God and this went against tradition.

As we consider the question “what now?” in our faith, as we ask ourselves what we will do now with our belief in God, we must examine a new way of living out our faith. We must honor God with our hearts; that is, we must do good work, express mercy and kindness, commit ourselves to sharing love even if (especially if) we must change how we behave. We very well may need to shake up the way we act as Christians. We may need to move from inactivity to action – actively expressing God’s love in what we do.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you honor God with your heart and not just your lips?

Why Church? 5

Luke 4:16

A very common image of Jesus is one of him walking through the villages and countryside of Galilee and Judea teaching and healing people. We have this image that Jesus was always out and about doing ministry. While this is true in a very large part, we often overlook the details in the Gospels that talk about the times when Jesus returned to his home or took part in the religious ceremonies of his faith.

Today’s passage gives us some details about Jesus. Where has he gone? Why did he do this? What does he do there?

While it is true that Jesus did not have as part of his Great Commission, “Go and build churches and sit in their pews,” it is not true that he was against organized religion. This passage in Luke is one of many references throughout all four Gospels of Jesus attending a worship service either at the Temple in Jerusalem or in a local synagogue.

Luke makes the comment that he did this “as was his custom.” This is not the first or only time that he entered a place of worship and took part in the worship service. It was his custom to do this.

And not only that, he was an integral part of the service. He stood up to read from the Scripture. He taught or preached in the synagogue.

So, we are to imitate Christ. He attended organized religious services. He took part in worship. Therefore, I believe we are supposed to gather with other believers and be part of worship.

However, as we imitate Christ we must remember to follow his lead in all of his ministry. Although he did attend weekly worship services he also took his ministry outside the walls of the church. He did go out to the people, those who may not have been connected with his own place of worship.

Jesus honored God in worship and he also took the love and mercy of God out into the world. We should attend church. We should worship God. But we should also take our “church” outside the church building to those who need to know of God’s love and mercy.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you extend the walls of your “church?”

Why Church 4?

Hebrews 10:25

I make no bones about it – it is very discouraging to look out across a church Sanctuary and see so many empty places. Part of it is the fact that I am going to put the same amount of prayer and effort in a sermon for ten people as I would for a sermon for a thousand. So, it would be wonderful to have a large congregation, to know I am reaching many with the message.

But the biggest discouragement is the awareness that so many people are missing out on an opportunity to hear the Word of God and to have their spirits renewed. There is plenty of room for someone else to come to church.

Why aren’t people in church? There are many reasons. The biggest is simply, “I’m too busy.” Others find it dull. Others fear the judgmental looks of members. And I am certain there are hundreds more excuses to be given.

The author of Hebrews has a simple message regarding “church.” What are we NOT to do? What should we do when we meet together?

Flagging church attendance is obviously nothing new. The author of Hebrews in the First Century addressed this trend of people falling away from regular meetings to worship. Like us, I am certain they had the same reasons for not gathering.

But we can see that we are not to allow our organized faith meetings to be neglected. Gathering for worship, gathering for church, is part of our faith. It is important to be in a time of fellowship with other believers. It is important to spend time in the presence of God.

Many will claim that the boredom and the judgmental attitudes of others keep them away. But our worship should not be a dull time nor a time of judgment. It is meant to be a time of encouragement, of building each other up in the faith.

And so, if your place of worship is seeing declining attendance and you hear of those who stay away because of judgmental attitudes, it is your place to step in and change things. It is your place as a believer in God to work at making your church time a time for encouragement and welcome and joy.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What can you do to make church a time of encouragement?

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?

Why Church? 2

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?

Why Church? 1

Exodus 20:8

There’s a joke buzzing around through e-mails about a child who is asked if he knows why he is supposed to be quiet in church. “Because so many people are sleeping,” he says.

It’s amusing and, unfortunately, somewhat true. Many people find church services boring and tedious, so many, in fact, that we may sometimes ask, “Why church?” Why do we attend church? Or, at least, why do some people see a need to attend church, and why is church attendance emphasized by many?

The traditions and structures of many organized religions can be seen as archaic and pointless in today’s society. While there may be some merit to such a criticism and observation – many claiming the name of “Christian” use it almost as a shield against the outside world, embracing an elitist and separatist attitude – it is important to worship God.

After leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God, the basics of good behavior, the foundation to a relationship with the Almighty. What is the fourth commandment?

This is a simple command. We are to take a portion of our time – one seventh – and make it holy to God. We do that by spending time worshiping God, honoring Him, praising Him, thanking Him for what He has done. Our holy time – our Sabbath – should be a time when we commune with our Lord.

Although the command says nothing about a sanctuary or altar or pews, it is the beginning of worship. It is the beginning of church. God has decreed that we have holy time set aside for Him.

A common response is that a person can worship God anywhere at any time. Church is not necessary. But I would first challenge those who make such a comment with the question – do you worship God anywhere and at any time? Or is this an excuse not to attend church?

Although the Ten Commandments do not address the corporate gathering of believers we have come to call “church,” God later decrees in Exodus 25:8 – “have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” This is the next step in what we call “church.”

We must set aside time to be with our God because our God desires to be with us, to dwell among us. Your place of worship can be a perfect place to find that time of togetherness with God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you make your Sabbath or worship time holy?

Savior 4

Hebrews 12:22-25

As part of a project that Peggy and I worked on along with some friends, we visited many churches in our hometown to learn about their history and take pictures of both the outside and the inside of these great houses of worship. It was fascinating to see the different churches, the various architectures, the many stained glass windows and ornate décor within. It was such a spiritual thrill to feel the presence of God in so many diverse places, and to be made aware of how vast and all-encompassing God can be.

I was impressed by these huge churches, it’s true, but those were not the only places that I encountered the Spirit of God. I have been moved to tears and felt the awesome grace of our Lord in small gatherings in living rooms, in dining halls, and even in my own car.

It is not the place that connects us to God, although a place of worship is designed to help us make that connection. What brings us into communion with God is our own soul searching for our Lord and Savior.

The writer of Hebrews is talking about the need to search for God and to find him, connecting with him through Jesus. How does the writer describe this encounter with the Most High? Jewish tradition was to offer sacrifices, sprinkling blood before God to please Him. How does the blood of Jesus speak a better word than the sacrifices of Abel? What is the final warning given?

Where do we find holiness? Is it only in the large cathedrals, the high-ceilinged churches with stained glass windows and tall pulpits? Is God only in those places where thousands gather to worship and raise voices in song?

No. God is in every place made holy by those who come before him acknowledging that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. The holy mountain that is spoken of, that holy place described here, is within the hearts of the faithful. When our hearts become humble before God, when we confess our sins and ask Jesus to rule our lives, then we are joined with all the angels and the saints everywhere and in every time. We become part of the living God.

We cannot miss this important fact of our faith. We have been taught and warned by those on earth, beginning with Moses and on through all the prophets until Jesus Christ, and then beyond Christ, by the writers of the New Testament and all who preach the good news of salvation even today. Now God calls you from heaven to accept his Son as Savior. Do not turn away from Jesus.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be part of thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly?