Some Assembly Required

So why does it matter that we go to church? Does it seem to you that churches want your presence because they “need” you and your money to keep doing what they like to do? Or, that there is some kind of heavenly scoring system, and you are looking for points? Think about this…

So why go? It matters to go to church, and it matters for the preacher to be physically present to preach in the assembly of the church. This matters to us because it matters enough for God to tell us to:

"Assemble the people before me to hear my words" Deut. 4:10.

We need to note that hearing alone is not the point of this verse. God says to “Assemble the people” first. God is requiring the people to be together to hear His words. Notice the verse does not say “and” hear His words, but rather “to”. In other words, the assembly at times, is a requirement in order for God to speak. God speaks to us in a variety of ways, but this verse explains clearly that at times we need to be together to hear Him. Why you ask?

I believe it is because God knows our hearts, and us, all too well. There are important truths we need to hear from this verse: God does not speak to us simply by our command, and it calls us to mutual accountability.

First, God’s Word is alive and active and speaks to us when we go to it (the Bible) and listen anytime or anywhere, but we do not command it. In other words, we can’t tell God when, where, or through whom or what to speak to us. There are times when we need to simply be available to listen for and to Him, and He tells us one of these times, is when we assemble as His church.

This is because hearing God’s Word is not the sole purpose. Indeed, it is the Word of the gospel that gathers unlikely men and women under grace, but not to just hear it. Hearing it alone could be accomplished through technology in a comfortable personal bubble, but when that happens there is no “Assembly”, and falls short of what God has asked. Technology is no substitute for assembling as God’s people. So that takes us to the next truth in this verse, “Assemble”.

We assemble with "all Israel," that is, with all of a multicultural church fellowship. Not a holy huddle of like-minded folks, but an unlikely group of men and women gathered by grace. Then when we hear preaching together, we are accountable to one another. I know the truth of Scripture that you hear, and you know the truth that I hear. In other words: I know what you know, and so I know how you should act in response to this knowledge. This could, and should, make us more likely to respond with repentance and faith.

Preaching gathers the church. Preaching shapes and sustains the church as the grace of Jesus is proclaimed and pressed home to hearts, consciences, and lives. Watching a video recording of the message, or listening to one alone, is not a substitute, because it removes the assembly part. Just as “live” music needs to be experienced, so it is with preaching. And this is true for getting together to watch, or listen to recordings as well. Recordings are great, don’t get me wrong, but they are not a substitute for the real thing.

Live preaching has as its purpose, not to do really good preaching; the purpose of preaching is to let God’s Word shape the assembly of God's people to become like Christ in heart and in character, and then to be Christ-like witnesses in a needy world. This godliness of the local church then becomes the vehicle by which the world will be reached for Christ.

"whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely. . . think about such  things."  Philippians 4:8

This is not about “Church matters” this is all about being the church together, and that sometimes requires some assembly.

…just prayin’

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

A Real Turnaround

Repenting does NOT mean going to God, sorry about the way things are. True repentance comes in the form of turning towards God and new behaviors, leaving old ways of thinking, and behaviors behind us. In other words, when we stop one bad thing, we need to replace it with a good one. Stopping something without a replacement is just setting yourself up to fail.

Let's be honest. If we go to God repenting, but do not change our behavior, what are we doing? We are really just going to God asking Him to change things for us so we can continue still being the same. Does that sound silly to anyone else?

Repentance is visible only when it is accompanied with change: personal change. If you want, need, or desire change in your life, maybe what you need to start with is not trying something "New", or going to God to change "things", but to repent. Repenting who you have become, with the intention of being changed into the person God desires you to be. Maybe it is time to trust in the power of prayer:

Dear God,

You are the author of Life and the creator of all things, and I breathe the air you made with the body you have given me. I know each day is a blessing, but most of the time I seem to be moving too fast to even notice.

I am sorry. Not for the way things have become, but for who I have become. I repent, desiring to be changed, and I want to be the godly person you have designed and called me to be.

Thank you for the completed work you have done through Jesus on the cross, and for the work you are doing inside of me. 

With your strength I will be the godly person you already know I can be, living each day with fresh mercies for my mistakes, using your Word to guide me each step of the way.

In Jesus Holy Name, Amen.

If you prayed that just now, please know that I am praying for you. My prayer for you is that you can discover the change that will lead you to the person God designed you to be.

...just prayin'

In His grip,

Pastor Pat

How Far Is It From Wonder to Wander?

So, do you ever wonder what has happened to the wonder in your life? I do. I remember watching magic and really being caught up in a state of wonder. Not wondering if I could figure out what happened, or how it was done, but pure wonder. I remember feeling that I couldn’t just explain it away, and the more I tried to figure it out, the less wonderful it became.

That was a long time ago, and I guess maybe, I felt it wasn’t a feeling I could really have again. Then I had kids, and it happened; over and over again, each time I watched the birth of one of our children. Total wonder that of all the possible things that could have gone wrong, none did. That, combined with the cosmic odds against their mother and I ever even meeting in the first place, and pure wonder occurred. A few weeks ago, our oldest daughter shared that she is pregnant, and that feeling of wonder wasn’t the first thing that came over me. I started with just wondering, a wonder that was looking for answers. Then I turned around, and was filled with another wonder, one not desperate for an explanation, but rejoicing in its splendor. Wow!

You see, we don’t look for wonder any more, or to have the experience of it. It seems it is more important to explain away things or even create somewhat far-fetched stories, to avoid the possibility of something being purely wonderful. We are not the first generation to do this, and we won’t be the last. Look at this passage from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome:

 Romans 1:24-25 (NIV)
²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
²⁵ They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen.

I think that is it. Paul simply states that God gave people what they wanted: choosing created things over the Creator. They had wandered from the wonder of God, to what felt better. As I read Paul’s letter, I think it could be written today, and it could be written to us.

The word used to describe the amazing and unexplainable in the Bible, was miraculous. It was the word used to describe the obvious: miracles. The great news is that they haven’t stopped. I think we have just wandered away from looking for them. Wonder is evidence of God. Unexplained, unbelievable, unmistakable divine interventions into our lives, where the hand of God touches His creation. We need to return to God, looking at Him in wonder, and stop all the meaningless wandering that keeps us from it.

…just praying’

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat

Compared to What?

When do we reach the place, where enough is enough? Is enough some magical paradise only seen on the Travel Channel? What is enough? What is really being asked, is this: “Enough compared to what?” Because, if we are completely honest, the only way enough can be identified, is when there is a scale of some sort to measure by, so that we can “feel” we have it, because after all, that “is” what enough “is”: a feeling.

Truth: enough is not a place or a specific quantity. What is enough for me, might not be enough for you. Enough is a state of mind or condition, and I believe enough is achieved, when we are content. Look at the definition of the word content as a noun:

(n)4.

peace of mind; mental or emotional satisfaction

When we are emotionally satisfied, we are just that, satisfied: without need = we have enough. The key to recognizing whether or not we have enough, is simply to seek to be content with what we have. Sounds too simple, right? So how do we do this?

Content is the noun, and contentedness is the condition created when we possess it. This can only happen when we stop comparing. When we compare anything…something suffers. Either what we have pales in comparison, or the thing we are comparing to does.

When we compare, contentedness vanishes. As a matter of fact, contentedness dies a slow painful death by comparison. We all want to be content, but then the question come up – “Compared to what?”

Try this: Content in Christ. Anything compared to Christ, is insufficient, and what Christ offers to you, as a gift, is more than enough. This simple act can create peace in our lives beyond measure. But, we need to be diligently aware of our condition and desire to compare, in order to stop doing it. Look at these verses:

Matthew 6:33-34 (NIV)
³³ ”But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Look to Him first for everything, and believe it or not, what you will receive is more than you ask for…contentedness, and that is miraculous!

…just prayin’

In His Grip,

Pastor Pat