Trust and obey

As I travel around talking to different people about the Lord, one recurring theme I encounter is how disgruntled so many people are about churches. Buzz words include: “Too many hypocrites, boring, obsessed with money, too political, lost touch, dead as a doornail, judgmental, too liberal, too fundamentalist, and I get nothing out of it”.

The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that we need fellowship with other Christians in order to withstand the war that satan and his hordes of demons are waging against our daily lives. It plainly tells us not to forsake the gathering together of ourselves.

If we accept the premise that the Bible is the divinely inspired, unerring, word of God almighty, and aside from helping us to find salvation, one of its primary purposes is to teach us how to find peace, joy, and happiness through finding and fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives, then we know that it is absolutely essential to our well being to gather together to worship and we must adhere to this important mandate for our lives.

Many contend, “Well if I’m not getting anything out of it, then why bother?”

HmmmI must admit that on occasion indeed that very thought has crossed my mind. That just means that satan is whispering those same lies in my ear, because I firmly believe that thought comes directly from satan who does not want us to gather together.

The Bible tells us plainly that we cannot stand alone. It gives us an example in Ecclesiastes 4:12 – “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”

We need each other to strengthen and encourage one another. In addition to building up our spiritual strength it is also an expression of our love for God and our obedience to His commands. We cannot stand alone against the superior forces of the dark side and I can assure you THEY are not standing alone in their assault on our lives. We should be combining our prayers in a unified fashion against these powers, principalities, and unseen forces whose goal is to destroy us.

Maybe small groups are part of the answer. I have spoken to several groups in my area from Madison to Thomasville to Tallahassee. Some are non-denominational and are regularly meeting in banks and businesses and some are affiliated with churches and meet in lunchrooms and meeting rooms. All have the common desire to learn more about the Lord and want to learn how better to serve Him and thereby improve the quality of their own lives and those in their communities.

Yesterday I met with a group called the Skeptics. The name seemed a little misleading to me, because to a person, (that I met anyway), they all seemed deeply committed to the Lord and not skeptical at all. The meeting began at 7 a.m. and lasted an hour in order for these businessmen to get to work on time. We met in a conference room located within the business of a local businessman. The meeting opened with prayer and then we sang a song. Now I must admit the song was a little out of tune and on a couple of higher notes made me cringe a little as though someone was raking their fingernails across a blackboard, but I’m sure it was beautiful to Jesus Christ who was standing right their among us.

Huh? Yes you heard right, the Bible tells us that anytime two or more people gather together in His name, Jesus is standing right there among us. Yikes, that puts it into a different perspective, does it not? Those guys who gorged on too many donuts and slept through part of my testimony should beware, because Jesus was watching

I’m going to start a small group at Honey Lake Chapel as soon as it’s completed in April. I cannot guarantee that the music or the message will be great all of the time, but I won’t be taking up a collection and will be serving coffee and donuts. If you have or have not found a church home yet, I invite you to join us.

I should make clear that I don’t believe it should be a substitute for attending church, rather a supplement. My feeling is that if you cannot find a church that suits you, perhaps you should look harder and widen your search. If all else fails get some like-minded brothers and sisters together and found a church of your own and mold it into one more to your liking. My father was instrumental in founding two churches in his lifetime and today both are rather large.

Remember we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and that includes finding or founding a church of our liking. We can know with certainty through our Bible study that God want us in church keeping the Sabbath holy. If we want to thrive or even survive we should go to church this Sunday. Selah

Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one anotherand all the more as you see the Day approaching.