Good Works

        Hello friends!  I hope each of had a wonderful Memorial Day holiday, as we remembered the heroes who “gave all” to keep our country free!  We didn’t go “out,” but rather stayed close to home and tried to get some yard work and other projects finished!

       Recently in our worship service the pastor talked about faith and doing what is acceptable and pleasing in God’s eyes.  There is scripture that asks “what good is faith without works?”  (James 2:14-25)  We cannot enter heaven based on our works, but it is because of our faith we do good works!  This is a demonstration of our faith.

       A friend of mine is very involved in her church ministries.  She grew up in the church and has always given of herself to lead, teach Sunday school and was heavily involved in the administration of the church.  What is sad, however, is this wonderful woman believed doing “good work” is enough to please God and enter into heaven.  Even with scripture she is very familiar with, she seems to miss the point.

       She certainly is not the only one who believes if they work really hard, live a good life, help people in need and go to church every Sunday, they will find themselves in heaven come judgment day.  This is not the case.  We must believe in faith that Jesus was born, grew to be a man yet is God, was crucified, buried and rose again for our sins!  It is with acceptance of these facts and the faith within us, that allows us to believe something we have not personally witnessed is true, along with a confession of sin and true desire to know Jesus that we can be forgiven, and become children of God.  It is at this point when we can know that one day we will spend life eternal with our Savior.

       Do you know him today?  Is he Lord of your life?  If not, consider his summons on your heart.  Accept him and give your life as acceptable service that will be pleasing to him.

Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe.

An Eternity to Worship!

Revelation 22:1-5 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,  in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse ; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him;  they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  And there will no longer be any night ; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

       This scripture makes my heart sing!  What a joyous visual of peace, tranquility, love, and worship!  But it’s the absence of things that really makes this visual even more appealing….the absence of “any curse” mentioned in verse three which is in italics.    Think of it!  All the loathsome, unspeakable, offensive, impure, repulsive or hideous images your mind can conjure are gone!   No more pain, disease, fear, disfigurations, murder, thieving, sexual immorality or any other horrible thing will be there!

       There is a caveat, however.  This scenario is for those who have chosen Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  All others will be separated from Jesus and his Kingdom forever.  Christ’s return is closer than you think!  The end times are upon us and we don’t know from one minute to the next if we have breathed our last breath.  Think about it.  Is not choosing Christ worth being lost forever?

       Last evening’s sermon was about defining “time.”  We can all discuss time in the sense of a unit of measure, but what is “time?”  And then the question deepens: what is “eternity?”  Eternity is certainly relevant to time.  Someone in our congregation said, “A long time!”  She is right.  Eternity is forever---a time of “timelessness!”  From Everlasting to Everlasting!

       Think of it, as a child of God, those who have chosen Jesus as their Savior, will spend an eternity of perpetual bliss and perfect worship!  Conversely however, is the unbeliever who will spend an eternity of agony filled with grief, loss, guilt, blame, hurt, and no hope.  This thought is quite sobering and sad.  Have you considered where you will spend eternity? 

A Place to Worship

       I am fascinated by churches.  When passing through a small town or large city, I find myself looking for churches.   And then, I check out what denomination they are, which comprises a very long list!  After denominations there are the different religions which often have other names for their places of worship.  The integrated list might look something like this:  church, temple, meeting house, basilica, cathedral, chapel, kingdom hall, synagogue or even mosque and this is not complete! 

       Some of the places of worship are elaborate and ornate while others are plain and what I call “country!”  Along with the specific “buildings” for worship when we travel we enjoy a variety of breathtaking scenery and partake in services in a variety of different places.  We have enjoyed worship outside beside a lake, in lodge at a resort, a simple worship facility with a steeple and cross atop, and in a beautiful sanctuary.

       The scenery we enjoy alone is worth worship to a God who could create something so beautiful.  We have seen mountains, waterfalls, sunsets, double rainbows, thunderstorms, rapid running rivers, blooming cactus in the desert and flowering meadow lands to name a few of the wonders

       Worship does not happen because we enter a church facility.  It happens because we are filled with awe.  We are to come to Him with sincerity and in truth. We should be in a place where we are overcome with joy and adoration for a God who loves us and wants us to have a fulfilled life. 

       Worship is a state of heart and soul that when focused on God, willingly joins the music, the message and the entire service so that all else is not important.  It is here we find a relationship with our Savior, in His spirit, and in His truth, setting the tone for sweet communion with our Lord and Savior all week long!

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:24

A Display of Enthusiasm

       My husband has been a NASCAR fan for many years, and often watches all three of the series events in a weekend when he can.  My son-in-law is a sports enthusiast of every kind and I am amazed to see when I watch a sports event even on TV, the amount of fans in the stadium who are devoted to any given sport.  Each fan there is excited about the sporting event and is not in the least bashful about showing appreciation when scores are made from his or her team or leads are taken by his or her driver.  (There are as many women at these events as men who have their favorites!)

       There is much shouting, jumping up and down with high energy, waving of hands and other sometimes unusual antics to encourage their favored athlete along.  In the stadium, everyone seems oblivious to the person next to him whether he agrees with his favored star or not.  Each seems interested only in cheering, sometimes for the sheer delight of cheering! 

There is such passion for a sports event, sometimes in discussions between friends, when not at an event; the conversation can become heated with emotion when the topics of favorite sports teams or players arise.  One will defend his favorite with all the merits he can think of and his counterpart does the same. 

       The opposite happens when we are in a group where the talk of Christ occurs.  Often the topic is soon changed, if possible.  Or the conversation stops all together and the group is soon down to one or two left chatting.  Even in a church service many are very reticent about displaying any sort of emotion in worship for their Lord and Savior.  People are afraid of being labeled a “fanatic” or looked upon as somehow being odd! 

       Our Pastor said recently that he loves to hear an “Amen” or two while giving a sermon.  He said an “Amen” to a Pastor is like “sic ‘em” to a dog!  How true!  Yet, how few respond.  It makes you wonder if the congregation is even listening to the message or are they there simply because it’s Sunday and it’s what you do on Sunday!

       I wonder why it seems so natural or normal to scream and holler at a sports event but completely unnatural to lift up praise in a worship service.  It seems our priorities are completely out of place.  God is supposed to be first and foremost in our lives.  It is Christ Jesus who wants to reign in our hearts filling us with love and joy so incredible we want to shout it from the mountain tops with friends and relatives.  Instead our discussions and excitement lean toward lesser important and worldly things.  Perhaps we need to rethink our values and reasons for excitement?

Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.   Psalm 34:3