“Meanwhile the eleven disciples were on their way to
Galilee,
headed for the
mountain Jesus had set for their reunion.
The moment they saw him, they worshiped him; some,
though, held back,
not sure about worship,
about risking themselves totally.”
Matthew 28:16-17
(MSG)
The remaining disciples traveled to a predetermined site-a
mountain. Jesus had told them to meet him.
They had reunited because the experiences in the Upper Room. They were
eager to go see Jesus. They must have been thankful to meet with Him again.
Do we approach opportunities to worship as we should? Or do
we make excuses and drag our feet about going to church?
A friend of mine and her husband decided early one Sunday
morning to stay home from church. He’d had a bad week and she was extra tired.
Their pastor texted them and asked them if they were going to be there that
day; he needed some help in the service.
They debated what to text back to the pastor. He didn’t want
to lie to the pastor—how would that look?
She told him that they could say they weren’t in town. Actually that was
splitting hairs. Their church is in the next town south of where they live.
They finally decided to hurry and get ready and go. They
arrived at their church with five minutes to spare. The pastor asked my friend
to sing and her husband to read scripture. The sermon somehow seemed to be
aimed right at my friend. She started out telling me the Lord taught them both
a lesson.
Several years ago, a dear lady told a group of us that we
need to prepare for worship. We prepare to go to the grocery store. Before we
take a trip, we see that our vehicle is in great shape. We plan which clothes
we will take; make arrangements for lodging. We make plans for birthdays,
anniversaries, graduations, and Christmas.
How should we plan for worship? Shouldn't we prepare our
hearts to receive what God has for us? Are we always ready to worship Him?
graphic from :humc-ny.org
That's an interesting take, Cecelia, how we prepare for worship. Are there certain things you do?
ReplyDeleteRhonda: I had fallen out of the habit of preparing myself to worship. The end of last week, I had some information shared with me that caused hurt to a lot of people. I spent time Saturday and this morning in prayer. Saturday, I made a discovery of a fact that could have been a cause in the situation I was told about. I also spent time reading and re-reading my devotional book.
DeleteI'm so glad your friends went to church that day--they would've missed out on what The Lord had for them. We need each other.
ReplyDeletePlease pray for my son, who's been out of church for several years. Thanks!
This morning, I heard our pastor tell us that when he or his pastoral assistant hears from a parent that their child is not living for the Lord,as they had reared them, they both tell the parent to never stop praying. I needed to hear that myself.
DeleteCecelia:
ReplyDeleteThis post is poignant. It's true that we often spend more time planning what movie we'll go see with our friends than preparing for church. We spend so much time feeding our bodies and minds that we often neglect to feed our souls. I consider myself a church-goer but am guilty of this very thing on occasion.
I'm glad your friends didn't lie to the pastor! Phew, the bad karma behind that one had they fibbed. ;-)
Jen, I read your comment above and will join the prayer for your son. I hope he returns to church. I've found that people do tend to return to church after some time away, so I hope the same goes for your son.
Happy Sunday!
Janette: It's so easy to fall out of the habit of preparing for worship. Fatigue, disagreements, the stress of getting children ready to go. But, the woman pointed out we owe to Jesus to be able to listen for Him.
Delete