Giong to Church

Ecclesiastes 5 begins "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God." In the NIV, this section of Ecclesiastes is entitled "Stand in Awe of God". Essentially, it's all about making sure our worship is real and not superficial. When we go to church, we are there to worship Him… to praise Him… to spend time in His presence… filling ourselves with Him. Yet sometimes we go to church as if we're doing God a favor by showing up. As if we're gracing Him with our presence. We put on the church face and hang out with the fellow saints instead of learning and growing with the fellow sinners.

Last week we prayed about focus. Focus is a good starting point as we go to the house of God. We need to remember why we're there. It's so easy to get distracted. See if you recognize any of the following thoughts and distractions:

- This service is lasting a lot longer than usual…
- I wish she'd sing softer because she sure can't hold a tune…
- That guy's nodding off to sleep…
- Can you believe what she's wearing…
- Is there a game on this afternoon…
- Those people didn't put anything in the offering…
- What should I have for lunch after this…

Many of you have probably read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Take a look at the second letter - it's a great example of distraction at church. One other distraction bears mentioning. Many of you serve at your church and that's terrific. All churches need many servants. However, it can become a distraction if your service starts taking the place of your worship. Time spent serving God is no substitute for time spent with God. If you're doing this, you need to find a balance. If you know somebody doing this, you need to lovingly share with them what you're seeing.

So this Wednesday, let's pray that we are authentic and real about our worship. That we remember we are there to worship. That we don't let distractions turn real worship into superficial worship. That we learn how to stand in awe of God.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob