More on Church...

Well, I said I would a write a post about the church so here goes...First of al,l I want to clarify: for the purposes of this particular post, when I use the word church I am referring more to a body of believers who gather weekly as a congregation rather than all believers as a whole. However, most of this could apply to either definition of the word. In this post I want to answer the question " Why do we go to church?"
First of all, lets get to the root of why we go to church...actually let me rephrase that. Lets understand the purpose of the Christian life : We were made to glorify God and give Him honor. Therefore, we go to church to glorify God. (I could technically just stop here because that pretty much sums it up, but I feel like writing so I will expand on this a little) In Revelations 1:20 the word lampstand is used as a metaphor for the church.  This sheds light (ha ha get it ;) ) on the fact that the church is to be a light in a dark world, a place where truth reigns and ultimately a place where people can find the Light. In Matt 28:19 Christ says to "Go and make disciples.." I believe that another responsibility the church has is to bring people to a deeper understanding of God so that they can better emulate Him.  As C.S Lewis states " The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs." As I said before, we go to church to glorify God and as we come to know Him more we glorify Him more.  The structure of a church is also important so that when a brother or sister strays from the Lord there are people around them to inact church discipline in a loving way ( Check out I Cor. 5:1-13). We also go to church to gather with fellow believers to admonish one another and spur each other on to good works (Heb. 3:13). Church is also a place where we go to worship God through praise/singing/music/prayer (Col. 3:16; Jms 5:13..and lots more verses that I can't recall right now). I feel as though there is so much more I could say, but my day of driving is getting to me so I should probably stop and call it a night. The main point that I hope I was able to get across ( although poorly written..my mom would kill me if she saw my grammar/lack of paragraphs) is that going to church is about GLORIFIYING GOD not about going to "see and be seen".

Joy

I will write another post about my thoughts on the church, but I just needed to get some words out and this blog is a good way for me to do that. Tonight, I took some time to reflect on some of the moments of my day and thank God for them. I’m not gonna lie, I came home from work in a dejected attitude. I had a rough day to say the least (or so I thought) However, now that I really think about it, my day was pretty amazing. You see, sometimes you have to look a little closer to find the good, but when you do you become overwhelmed with God’s goodness and beauty. First revealing of beauty : I got to see the cute white New Liberty ducks  ( as I like to call them) waddling across the street early this morning. Second: accessed the vein of a patient on the first try (a patient with EXTREMELY fragile veins) (If you aren’t a nurse you probably don’t understand the moment of happiness you experience when this happens). Third: it was so warm and sunny that I drove with my windows down. Fourth: I got to spend some time with a man who served our country and thank him for it. Fifth: watched the sun set from my rocking chair on the front porch while listening to my favorite music. Sixth: had the house to myself for a few hours this evening. Seventh: God gave me a sweet reminder of where my joy comes from..and that this earthly life isn’t all there is…it’s not even close.

1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Church

I had a conversation just recently that made me a little sick to my stomach..( and no it does not have to do with some gross nurse thing). I was having a conversation with a stranger and we came across the topic of church ( I jumped on it b/c: church = pretty big precursor to sharing the Gospel!) Anyway, as we were talking about church this person says "Yeah back then lots of people went because it was the social gathering of the week and it was the place you could see everyone and be seen..I guess that was a good thing for the church.".In my head I was screaming "No!!! That is the WORST thing for the Church..being degraded to a social gathering!!!" However, I just smiled and nodded ( like a big wimp!) I shared what church meant to me etc. & hopefully I will see this person again and share with them that church is more than a social gathering for me because Jesus Christ is more than "just a religious leader". After this conversation I felt a little sick ( mostly because I hadn't been brave enough to tell them their view of the church was twisted & second because I realize that many people still view church as just a "place to see and be seen"). The purpose of Church has been watered down, the way many water down Christianity..wanting to make it seem more appealing or less scary/risky. A place you can go and hear all the "sweet" stories & pick and choose what from the Bible you think still applies or makes you feel all "warm and fuzzy" inside. That's not what Church is meant to be though. Yes, it is a place where you should be encouraged in your faith ( Heb. 10: 24-25) but it is also a place where you go to be sharpened in your faith (Prov. 27:17) ( & sometimes, actually a lot of the time, that hurts!).  Anyway, I still have so many other thoughts on the purpose of the Church and gathering together of the believers, but I don't really have the time or clarity of mind at the moment to get them all down in a readable fashion tonight :) So until next time, think on this: Why do you go to Church? Do you feel like it is something you have to do or get to do? Has it just become a routine part of life with no real meaning?..These are questions I have been asking myself lately and all I can say is I am thankful God is merciful.

Live in the Moment

“Live your life now not tomorrow, live your life in the moment” – this phrase is on a picture in my bathroom. I bought the artwork because it went well with my bathroom décor, but now I can see that God wanted me to buy it for more of a reason than that it went with my color scheme J  He knew I would need a reminder every day to be “all there” in every moment He gives me.  I will confess that I have let many moments slip away because I was simply too distracted or busy or wishing for the future.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it is bad or sinful to think and plan for the future God has for you.  (Trust me, I am ecstatic about the future coming of the King! Each day I wake up I hope it is the day the Lord returns) I just know that God has given us time on this earth for a reason and He wants us to be present for it.  We are to live and glorify Him moment by moment.  We should be alert to the Holy Spirit within us in every moment throughout our day. I know it is HARD. That’s because Satan would rather have us distracted, anxious, stressed, or crazy busy than have us alert and ready to do the Lord’s work. Don’t just take my word for it though..Read Luke 12:35-48 to see what Christ has to say J

"Happies"

Well...I don't really have any epiphony or interesting topic to write about at the moment. ( However, I have begun studying the book of Job and have already found some super awesome "nuggets" that I seem to have overlooked in the past..more on that to come later) Anyway, I have realized today that I have been focusing on the negative things in my life lately...in other terms I have been focusing on the cons of my current life situation (yeah, I am a pro/con list maker) and been stuck in a "woe is me" slump (which is so incredibly stupid!) Therefore, I have decided to list  a few things/situations/people that I have termed "happies" ( pretty sure I stole this term from my former roomie Leandra ( one of my happy ppl), but I don't think she would mind me using it ) Writing out this list is solely self-serving in order to help me get over my stupid slump and I realize it's probably my weirdest post yet ( or close to it)....Here goes ( btw this isn't an all inclusive list) : God's grace!, the back-up camera in my car, greek yogurt, that moment right before I completely go to sleep, unexpected bear hugs, when ppl randomly tell me they have been praying for me lately, when my pts call me "babydoll" "honey" "sweetheart" ( the sweet elderly pts that is), snow on tree limbs, when my friends randomly call/text/fb me ( or even better when they drive 5 hours to come see me), wrapping up in my soft "teddy bear" pjs, talking with the kids in my sunday school class and realizing they understand the lesson, listening to folk rock, not having to spend hours doing homework, singing at the top of my lungs in my car,  my dad rinsing off my car in cold weather because he knows I hate the salt residue, my mom taking me to see a movie mid-week to cheer me up....yep, the glass is half full again :)

I am weak but You are strong

"Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak but He is strong"

Although it is  a song that even little children can understand..sometimes I forget that this is true. I forget I don't have to be anxious about tomorrow or carry my burdens alone. I forget how BIG God is and that he not only notices me, but KNOWS me. I serve a God that not only knows my flawed self, but He gave up His very life for me...and LOVES me. Lately, I have been so torn between only seeing the day each grueling moment at a time and living in a longing for the future ( something better than the present) that I have lost sight of what is truly important. I have been so busy trying to just get through the day that I forget that every moment I live, everything I do, should be done for the glory of God...that I should consciously make an effort to glorify God in my work, my relationships, in every facet of my life. My purpose in this life isn't just to get through the day and "do it all myself"..my purpose is to give it all to Him and seek to honor Him in the process of being completely sold out to the work of Christ. ( & yes I do believe that all the patient visits, time on the road, charting, documentation, monotony etc can be used to glorify God)