I Love My Church

I love my church.

No, it's not just the building that I love, although I do love it.

It's not the steeple

 or the stained glass windows, 

although I do love them as well...

 It's not the candles...

 or the decorations...

And banners...

But it is the opportunity to remember our Lord's death and resurrection and sacrifice that Christ made for me, a sinner,  

as we gather together for worship and partake of Holy Communion each week,

and it is the people...

The prayers and the Spirit of the Lord that is in this place...

The children singing and rejoicing to know  that "Jesus Loves Me..."

And the place where we celebrate marriages...

and families celebrating together...

Birthdays, Anniversaries, Baptisms, Births, New members, 

and even where we gather to celebrate the lives of those who have met their heavenly reward...

And I love the choir as we sing praises to God on high, and proclaim His glory as we worship Him...

And most of all I love the preaching from God's Word...

As we are reminded that Christ is The Good Shepherd, Who will always search for that one lost sheep, even when there are 99 good sheep obediently waiting in the fold...He will go out and search for the one who is lost and alone and will not give up until He has found it and brought it safely home... (Matthew 18:11-14; Luke 15:3-7)

The 23rd Psalm...

And As we lift up one another in prayer...praying for the sick, the hurting, the lost, our nation, our President and our leaders, our military and first responders, our families, neighbors, and our friends...

I love that The Spirit of the Lord is in this place, and I can see Him in the faces of our people, our pastor, our children...I can feel Him in my heart as we sing, and pray and read God's Word together.
I know that Christ is present in our service, and He is with us when we reach out to a lost and dying world around us and share His love with those who are hurting...

I love my church.  It doesn't matter to me the "name" of the church on the building. I know that "surely the presence of the Lord is in this place..."

Yes, I know that the United Methodist denomination has been in the news this weekend, and the news is very sad.  They say that our denomination is going to "split", primarily over issues regarding what boils down to what we believe the Bible says about homosexuality.  In other words, does God's Word tell us that it is an abomination to God, or should we just "rewrite the scriptures" to make it say what we want it to say so that people can go on living in sin... I am not going to give all the references here...because I know there are people who will say whatever they want to believe.  But I will say that I believe God's Word, as originally written.   I also believe that Christ came to redeem sinners from their sin...and like He said to the woman taken in adultery, when she was about to be stoned, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more!"   (Read John 8:1-11)  Jesus didn't say, "Neither do I condemn you, now you go right back out there and continue to live in your sins..."  No, Jesus said to go and sin no more. 

The problem is, people don't want to admit that homosexuality is a sin, and our progressive, liberal teaching of this age is promoting this lifestyle as something to be sought after, to teach our little children, to encourage and approve of rather than to try and help those caught in this trap the way to freedom.

And thus, we have a denomination that wants to split over this issue...whether or not to perform marriages for homosexuals, or whether or not to ordain them into the ministry.  Rather than teach what is truth from God's Word, they will force churches to make a choice and to take a stand one way or the other.   I am very thankful that our local church is already taking a stand. I know which way our congregation will go, as we believe God's Word is true, and we will not allow this perverted ideology to be forced down our throats.  We will, however, just as Christ loved the sinner and gave His life to redeem us, love those who are bound in this lifestyle, and will teach them truth from God's Word if they are willing to listen and learn, and we will share the love of Christ with them and pray that they will one day seek to be set free.

My heart goes out to those churches who may have to actually split their own congregations over this. There will be much sorrow in making these decisions over who will stay and who will get to keep the property, etc., and who will have to leave if they want to stand for the truth. It is heartbreaking that even families may have to make such choices. So I share this with you to ask you not to sit and pass judgment on this denomination, because sadly it is happening in many denominations in our land, and those who think it will never happen to them, be aware...and don't get caught unprepared. Our younger generation is being taught this lifestyle in preschools all the way up through colleges and even some seminaries. The progressive liberal agenda will not back down and many people are being deceived. Our future leaders will not know anything different unless we take a stand now. 

Please pray for churches everywhere...pray for pastors, denominational leaders, church leaders, and the people in the pew next to you.  We never know when we will be forced to take a stand and have to walk away from people that we love because we cannot agree on these and many other liberal issues that are taking over our nation. 

Read about the future warnings to the churches as found in the book of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3.  Then hear what Christ said to the churches at the end of the Church Age:

Revelation 3:20-22

20.  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  

If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, 

I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

21.  To him who overcomes 

I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, 

as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

22. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

I know that I want to always hear Christ's voice and open the door to Him.  I pray to always be strong enough in my faith to overcome the beguiling voices of this world, and to stand strong on the Word of God and Christ's teaching.  May my door always be open to Christ, no matter what it may cost me.

Amen.

The Secret Garden Chronicles-Day 14-The Garden of God's Creation

What a difference a day makes...the past couple of days were so chilly and raw and cloudy...making it very difficult to sit comfortably outside for any length of time.  But today I'm sitting here in the garden in short sleeves and capris...the sun is shining and it is a beautiful spring day!  Yes, I know it isn't officially spring yet, but we have been blessed with a very mild winter (even for Florida) that has seemed more like spring with the exception of a few frosty mornings and bone-chilling days.  I am so very thankful! We just need a little more rain to make it perfect...but I'm not complaining!

Our devotional readings today took us through Psalm 104 and also the first nineteen verses of Genesis.  Such beautiful images in these passages...I commend them to your reading.  Here is a portion of Psalm 104...

1.  "Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with honor and majesty.

2.  Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

3.  He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters.

Who makes the clouds His chariot,

Who walks on the wings of the wind;

4.  Who makes His angels spirits,

His ministers a flame of fire."

(Note: some of the photographs are from earlier times...not necessarily taken today, but appropriate for this powerful imagery.)

As I read through the whole Psalm 104, I am filled with awe & majesty of our God, our Creator.

Verse 24 says:

"O Lord, how manifold are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all.

The earth is full of Your possessions."

Verse 31:

"May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

May the Lord rejoice in His works."

33:

"I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

I will sing praise to my God

while I have my being.

34:

"May my meditation be sweet to Him;

I will be glad in the Lord."

I've been thinking a lot lately about how all of life, as we know it, began in a garden...
when God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it...then He created man out of the dust of the ground (see Genesis 2), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.

In verse 8 it says "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed..."

Verse 15:  "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." Then  He commanded the man, saying  (16)"Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.
(17) "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

And then God created Eve for the man Adam, and they both lived in the garden.  We don't know how long it was before the serpent came along and deceived Eve and then Eve convinced Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit...but we all know the terrible consequences of that sin.

Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden (Genesis 3:23-24), "to till the ground from which he was taken", and they were barred from ever returning to Eden because of their great sin of disobedience.
From that day on mankind has had to live a life of toil and much sorrow, because of this great load of sin that was passed on to all of the human race.

And then Jesus came!!

Click HERE for the song "Then Jesus Came" sung by Larry Wayne Morbit (Gaither Homecoming)

One sat alone beside the highway begging,
  His eyes were blind, the light he could not see;
He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows,
  Then Jesus came and bade his darkness flee. 

When Jesus comes the tempter’s pow’r is broken;
  When Jesus comes the tears are wiped away.
He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,
    For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

From home and friends the evil spirits drove him,
  Among the tombs he dwelt in misery;
He cut himself as demon pow’rs possessed him,
  Then Jesus came and set the captive free.

“Unclean! unclean!” the leper cried in torment,
  The deaf, the dumb, in helplessness stood near;
The fever raged, disease had gripped its victim,
  Then Jesus came and cast out every fear.

Their hearts were sad as in the tomb they laid him,
  For death had come and taken him away;
Their night was dark and bitter tears were falling,
  Then Jesus came and night was turned to day.

So men today have found the Savior able,
  They could not conquer passion, lust and sin;
Their broken hearts had left them sad and lonely,
  Then Jesus came and dwelt, Himself, within.

When Jesus comes the tempter’s pow’r is broken;

When Jesus comes the tears are wiped away.

He takes the gloom and fills the life with glory,

For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

The only begotten perfect Son of God, pure and sinless, born of the Holy Spirit...the only perfect sacrifice Who could atone for our sins and open up the way back to "Eden"...that heavenly garden in Paradise...where the tree of life shall be for all those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God...Jesus Christ...Who takes away the sins of the world!

In Revelation 22:3 we are told that there shall be no more curse, and the "throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him."

That beautiful garden in the new paradise where the tree of life shall be forever...

Revelation 22:13 says;

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the End, The First and the Last."

We were banished from the first garden...but because of Jesus' great sacrifice, we will live forever in the last garden!  What a beautiful and precious promise is this...all because Jesus came for YOU and for Me!!  I hope to see you in that glorious garden someday!

Click HERE for a previous post regarding The Serpent In The Garden