Find me in Church on Sunday morning

Hebrews 10:24 (New International Version)

24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

This is a powerful passage of scripture.  This is one of the scriptures that we should consider when we speak to someone who professes to be a Christian but does not go to church because they do not like “organized religion”.

I heard a great sermon on Sunday on this very topic.  In fact, I had never considered this particular verse before. It makes sense to me, though. 

Can you be a part of the church without going to church?  If you don’t go to church, at a very minimum you are robbing the Body of Christ of your talents, your energies, your exhortation.  In my humble opinion, I doubt you can rob God.  He will simply raise someone else up to complete His will. The victim of the robbery is the person who will not answer the call.  If one is not in church, one might not even hear the call.

I struggle daily with my weaknesses.  I long for the time I spend with my brothers and sisters in Christ, that I may draw encouragement from them for the battle.  If I had my way, I would spend a lot more time than I do in the protective arms of the Body of Christ, the church.  However, also in my humble opinion, that is every bit as bad as not going to church at all.

Church, then, is a part of the Christian life for me.  It plays a vital role, but it is not the end game.  I love it, I crave it, but my will needs to be to do the Lord’s will.  As with a child, I can stay close for a time, then I must venture out, and Speak the Name of Jesus Boldly.  And I thank God for Church, for fellowship with the Body of Christ, and for the re-charge my batteries get on a weekly basis.

Cliff

 

Praise God, my protector!

This morning started out like most others. Up at 4:50 am, shower, shave, dress, the usual. At 5:25 am, I stepped into the garage, hit the opener, and headed toward my truck. Suddenly, 5 feet from the garage door, I froze in my tracks. Facing me, hackles up, was a huge pit bull. It took a second, but I recognized the dog as belonging across the street. That did not, however, put my mind at ease, as I did not know the people across the street or their dog.  I did know that the dog had been there as a pup, so it was less than a year old, and the house was occupied by two or three young men. None of that information was helpful at the moment.

The dog moved slowly forward. Now it was only 4 feet away. Options were going through my mind at a whirlwind pace.  Run! Where would I go? The only option was back towards the door of the house.  I would never make it.  Challenge the dog? Somehow I knew that was not a wise idea.  I was making direct eye contact with this dog – something I knew I was not supposed to do.  However, now the dog was 3 feet away, and I was not about to look anywhere else. I was considering hitting the panic button on my truck’s key fob when the dog started wagging its tail and dropped the bristled fur on its back. I decided to talk to the dog.

“Hi, pup! What are you doing out here?” I said, or something like that.  The dog jump up at me, but playfully. I honestly tell you that for a split second, when that dog jumped, I wondered how badly I was going to me maimed. When I saw that the dog was only as startled as I was at our chance encounter, I was so relieved that I do not have the words to express it.

Now what? I walked across the street with this still very frightening pit bull at my side, jumping playfully at my hand every two steps.  I knocked on the door.  Nothing.  I knocked louder.  No response. The dog jumped on me again! This time, in a playful but aggressive manner, almost like it was saying “You play with me NOW!”  I pet the dog, trying to calm it down. It was wearing two collars, a fabric one – like my dogs wear, but much bigger – and a choke chain.  Remember the rule about collars on dogs? That you should be able to get two fingers easily beneath the collar or it was too small? This choke chain was tight.  No room for a pencil. I banged on that door hard and long!  Still nothing. I looked around. The yard, the street, everywhere was strewn with trash.  Today (Tuesday) is trash day in our neighborhood, and Fido had been feasting, probably on turkey carcasses.

I had been praying this whole time, by the way.  First, praying for deliverance.  Then, praying for guidance.  Whatever I did, I wanted God calling the shots. Now, as I continued to pray, I walked to the side of the house, and the gate was unlocked. I opened it, and the dog, which never left my side, went in. I slammed that gate fast! The dog, once it realized it had been tricked, began lunging at the gate. It was like a scene from Jurassic Park! I prayed that the gate would hold.

As I headed home, I looked towards my home, and towards my neighbor’s house.   What could have happened if Gina had encountered the dog instead of me? What if my neighbor’s 2 ½ year old daughter had? 

Tonight, when I get home, I am going to have a chat with my neighbors across the street.  I am going to tell them the events of this morning.  I am going to tell them that I was very happy to have been able to put the dog back in their yard.  I am going to tell them that the dog’s collar is too small. I am going to ask them for their phone number so I can reach them if the dog gets out again. I am going to tell them that I believe God was in charge of the whole situation.  I will pray between now and then that God give me the wisdom, the words, and the compassion to deal with this as He would have me deal with it.  I am also thanking and praising God for His hand on me this morning.

- Cliff