How do you go to church?
Your attitude makes a difference!
Many people go to church to be refreshed from the challenges of the week. For fellowship and encouragement, for a good bible challenge and inspiration to make it through another week. All good.
But there is more to it than that. The church family is not about you. God uses it to change you and to carry out his mission of reconciliation with the world. He is at the center. He leads His church.
Humility is important.
Part of having the mind of Christ.
Give up trying to control God’s church and let Him lead it. Surrender your will to Him and pursue becoming the person He is making you.
Humility is needed to prepare out heart to be changed by the Holy Spirit.
From reading the NT is obvious that unity is important to God. The goal of the church is to have unity as we carry out the mission of Christ.
We should daily be approaching God and His Word with a desire to be changed. That means seeing ourselves as He does. Letting go of our wants and desires and submitting ourselves to His will.
This is a life of denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Him. Not pursue your passion until you get what you want. Surrender your passion to Jesus and let Him change it to worship.
How do you go to church?
Other people are there, surprise surprise! What do you do with that fact? How do you approach them? The church gathering IS NOT ABOUT YOU.
It is foremost about God. Give Him first place on that day at that time along with every day and all your time.
But people are there. Inconvenient I know. But what do you do with the fact that these are people God loves, Jesus died for and He has gifted you to serve?
Consider others better than yourselves. Phil 2:3
Genuinely strive to love the church. People are not always/usually easy to love. They have bad habits, many are immature, hypocrites abound – and that is just in the leadership of the church!
But God calls you to love them and gifts you to serve them.
Pray for a real desire to help your church family grow. Really consider how you can serve the people in your church. Prayer is great, always pray for them, but you need a real relationship and time with them to get to know them and their struggles. Care about them, care for them.
Real humility will allow you to get together with your church family and serve them as you worship God. Serving His family is PART of worshiping Him.
This week, examine your heart first. Approach God with humility and a desire to be like Him. Get together with His family joyfully, with a heart to serve and love these people God is changing to be like Jesus, one day at a time.
And give thanks!