1. Of the fifty-two Sundays a year, how many of them do you spend at your home church?
2. How many weekend trips or vacations are planned without regard to being in attendance at your home church (i.e., leave after church, make sure you're back Saturday to be at church on Sunday)?
3. What priorities take precedent to your attendance of Sunday worship of your home church?
Given it's already 11:26 and I have church in the morning, I know I'm not going to get into this as far as I want to, but I want you to think about this (as I have over the past few weeks): What is your commitment level to your church? Is it more of what programs are available for me and my kids? Or is your church a second home where you seek to serve more than be served? Or is it more of a combination of the two?
My fear is that we don't invest into our church, and I don't mean tithing. We don't seek ways we can serve, but wait until we are asked. We don't build into the lives of each other (and I don't mean getting together to play softball) When was the last time you spoke the gospel into someone at church? To your spouse? To yourself? Is the church you belong to your primary circle of friends? If not, why? The last thing I want is to guilt anyone into some legalistic action, but I want you to genuinely search yourself and find out on which foundation you've built your life on.
Ideally this is best done before the waves reveal it for you. I ran across a verse yesterday that keeps coming to mind. I could look it up on the internet and look all smart, but to be honest I cannot remember the whole thing or where it's from, but it speaks of "joy inexpressible."
If you were to face some challenge, some major storm, would your joy remain? What is the source of your joy?
Paul Tripp does this illustration where he shakes a water bottle and splashes water everywhere. He then asks, why did water come out? Most answer, because the bottle was shaken. But he says, no. Water comes out because that is what is inside the bottle.
When you're shaken, what comes out? When some other person on the road does something foolish, I shout, Idiot! When the boys continue to be zoned onto the tv or computer when asked to set the table for dinner, I quickly become irritated. I would like for it to be some righteous anger, but to be honest yet again, it's not. It's selfishness and sin on my part, despite their action, or inaction as the case may be. Kinda says something about my heart, doesn't it? What motivates that response? What motivates me?
