Desire
How bad to you hunger for the Word of God? How much do you desire to be in His presence? Most of us have probably heard stories of people in Africa who have to "walk 10 miles to a neighboring village to go to church." Honestly, these stories rarely impact me...they seem too far away. After all here in America it is not that hard. We rarely would have to walk 10 blocks to find a church. It is easy for us. Unfortunately this sometimes leads to apathy on our part...
The game is on late tonight...I'll just sleep in through church tomorrow
It has been a rough week...I just need to relax Sunday morning
My friend/parents/spouse can't go today...so I'll just stay home too
Next week is going to be super busy...I need to get extra rest today
I'm tired...I'll sleep in instead of getting up to read my Bible
This blog is NOT pointed at anyone...except maybe me...I'm not trying to preach...but just keep reading.
Yesterday I had the privledge of sitting next to Mike S. in church. Mike inspired me yesterday...and he shamed me at the same time. I had slightly grumbled about having to "wake up an hour early" due to the time change. I had eaten a good breakfast and then drove the 2 miles to church arriving pretty early (25 minutes early) so that I could talk to people. I was feeling good about myself.
Mike was also there...though he had arrived a bit earlier...1:30 am to be exact. Mike lives about 13 miles away from our church. His car broke down this week, but Mike was not going to let that keep him from church. So, at 8:00 on Saturday night Mike started to walk. He arrived at 1:30 and fell asleep in an entrance area outside our church.
And when I walked in to church he greeted me with a big smile.
Do I have that much desire? Do you?
Thank you for challenging me Mike.
posted by Darin @ 7:44 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Isn't that an amazing story!? Really put me in my place when there's times that I feel sorry for myself for not wanting to go to a church activity.. He was SO determined and made church a priority.. so much that walking for 5 1/2 hours overnight wasn't an issue. WOW!
Yes, Connie.. he had a way home!
That was hilarious Connie! I told myself to watch at about 11:20 to see if someone would walk in. This time thing is confusing, but I am really liking how late it stays light!
I think you are right both ways Jes. I think that attending church is an important part of growing in Christ. I would have a hard time staying focused on Christ if I wasn't involved in a church. But, you are also right in that we can get our focus on "church" instead of Christ. This is a dangerous place to be and this is where the dirty R word (religion) comes into play. We must always remember that Christ is always our focus...not church.
I also think that God challenges us in different ways. Right now He is obviously challenging Mike to be at church. Right now God is challenging me with my quiet times. He is constantly asking me how much I desire a relationship with Him through my quiet time.
I guess that the bottom line is that we can't know how God is challenging others. Lets try to positively encourage/challenge each other to grow. Growth in Christ is what it is all about.
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