Why Should I Attend Church?

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:24-25

Do you attend church regularly? As we can see from the scripture above, God considers getting together with other believers important. He tells us not to neglect it. 

Why?

What good does it do?

Well, the easy answer to "why" is because God said so.

The longer answer to "why" is the answer to "what good does it do?."

The Benefits of Church Attendance (as I see it)

• It gives me a place to belong and a spiritual family to belong to.
• It gives me a chance to spend time in worship with other believers.
• I learn more about God by hearing His word and the message that He has laid on the heart of the Pastor.
• I am encouraged to greater love for others and to good works as I serve those around me (and not just in church).

These are all great reasons to attend church, but I've left one very important reason out. You see, all of the above is focused on what I get out of church, but what's more important is what I give to others while I'm at church. I'm not talking about money, although, giving the tithe (10th of my income) is a part of my weekly worship. I'm talking about helping others to experience the benefits I've listed above. How can I help others to get the most out of coming to church?

I can...

• Welcome them with a hug or handshake and a sincere, "It's good to see you this morning. How was your week?"
• I can enter fully into the worship time by singing the songs, clapping my hands, raising them to God. This may encourage others to worship God wholeheartedly, too.
• I can listen intently to the message, taking notes and jotting down scripture references. After church, I can share briefly a highlight or a scripture that particularly spoke to my heart and ask others what spoke to them.
• I can show real love by being attentive to the needs of others and by serving in some capacity in my church.
• I can be part of a small group that meets during the week to go over the message again and dig a little deeper into the topic, so that we all can grow in our relationship with God.

God wants us to stir one another up. 

Sometimes that takes a negative form. Some use the time after church to criticize the Pastor, the message, or another believer. They might complain about the music, the temperature in the room, or any number of things. That will stir things up, for sure, but that's NOT what God meant. We are to encourage one another, refresh one another, even challenge one another to take the next step in spiritual journey. 

Daily life - problems, busyness and stress all tend to weary us through the week. Sundays give us the chance to revive, refresh and renew. Not just for ourselves, but to be a part of building others up. We were never meant to do life alone. We are better together.

So, I leave you with this; how will you strengthen others this Sunday? How will you "stir up one another to love and good works", this week? How can you give as much as you get?

As you put this into practice, you will find that the more you give to others, the more you will be blessed by great friendships and support, yourself. Go on, give it a try this Sunday and let me know how it works out.

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Why would God give you more blessings than you need?

"And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything—enough to give to every good work. God is the One who gives seed to the farmer and bread for food. He will give you all the seed you need and make it grow so there will be a great harvest from your goodness...He will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will cause many to give thanks to God."

2 Corinthians 9:8,10-11 (NCV)

God does not bless us with more than we need so that we can indulge ourselves. If He gives us more than we need (not want), it's because He wants to use us to bless others.

Photo courtesy lusi ,rgbstock.com

All around us, people are in need. Kids who need back-to-school clothes and supplies, a single mom who needs diapers and formula, an elderly person who needs help with medical bills or house repairs.
God has placed us exactly where we are in our neighborhoods, our jobs, our churches. He knows the needs of those around us and would love to use us to help meet those needs. 

"But I don't have lots of extra money," I hear you say. Here's a radical idea...what if we downsize a bit - simplify our lives? What if we get rid of those things we don't really need. Sell them and give the money to help others. What if we really step out and give away something we need? Do we trust God to provide for us as we show generosity to others?

It's tempting to hold on to what we have...just in case. Fear of the future keeps us from stepping out in faith.

Sometimes we cop the attitude that "I worked hard for this, why should I give it away even if it's extra money?"

I don't have all the answers, but what I do know is that God is challenging me to trust Him more. To be willing help others, then trust Him to help me.  Recently God supplied over $4000 that we needed to cover the expense of surgery. It came in bit by bit from unexpected sources and arrived just at the right time. This convinced me that God wants us to help others and that He is able meet all my needs..

We (my husband and I), are excited about this new season in our lives...learning to stretch our faith and trust God beyond what we can see and do for ourselves.

Here's what I know...God is faithful to His Word!

Has God provided for you after you helped someone else?
Do you use extra funds to help others?
Would you consider downsizing or selling some things off in order to help someone in need?

Would love to hear your comments.

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(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

No More Whining

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (New International Version 1984) - Luke 6:35

This verse has special meaning to me. You see, several years ago we sold a truck to a friend for much less than we felt we could get elsewhere, because...well, because he was our friend. He needed a vehicle to get back and forth to work, but didn't have much money. We let him take possession of the truck with the agreement that he would make 9 monthly payments. He made one payment. That's all.

While our friend was not my enemy and we never had harsh words over it, as the months passed, it did cause hard feelings in my heart. Feelings that I let fester. Feelings that gradually built a wall between us. This is not acceptable for a child of God.

I whined to God - Lord, we were trying to help him out and look what he did to us. You know we could use the money. Why would you allow him to treat us like that? Whaa-whaa-whaa ...

Pitiful, right?

Well, God has used this verse to remind me that He gives, He loves, He is kind - even to those who are wicked and ungrateful. He reminded me that everything I have was given to me by Him and that I don't need to fuss about what is "owed" to me. Now, when we lend, we truly consider it a gift. If the person decides to pay it back, wonderful, if not, that's okay, too, because God is our provider and because giving freely emulates the Father's gift to us.

No more whining...well, at least not about people who don't pay me back. I'm still workin' on some other stuff.

Aren't we all?     

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(Copyright© 2012 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

Our Faithful Provider

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians4:19 (NIV)


"And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NLT)

Today is payday! 

That used to be the day when we thought about how much fun we could have with the extra money left over after paying the bills. Now? Not so much!

Now, I wonder how we are going to pay the left over bills after the money is gone.  Notice, I said wonder, not worry, because I've learned that God does indeed supply all our needs.  We live rather frugally, being careful not to waste money on things we don't need and not to run up bills we can't pay, but in this economy, our basic expenses have continued to rise, while our income has not.  It makes for a very interesting experiment in dollar stretching, but no matter how far we stretch the dollars we have, when we write it all out in black and white, we don't make enough to pay the bills...still, the bills get paid.  Isn't that amazing?

I believe that we live under the blessings of God because we have always been faithful in obedience with our giving. God says to bring him the tithe (10%) and offerings (anything above the 10%) and then promises that He will meet our needs...and He does!

It's always a joy to see that we can trust God to provide food for the table, gas for our cars, a roof over our head and clothes on our back.

Do we have lots of extras? No, but - our God supplies all of our needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus!

Prayer:
Thank you, Father, that your Word is true and they we need not worry about our needs, knowing that you are faithful to keep your Word. Help us to be a blessing to others as you bless us. Amen

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(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)