In a land full of churches you would think it would be easy to find a gathering of believers that you can connect and worship with. So, I hopped online to look at some websites. Before I go any further let me just say you can learn a lot and nothing all at once by looking at these websites. I mean, I learned alot about one place that had on it's opening page- "Help us pay down our $2,100,000 debt"! I kid you not it said that! I learned that it was not the place for us! Two million dollars for a building! Just think what they could have done with that money to actually make a difference in this world! Ugh- it really disgusts me when ....oh wait never mind I will save that for another time. But for as much as you learn on these sites there is still so much you can't learn until you walk in the door. Like, do these people really want to know Father God, how do they view the church, do they care more about getting a building or being the hands that serve the lost? So, that is what my family and I have begun doing. Looking for a group of believers to gather with.
This is so foreign for us. We have NEVER had to look for a place to worship, but we are now and it's an interesting process. So, I thought I would blog about this journey. This quest to find a place for us to gather. I literally could blog non stop for a full year and still be left with churches we haven't gotten to in this area. There are so many different churches here- well not many Catholic churches but a few. Anyway, I think it's pretty safe to say that we won't have to visit that many churches to find where God wants us. There are some that we just know are not for us- not now - hopefully not ever. So, let's see how this goes.
I always find it interesting to hear of other's journey of faith. What I have learned from this is that there is no one right journey but only 1 right destination. So I have learned to respect the journeys that others take even when I want to shout NOOOOOO.
ReplyDeleteIn reading your blog I was reminded of John 4 about the woman at the well. The Samaritan woman is thirsty and asks Jesus for a drink. He tells her that the only drink that will quench that thirst is a drink of Himself. No one, no place, nothing can satisfy that thirst but Jesus Himself.
I also see how the woman is making references to places to truly and sincerely worship God: this mountain or Holy Jerusalem. Jesus redirects her attention from a PLACE of worship to a POSITION of worship: spirit and truth, which could be found only in Himself.
I have found in my personal journey that as I sincerely sought God the thirstier I got till I realized the drink was not to be found anywhere but in the Person of Jesus. That as I sought "a church" to sincerely worship Him I would always be seeking in the desert till I realized I was to worship in spirit and in truth and not at a place.
I can now worship Father God either alone or with His Body in Spirit and in Truth and not at a specified place. Now that is freeing and unlimited!
I totally agree that a PLACE of worship is not needed in order to receive from Jesus. In fact it's not in a room full of other people that I hear Father God the loudest but rather when I am alone and spending time with Him. For us finding a church to gather with is in addition to our relationship with Father God. A place to share with others as they share with us. A place to celebrate with others in a group setting.
ReplyDeleteKind of like I don't have to be married to know what love is. It's from God who I receive love and fulfillment but I choose to be married to share that with someone else and to experience life with. My husband can't take God's place but it sure is fun to have someone to walk it all out with.