Sunday Reflections

In today's sermon, Pastor Ryan challenged us to consider what priority the local church has in our lives.   Can we honestly say we love Him and don't love the Bride that He purchased with His own blood?  If so, maybe our love for Him needs to be examined.

I was sharply reminded how I used to be of that mindset.  I loved Jesus, but had no use for the church visible since the invisible universal church was more important than any sort of visible manifestation.  We had excuses and what we thought were "spiritual" justifications, but we was in error and disobeying what is clear in Scripture.  Not only was I going astray, but I was indoctrinating my daughter as well.  In the unpacking process, I ran across a children's book on prayer.  I had  crossed out the phrase  "We can pray to God when we go to church on Sunday." In its place, I wrote "every day."  Yes, we can pray to Him every day but to deliberately omit any reference to the Church? Ouch!  That's how far gone I was.

But in God's mercy, He used my recent trial so I would see my need of Him but also my need for the local body of Christ.  I am especially thankful for the local church where God has planted us.  May He continue to build us together for His glory.