Sunday, July 28, 2013

~ "A day of worship..."

And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath (Mark 2:27)

It doesn't matter if it's Saturday or Sunday.  Those of the Jewish faith worship on Saturday (the last day of the week).  Most Christian faiths worship on Sunday (in commemoration of Jesus' resurrection).  The point is to take one day and do nothing but rest and focus on God.  When we do this, we are restored both physically and spiritually.  As in the time of Jesus, "sabbath" laws (or Christian Doctrine, in some cases) have become more important than the sabbath rest itself.  The definition of the word sabbath is "a day of religious observance and abstinence from work".  So, in fact, most of us could rightly call our day of worship our sabbath. 

One of the things I miss about Tennessee is that Sundays were truly a sabbath.  I'd arrive early at church, have my "biscuit and gravy", socialize with my church family, attend Bible study, attend the worship, socialize a little more afterward, go home and REST for a while, and return for the evening service.  I was re-charged for the week!  Wednesday evenings was a smaller worship service, similar to the prayer meetings I attended in the basement of an African American church in the late 70’s, but not quite the same.  Those prayer meetings were what brought me to Jesus and allowed me to be born again.  There was nothing but praising and singing and lots and lots of love!  I often miss those days – that feeling of acceptance, of love and joy.  I’d walk away from those meetings filled with the Holy Spirit! 

If you aren’t happy where you are, if you do not walk away with the spirit of God within you, find a place where you can!  If you aren’t comfortable in your church, then maybe it’s not the one for you.  Keep looking.  There are plenty of them out there – all different faiths and denominations.  Keep in mind one thing, though.  If it is not based on the word of God (the Bible), if it’s made up of rules and regulations that you cannot find in the Bible (or seem to be stretching or loosely interpreting it), that, too, may not be the place for you.  If you truly are in touch with Jesus, you’ll know.  I’ve attended all types of “churches” – different sects and different denominations.  One church had me bored to tears and falling asleep in the pew.  Needless to say, that was not the one for me.  Some of the “new age” or “non-denominational” churches I attended seemed unfocused – no rhyme or reason to their teaching or methodology.  Only one church I attended in all my years of life made me feel welcomed, wanted and accepted, but even at that, man’s hand in God’s work (egos and power struggles) managed to turn away many long time congregants. 

So, I’m headed back to finding a church that revives my spirit.  I’m not looking for the “perfect” church because, let’s face it, on this planet, nothing is perfect!  I want to worship and praise, not worry about silly rules and regulations laid out by a group of men (otherwise known as Pharisees) designed to set me up to fail and threaten to send me to hell if I don’t abide by them.  I’m looking for love: the love of Jesus...the love of fellowship in HIM (not in who has the best dressed family or who drives the most expensive car).  I’m looking for a place that will allow me to raise my hands in praise, shout “AMEN” and sing hallelujahs to my heart’s content!  It’s time!