It was bound to happen eventually. Indeed, a few years ago, he was finally arrested and put into a well-guarded prison. Ah, one of those kind of guys, was he?
Yes, he was one who attempted to worship God in a country that did not allow it under any circumstances. Not only was this man put into prison, he endured unspeakable torture, then watched the murder of all of his family members. By some miracle, he was able to finally escape and flee from his native country to find refuge.
That’s not a fun story to hear, but perhaps it may serve to put our possible frustrations in perspective.
Do you know how many complaints I hear about churches in our free country? I’ll admit to rolling my eyes sometimes myself. (By the way, if everyone would just get on board with my way of doing things, church life would obviously be so much better.)
We all have different preferences for song selection, sermon delivery style, order of worship, carpet color, and all of the other details we deem important for our church gatherings. Okay fine. We’re allowed to have opinions. But I believe we would (should) all be very ashamed of ourselves for caring that each of our worship preference desires aren’t met when there are many who would die to even worship at all. Literally.
Okay, then I’ll be sure to pray for those being persecuted. But would somebody please tell that visitor that he’s sitting in my favorite pew and while you’re at it, suggest that the minister lose the orange plaid tie? It’s hard to look at while he’s preaching, especially when my nerves are on edge after having to sing that hymn that was pitched way to high for my voice range.
Stop it already. Nothing is perfect about any church family, but I’ve just got to say that I am so richly blessed and thankful to be a part of one.
How grateful I am that we can (at least try to) sing our hearts out at too high a pitch or perhaps a tiny bit flat when Brother Whats-His-Name is leading singing. What a joy it is to pray with fellow believers in a building right out in the open in the middle of town, even when the one saying the prayer stumbles over his words. Was there a misprint in the church bulletin? Glory be. We are allowed to type the name of Jesus on a written document.
Do I fear for my life while I worship? It’s never even crossed my mind. (Perhaps because I’ve been too concerned that people may have noticed that I wore the same outfit two weeks in a row.) The biggest fear I have in a church assembly is that the air conditioner will once again be set too low.
From now on, I’ll take a sweater just in case. Our freedom to worship God is not something to be taken for granted. The argument over chair arrangement in our Bible classrooms? I think we can let that one go.
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Love this post :) Once in a church we “heard of” there was nearly a split over the moving of the church organ! God help us…we do not realize what freedom is…
The last time we moved and had to go church-hunting, my husband said, “If we find a perfect church, we’d better not join – we’d ruin it!”
What is it with the thermostats in churches! I thought it was just ours. :) I keep a jacket in the car to take into church, restaurants and the movie theater. Once in a blue moon I don’t have to put it on.
Your post is funny and sad all at the same time. I wish our congregation would be fighting over silliness but right now we are tackling the inerrancy (sp?) of scripture and it is not fun. We still serve a mighty God and are covered with his grace, thankfully. Be blessed my friend.
Being in a place of agreement with others when it is for the right thing, such as truth, blesses your life. Being in a place of disagreement is adding unneeded weight and problems to your life. Something to pray about.
Seems to be a common theme among the churches today (at our former church, throws were purchased and draped over the pews to remedy the divide over the thermostat setting). Heaven forbid we mess with our “comfort”!
First World problems; we’ve become quite spoiled. Thank you Lord, for being patient and merciful towards us.
Thank you for this timely post. A gentle reminder to be thankful in all things.
Awesome reminder of how blessed we really are. :)
This is so awesome! Sad how we pick little things and focus on them, instead of the real reason we come to church in the first place. To get together with other lovers of God who want to know Him more.
We must constantly focus on Him so that He may show us the truth of all things, for only He truly knows this.
I agree with you whole heartedly…… how blessed we are in America to be able to attend church without any fear of someone coming into the church to arrest us for going there.
My husband is a pastor of a church and we hear all kinds of complaints but what people do not think about is that God hears them too.
People must decide if they are about themselves or do they really want to hear about God. A real relationship with God only happens when one is submitted – when one becomes humble – and lets God takeover.
I strongly agree with you. If we put God first in our lives, then
we will be submitted and we will be humble.
We are blessed to have the freedoms we have to worship. Another biggie in church is traditional hymns vs praise songs. I am thankful to worship, even with some of the minor obstacles we endure!
Obstacles are meant to be prayed about so that they are removed. An atmosphere of peace is essential in worship.
What good reminders you gave us! I am a pastor’s wife and I appreciate that you suggested shifting the focus from self to “giving glory to God” and then loving others as we love ourselves. I think that as we begin to think about how we can be an encouragement to our fellow brothers and sisters, it diffuses selfishness. Our petty grievances evaporate and the fragrance of Christ fills the air.
Agreed. What is done that is pleasing to God is what lasts. God calls us to completely get rid of self so that His fragrance can fill our atmosphere so that we may have more of Him in our life.
Well said, Laura.
Amen!
So very true and definitely something to think about. I was once saddened when one of my in-laws that was visiting our church with us did nothing but complain after the service about how our minister’s shaking from his Parkinson’s disease (something my grandfather also had) was way too distracting and she couldn’t believe he was allowed to lead worship. I just felt horrible and wanted to point out how blessed we were to not have Parkinson’s and how lucky it was that in our country, we have the freedom to attend any church we please. I instead kept my mouth closed as I knew it wouldn’t change her attitude and would instead lead to discourse in the family. I always try to lead my life by seeing all the blessings, instead of the negatives. But I’m also human and find myself complaining too over trivial things that should not and do not matter.
Silence on a matter is so many times the best way to go for then we need to take it Him so that we know how to pray and possibly what to do. He always has the perfect answer.
I agree. So many peoples’ advice is to say something nasty right back. But how is that any different and it doesn’t help/change the situation. I try to be positive at all times around this relative, which often is quite difficult. But i do hope God uses me to change her heart too.
Amen Sister!
Very well said and an excellent reminder to us how incredibly blessed we are in this country so many of us complain about.
AMEN!!!
Very well said and an excellent reminder to us all.
Oh, what a terrific post!!! One day we will be before God and although I believe He is merciful and knows we are but dust–I have a feeling He will be asking us some things about how we handled certain blessings that He allowed us to experience in this life. We in USA are among a very privileged few and we are about the most verbal in complaining, too. Thank you for the reminder!!!!
A simple way to look at complaining: Don’t complain, do pray. You will find complaining is just not the answer.
The freedom to worship is the reason this country was founded. God is so good to us. The freedom to pray is a part of worship. Freedom in this country has not been free, for someone paid the price, and freedom needs our prayers now, for many reasons. This link is an example why. Seek God on how you do need to pray.
http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/07/11/arizona-pastor-arrested-jailed-for-holding-bible-study-in-home-his-wife-says-it-defies-logic#ixzz2XTV3n7HA
What a great post! Our church just celebrated its 50th anniversary and the most important parts of the celebration are that God placed all of us in each other’s lives for a reason and someday we are going to all live in heaven together. It is a blessing to be a part of a great family of believers! We are so priveleged to live in a country where we can worship our God so freely.
Thank you for this post! I live in a country where many churches have no air conditioners — many of them have no fancy pews, or carpet, or even toilets in the building. The “sound system” consists of how loud the preacher can lift his voice and the “instruments” are animal skinned drums, banged by a designated “drummer” in the congregation. Depending on where you live, you may be going to church on a Sunday at the risk of your own life. Grenades are known to be detonated in congregations of unsuspecting worshippers. We are returning to the USA in a couple of weeks. Honestly, I had forgotten what we are coming back to. Thanks for the reminder.
We have a nice mixture of the “free worshippers” and the more reserved. We have seemed to come to a point that everyone gets along now. However…years ago, a new member who really knew how to follow the Spirit in worship was gently tapped on the shoulder during a song. The older member behind him told him that “we don’t raise our hands here.” He looked him in the eyes and respectfully said with a smile….”We do now.” :)
Yes we do! Awesome!
Great post! Not only a good reminder of how blessed we are in this country with all our freedoms, but also a reminder to pray for the persecuted churches around the world. A good reminder to take our eyes off ourselves and focus more on others, especially those who are risking their lives to worship our Great God!
Very true. We have no clue. We also don’t know what it’s like to be persecuted, though Jesus said, “Blessed are the persecuted….”. We don’t want to be and don’t think we should be, yet several places say we will be. In our silly pettiness, though, we often “persecute” others (minimal and ridiculous compared to what others are going through around the world! Real persecution!) with our wants and desires.
Wow! How true this is. Although in our church the last two Sundays it has been hot! And yes I confess I moaned and groaned. But we never stop to think about offering those things up for Jesus. What He did on the cross for us was far more painful then sitting in a warm church. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It is good to be a Christian in this nation!
I am currently watching a video series, which is in the process of being made; called “The Restless Church”, where this topic is tackled. Very interesting, seems like a common theme here in the First World.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDEQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D4V-JQ7UUVg8&ei=4xvmUee1NsmLyAHumYD4Cg&usg=AFQjCNEUuuasGfYBCWRbdwoMGB8SOEkciw&sig2=8niLquVQyGWo3PbRm5TijQ&bvm=bv.49405654,d.aWc
I watched 2 of the series. Absolutely an answer to prayer. Spread the word and send the message!
God is good I am able to quit my full time and got to part time that 2 days every two weeks. Time for me to get back to cooking and eating healthier. Unfortunately, we have issues at church. One that I have to deal with. There a lady that think she needs to get at a certain seat.She will even tell people that they have to move because that her seat. We are seating behind that certain seat and my little sees it. Thank you lady for teaching my daughter how not to act. This has happen three times.
Growing up in church I witnessed this in many people. Forgive and forgive as much as necessary. This person needs to know God’s ways and only love wins the war. Seek Him on what to do and even what to say to your child. He is faithful to show you what to do, even if it is to quietly watch and wait on His move. He will do so.