Spiritual Growth Is A Group Project
I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” Psalms 122:1
The psalmist said, ‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”’ Do you feel that way about God’s house too? And if not, why not? Paul writes: ‘God is building a home. He’s using us all – irrespective of how we got here – in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day – a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home’ (Ephesians 2:19-22). There are times when you need to be alone with God in prayer; there are times you’ll only find the answer you seek when you’re with God’s people. When those who are indwelt by God’s Spirit meet for worship, teaching, encouragement and service, God shows up in a powerful way. You grow spiritually as you experience His presence, hear His Word, and fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Every time you gather with other members of Christ’s body, it reminds you again that you’re on the winning side. It’s hard to celebrate by yourself. When you’ve something worth celebrating you generally call people together so you can share the joy, right? Jesus is so excited about His victory at the cross that He calls us together every week to celebrate what He accomplished for us. And celebration, like spiritual growth, is a group project.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, being with other Christians strengthens not only myself but also others – help me not be tempted to not meet and be with Your people – the church. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
Tim, I love what you have said today (June 19), but it has not been my experience for several years now. We left St. Luke’s in Itasca because of the way we were treated by the congregants. Shunned would be a good word. Judged, another. Not by Terry McReynolds, of course. His Christianity never wavers. Maybe it was because we had such positive history with him, but I don’t know that for sure. For whatever reason, we were not welcomed. We moved to a church closer to where we were living in Elgin. Same thing, and we had no connections there. So we are clearly doing something wrong. We hope to be moving again in a couple of months, too far away to go to either of these churches. I am in desperate need of a church where I feel like I belong, and am scared to death that I again will not find one. My husband has given up on the church entirely so, when I go, it will be alone. It makes me sad to go alone because church is one thing we have always shared. I have prayed and prayed for enlightenment and welcoming hearts. I even went back to St. Luke’s for a Lenten service, alone, and again I felt shut out. I did get to spend some quality time with Terry and Diane, and some low quality time with some busy-bodies who just wanted to collect gossip, even though they did not remember who I was. I also talked to a small group of men who Brian really liked, and asked them to call him and invite him back. They said they would, but they didn’t. I am not totally cut off from God. I am now teaching on-line classes for Creighton University and have lovely, God-fearing students. But it’s not the same as having a church to call my own, where I am welcomed as a fellow Christian. What is your advice, Tim? I feel so alone.