Constructive Act # 306 – “FIND A GREAT CHURCH” - Don’t just go to church; find a GREAT church! I’m not just throwing this out there without really thinking about it, because I know that some people especially those who suffer with addiction have been totally turned off to churches and people who attend them. I truly believe that church can be a status symbol to some people and that they go because that’s what they were raised to do and it represents a social environment and entity. To others, it is a place to go and feel close to God and share a worship experience with sincere people who are there for all the right reasons. There is nothing worse than not being able to find the right place to worship God. There is nothing worse than going to a church and not feeling welcome and feeling like people are judging you and looking down upon you. With all of that being said, I will tell you that I don’t believe that a person suffering from addiction can truly find pure recovery without God in their life. God is the missing link for many who are suffering with addiction and are unable to complete recovery. God is loving and God is kind and the church you choose to attend should have people who are loving and kind as well. I love my church! I have not always been able to say that. I have felt “less than” in other churches and I have felt that I did not belong and that people turned their noses up and treated my family like we were not good enough to be a part of their congregation. I have felt shunned and attended week after week without receiving the spiritual gifts that I receive every Sunday at my current church. When you are in the wrong church, you are cheating yourself. You owe it to yourself to find the right church for you and one that feeds you spiritually every Sunday and one that leaves you wanting more. My family has found that church. As I sat in the worship service this past Sunday morning, I noticed things that I have never noticed in any other church. I noticed beautiful people smiling and speaking words of welcome to my family. I received hugs from people as I entered and as I left. I watched and listened as my heart was filled in so many ways. Different things speak to different people, and one of the things that speaks to me so intently is the music. The choir sang an anthem that I felt was chosen especially for me this past week. It said “God is not done with me yet” It laid out all of the problems of the world and said until those problems are taken care of, that God was still working in all of our lives. Then our outstanding organist played a piece during the offertory that just gave me chills. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing – I have never heard a more beautiful rendition and one that took more talent to play. The staccato verses and the majestic ending made me want to jump up and shout “BRAVO.” My heart was filled beyond belief. I could have left before the sermon ever started and been completely filled for the week. During the children’s sermon that we have each week, the pastor was speaking with the little ones, and at the end of the sermon, he took a handkerchief from his pocket and walked over to one of them. He commented that they must have a cold and he gently wiped their nose and put the handkerchief back into his pocket in an act of complete compassion. I don’t even remember what the children’s sermon was about, but I will never forget that he cared enough about that little one that he wiped that runny nose without question or cause. It needed to be done and he did it. When it was time for the sermon, my pastor spoke about God’s calling. He suggested that we all had a calling no matter how great or small it was intended to be. We were all called to do something and we needed to do it to the best of or ability. We all had a purpose and we all had an intentional meaning in the part that God had asked us to play. I know he was right, because God has called me to help those suffering with addiction and I feel it stronger than I have ever felt anything in my life. God has blessed our Foundation with people, with prayer, with money, and with gifts of time and talent. There is a purpose that we are supposed to fulfill and I will not stop until I know that God is telling me that I am done. Find a church – Not just any church – but a GREAT church! Find the church that is right for you and your family. Find the church that you are supposed to be a part of and you will know it and you will be filled every Sunday. My church is right for my family and me, and my church is GREAT!
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 05:01:27 +0000
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