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I Don’t Feel Like Going To Church Today

Big Deal—Do It Anyway

Biblically speaking, going to church is a decree, not an option for when we feel like it. As Eugene Peterson says, “Feelings are important in many areas, but completely unreliable in matters of faith.” The surest way to “feel like it” is by doing the very thing you don’t feel like doing—in this case, going to church to give thanks. When we get up and get going to church to give thanks, by faith and in obedience, the result will be that we will develop the best feelings of all: feelings for God!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Psalm 122:1

When they said, “Let’s go to the house of God,” my heart leaped for joy.

The psalmist was talking about going to church, and unlike an increasing number of “Christians” in America, he was excited. Among other things, he was looking forward to gathering with God’s people to “give thanks to the name of God,” according to Psalm 122:5 (MSG). That’s just one of the things, albeit a very important thing, that believers are meant to do.

That is a decree, by the way, not an option for when we feel like it. As Eugene Peterson says, “Feelings are important in many areas, but completely unreliable in matters of faith.” The surest way to “feel like it” is by doing the very thing you don’t feel like doing—in this case, going to church to give thanks. When we get up and get going to church to give thanks, by faith and in obedience, the result will be that we will develop the best feelings of all: feelings for God!

I am told that the average church-goer in the United States now attends their place of worship just a tick under two times per month. Somehow I don’t think that would cut it with the psalmist, who centered his life around the house of God, and I know it doesn’t cut it with God.

God loves it when his family stops by for dinner, and he has so ordered it that we should do that on a regular basis. (Hebrews 10:24-25) One could argue that nowhere does the Bible say that has to be every Sunday, but I would counter that with, first of all, the practice of the church from the beginning, which was gathering for praise, thanks, instruction and encouragement, minimally, every week on the first day. And second of all, those who make that argument have missed the point: Gladness in going to God’s house. If you are finding reasons not to go, and justifying those reasons, it is highly likely that your reservoir of gladness is empty.

If that is the case, I would suggest you go to God and ask him to fill your tank. He is pretty good about doing that. And if you just don’t feel like going to God, or to church, grab your feelings if you have to and drag them with you. When you do, at some point you will make one of the great discoveries in life, a discovery that great people of faith have known for some time: You can act your way into feeling much more quickly than you can feel your way into acting.

Thrive: Put a permanent appointment on your weekly calendar: going to church. And keep that appointment for the rest of your life.

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God, Pour Out Special Blessings On All Who Serve You

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

We are enamored with celebrity in our culture—even in the Christian world. We elevate TV preachers; we give special attention to pastors of mega-churches; we idolize Christian singers, entertainers and authors of best-selling books. God doesn’t. He is not all that impressed. He isn’t enamored with celebrity, he does not elevate high profile Christians, he is not drawn to talented and successful believers any more than he is to ordinary ones. God sees the little person—the one who faithfully and diligently serves behind the scenes in his kingdom, doing the things no one notices and rarely appreciates. And he will not forget their sacrificial service. Neither should we.

A Simple Prayer To Bless God’s Servants:

God, I pray for a special blessing on all of the people in your kingdom who faithfully, selflessly and sacrificially serve you by serving the church – your people. They are mostly unsung and unnoticed, except by you. So show them a sign of your favor today. Bless them with your abundance. And on that glorious Day, honor them in your presence above all others.
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The Last Supper – For Now

Declare His Death Until He Comes

Whenever you receive communion, you are being reminded of a promise. It is one of God’s best promises to you: the promise of Christ’s return. And he has never broken a promise—not one. Jesus sealed the promise of his return by his death, and he guaranteed it by his resurrection. He will make good on it, perhaps sooner than you expect, maybe even today. Maranatha—even so, come Lord Jesus!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Luke 22:15-16

Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”

From the moment Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, Christians have regularly celebrated communion in memory of his death. Some church traditions celebrate it every Sunday, others celebrate it monthly—as does my church on the first Sunday of every month—and still others have their own tradition as to the frequency and practice of communion.

When we receive communion, we mostly focus on the Lord’s death and our redemption that was purchased at the moment of his sacrifice. And what a sweet time of remembrance it is. Nothing is more moving than coming to the Lord’s Table.

Yet it is not only about remembering, communion also calls us to look forward. Twice, as Jesus instituted this holy sacrament, he spoke to his disciples of a time in the future where he, himself, would again participate in this celebration. He was referring to his second coming. He was issuing a promise that he would come again, and each time they, and by extension, we, receive Holy Communion, partakers were to be reminded of that promise and rejoice in its future fulfillment.

The next time you receive Holy Communion, I want to challenge you to not only look back in gratitude for the Lord’s death, but look forward in hope to the Lord’s coming. When you eat the bread and drink the wine, you are declaring his death, as the Apostle Paul said, “til he comes.”

Holy Communion means a promise. It is one of God’s best promises to you. And he has never broken a promise—not one. Jesus sealed the promise of his return by his death, and he guaranteed it by his resurrection. He will make good on it—perhaps sooner than you expect. And as you come to the Table, remember, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.”(I Corinthians 11:26)

Thrive: The next time you receive communion, deliberately and gratefully remember the promise he made to you of his return.

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The Unpardonable Sin

The Steadfast Refusal To Be Forgiven

When we deliberately choose a lie when confronted with God’s Truth, it is not that God then withholds his Truth—or his love and redemption for that matter—but that with each such deliberate choice, we become less able to respond to these graces. The real danger is that at some point we may very well refuse to be forgiven.

Enduring Truth // Focus: Mark 3:28-29

I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequence.

Jesus revealed unlimited forgiveness through his death on the cross. By his atoning sacrifice, God’s great grace covers all our sin—with the exception of one: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. That sin has been called unforgivable.

These three words—the unforgivable sin—have caused untold anguish to many who have misunderstood their meaning and thought they had committed this grievous sin of all sins. Maybe they had become angry in a time of bitter disappointment or loss and let their rage fly, cursing God. Perhaps they fell into a sin they had vowed to God never to commit again. Maybe they had toyed with something Satanic, or mocked the work of the Spirit in a church service only then to be hit with the terrifying thought that they had insulted and blasphemed the Holy Spirit. Whatever the case, based on this passage, there are those who wonder if they are hopelessly and eternally damned.

One of the chief problems with this passage, however, is that the wrong people are usually the ones obsessing over it. It is usually those who have a high degree of moral sensitivity and care deeply about their relationship with God, or those who suffer the religious symptoms of an emotional imbalance who live under such guilt and fear. In both cases, a misunderstanding of the passage has created unnecessary pain.

The context of this confrontational encounter gives us a better understanding. Jesus had been performing many outstanding miracles (Mark 3:10-11, see also Matthew 12:22-30 and Luke 11:14-28), plainly evident for all to see. Most of the people were astounded by Jesus’ power over disease, demons and death, but out of sheer jealous and condescending elitism, the religious leaders scorned Jesus’ ministry as the work of the devil. So Jesus’ declaration of this unforgivable sin here is clearly a response to the sin of these few. It is not the sin of blurting out some momentary profanity or sacrilege against the Spirit of God. It’s the much more sinister offense of looking into the very face of Truth and calling it a lie. The teachers of the law were seeing the undeniable healing imprint of God’s Spirit and still deliberately calling it a work of Satan.

We need to understand that these leaders were not simply ignorant or perhaps confused in this matter; they knew exactly what they were doing. It is worth noting that verse 30 doesn’t translate very well from the Greek text in most English versions. An imperfect tense is used which suggests that theirs was a chronic attitude. In other words, they were continually declaring that Jesus had an evil spirit. This was not simply a spur-of-the-moment declaration, but an ongoing fixation.

Why couldn’t they be forgiven? Not because God’s grace was withheld from them, but because with each denial, they became increasingly incapable of responding to the Spirit of Grace.

Now here is the real danger in this—and the message for us who read this sobering text: When we deliberately choose a lie when confronted with God’s Truth, it is not that God then withholds his Truth—or his love and redemption for that matter—but that with each such deliberate choice, we become less able to respond to these graces.

So this brings us to the correct definition of the unforgivable sin: It is the steadfast refusal to be forgiven! The only sin that cannot be forgiven is un-repentance. However, when we bring to God a soft and sorrowful heart, we find as King David did, that “a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17)

Thrive: Keep in mind this prayer of the forgivable sinner: “Father, create in me a tender heart. Keep me sensitive to the convicting work of your Spirit and cause me to be quick to repent.”

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God, Enable Me To Forgive Like You Forgive

52 Simple Prayers for 2018

If we want to be truly authentic in our faith and truly like Jesus in our character, then we will have to readily extend forgiveness to those who have offended us. Forgiveness is the first step on the pathway to Christ-likeness. Of all of the human qualities that make us in any sense God-like, none is more divine than our passion to quickly and fully forgive others. How so? Precisely because God is a God of forgiveness: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives transgressions? You do not stay angry forever, but delight to show mercy.” (Micah 7:18)

A Simple Prayer To Freely and Fully Forgive Others:

God, you have freely, unconditionally and completely forgiven me even though I have repeatedly sinned against you. Now give me the grace, courage and strength to forgive those who have sinned against me, just as in Christ, you have pardoned all of my transgressions.
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Why Jesus Is So Annoying

Thank Him for Getting Under Your Skin

Why is Jesus so annoying? How come he doesn’t always play nice? What is it that makes him so willing to irritate both sinners and saints—but especially the saints? Precisely because Jesus is more committed to our holiness than he is concerned about our happiness!

Enduring Truth // Focus: Matthew 15:12-14

Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”

On a fairly regular basis, Jesus got under people’s skin. In fact, he flat out annoyed them—and it didn’t bother him in the least. He didn’t come to earth to win a popularity contest, he came to get in the way of people’s headlong plunge into hell. That meant he had to tell them the truth—even if it ruffled their feathers. By the way, he is still doing that today, and chances are, he’s fixing to ruffle your feathers, too (if he hasn’t already)!

So why is Jesus so annoying? How come he doesn’t always play nice? What is it that makes him so willing to irritate both sinners and saints—but especially the saints? I’ve already given the answer, but let me restate it once again:

Jesus is more committed to your holiness than he is concerned about your happiness!

You see, it is holiness that will get you into heaven and keep you out of hell. Now that’s not just my opinion, that’s a direct quote from the Word of God. Hebrews 12:14 (NLT) very clearly says, “work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.”

That’s why Jesus is so willing to get up in your grill and tell it like it is. He wants you to be holy, just as he is holy. That’s why he says things that are uncomfortable, that will make you squirm, that are frankly, offensive…things like,

Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. (John 6:53, NLT)

You will perish unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. (Luke 13:3, NLT)

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, NLT)

Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. (Matthew 7:21, NLT)

All who love me will do what I say…Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. (John 14:23-24, NLT)

And on and on the list of Jesus’ annoying sayings goes. Now of course, Jesus is not annoying for annoyance sake. He says things that make us uncomfortable because he loves us, and wants us to partake of his holiness. In fact, in the greatest act of love imaginable, he died on the cross so that you and I could enter through his sacrifice into the very holiness that will put us and keep us in right standing with a holy God. That is called imputed holiness—which Jesus offers as a free gift, received only and completely by grace through faith.

What a deal—Jesus paid the full price for my holiness, and all I have to do is turn to him in full repentance of my sins, full acceptance of his death and resurrection, full surrender to his Lordship over my life, and I am declared holy. Moreover, I am then declared legally holy because I now stand before God in the holiness of Jesus Christ.

Now there is one more thing: Hebrews 12:14 said we are to “work at living a holy life”. Since Jesus has graciously done so very much to make us holy, we ought to gladly and thankfully make every effort (this is not about earning, mind you, you can’t earn what you’ve already been freely given) to live a life of complete and utter holiness before God.

Before you groan about this “holiness” thing—truthfully, it’s not such a bad or burdensome deal. All you really need to do, in light of what has already been done for you, is to gratefully love God will all our heart, mind, and body. Then once you’ve done that, just do as you like.

But just remember, to keep you loving God as he deserves, expect Jesus to annoy you along the way!

Thrive: Augustine said, “love God and do what you want.” Are there things you are doing that betray your love for God? Why not take a step today to jettison those behaviors or thought patterns from your life? Start with repentance, then ask for God’s help, and think about confessing your faults to a trusted brother or sister so that you can become accountable for growth in holiness in those particular areas.

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That Stinks To High Heaven

The Pharisees Are Not All Dead Yet

God wasn’t impressed with the Pharisees, nor is he impressed with our rituals; he wants to be in relationship with us. Holding onto tradition for the sake of tradition is meaningless to God; he wants our acts of worship to be authentic. Lips that affirm one thing but a heart that holds to something else is completely odious to God—and we must be constantly alert to that.

Enduring Truth // Focus: Mark 7:6-8

Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you”, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

What stinks? When people, especially spiritual influencers who ought to know better, exalt religious rituals over a real relationship with God, God holds his nose! When a religious activity is devoid of loving obedience, God finds it odious, obnoxious and he is repulsed by both the act and the religious spirit behind it.

That’s what Jesus was dealing with in this story. As he began to preach and minister the Kingdom of God, conflict with the Pharisees, religious leaders and other “stakeholders” in traditional Judaism increased dramatically. They didn’t like the fact that Jesus wasn’t holding to their traditions at all—and Jesus wasn’t intimidated by their pressure to conform.

In this particular conflict, they were upset that his disciples didn’t go through ritual washing before eating. This was just one of many “violations” that upset them. When they questioned Jesus about it, he let loose a holy tirade against their ridiculous traditions. In a Divine “dressing down”, we see something of what is truly irksome to God: Shallow, hypocritical, spiritually incongruent religiosity.

Jeremy Taylor writes, “The Pharisees minded what God spoke, but not what He intended…They were busy in the outward work of the hand, but incurious of the affections and choice of the heart. So God was served in the letter, they did not much inquire into His purpose; and therefore they were curious to wash their hands, but cared not to purify their hearts.”

God wasn’t impressed with the Pharisees, nor is he impressed with your rituals; he wants to be in relationship with you. Holding onto tradition for the sake of tradition is meaningless to God; he wants your acts of worship to be authentic. Lips that affirm one thing but a heart that holds to something else is completely odious to God—be constantly alert to that.

God desires integrity in our behavior, intimacy in our walk with him, and authenticity in our worship practices. Spirituality devoid of integrity, intimacy, and authenticity is even more repulsive to God than people who know they are sinners and don’t try to hide the fact.

Now there is an obvious application to this particular reading: God wants your heart. And he wants the heart you offer him to be pure. But let me suggest a riskier application of this text: Rather than reading them and feeling a sense of spiritual justification, why not read yourself into the story as one of the Pharisees. You see, the longer you are in the faith, the greater the likelihood that you will slip into some of the very practices God found so odious in the religious establishment of Jesus’ day.

Whatever it takes, keep your relationship with God fresh and vital!

Thrive: Are the activities of your faith born out of ritualistic observance or loving obedience? Remember, God wants what you do with your hands to reflect the love that is in your heart. If that is not true for you, then back up and get your heart right!