Mike Hassi's opening encouragement on Sunday was well-told and well-timed.
Mike described what the Lord has used in his life these last few years to help him grow and mature And it wasn't mostly our church. Rather, it was the extraordinary Word of God.
We have a great church--the people, that is: you. And we have great church services--simple, straightforward, focused on the Gospel. I believe that we have a special church, lovely in many ways. And what is more, I believe in The Local Church, that it is critical for spiritual health and spiritual growth, and that it is what God has ordained to be His primary and preferred vessel for delivering His glory and rescuing lost lives.
But the church can never replace the work we must personally do in forming spiritual habits.
No pastor or elder can read your Bible for you. And if you don't read the Bible for yourself your faith will stagnate and destabilize. No Christian friend can pray the prayers that you ought to be praying; and if you don't pray, then your sense of God's presence, love, power, and wisdom will dim, and anxieties, temptations, resentments, and fears will loom larger. Similarly, no one can share your faith for you to the people God's entrusted to you. And no one can do the order-making, light-shining work in your world that you've been called and gifted to do. We all have things we all must do.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy your church. I want you to love it like Jesus loves it. I want you to support it, serve it, and scheme up holy innovations.
But if I could reduce my praying-wants to a simple request, to God and to you, it'd be what Mike challenged himself with last December:
Read your Bible... As near to every day as you can... And in it's entirety... this new year.
The church can never replace the work we must personally do in forming spiritual habits.
As a child I was taught the ditty, "Read your Bible, pray every day / And you'll grow, grow, grow." I have found since then (unfortunately) that it is possible to read your Bible and pray every day and not grow. But this is certainly true: it is impossible to grow without Scripture and prayer. The more frequent and more sincerely engaged, the better.
Practical Advice: there are many good Bible reading plans out there--my most-used/recommended is the "Discipleship Journal Reading Plan" (Also available on YouVersion app) But if you're just starting out or are feeling rusty-dusty, do this: read a psalm (being sure to locate a pray-able phrase for the day), and then read a paragraph or chapter out of one of the Gospels (Mark, maybe, to start).
Read your Bible... As near to every day as you can... And in it's entirety... this new year.
God bless you this new year. And remember:
"The righteous falls seven times and rises again." (Prov 24:16)
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
