Churches*

Not every church I have been a part of has been a healthy church, but I think I am learning. I have prayed about what Church to attend for probably the last 20 years. Before that, I was just a part of the church I grew up in. I think I have learned some good stuff at every place I have been to. Even though I look back and feel some were not so healthy, I still received good stuff. God's word is independent of the deliverer. God's word will not return to Him void but will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent. I have some favorites that I like to listen to on the Internet or TV. Charles Stanley on Intouch has been one of my favorites for many years. I think he has been studying God's word longer than I have been alive. I enjoy Bill Wolfson from CFAN Tacoma, another favorite. I try to listen every week on the Internet. Doctor David Jeremiah is another favorite. Sometimes I listen to him when I can't find Charles Stanley. If I miss church, I try to listen to Scooter Noland from Hope Church on the Internet. These are some of my favorites. I believe we have a responsibility for what we take in spiritually for spiritual food. I believe there is a lot of junk food spiritually. I heard someone the other day talking about getting the seed into the ground quickly as I was flipping channels and I quickly moved on. We need to be a part of a body of believers. We need to have pastors and leaders over us watching for our souls. We also need to feed ourselves. I was burning brush recently and I could pull the pieces of wood apart and the fire would cool down. I could shove them closer together and the fire would heat up. We are like that spiritually, we need each other. When we are apart from other believers we too can cool down and actually go out. We need each other, spiritual friends as well. The Church doesn't need us as much as we need them. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together or similar words are found in the Bible. We need Churches, pray to find the right church and then pray for that church and the leaders. We need each other. I think there is something for me to learn from praying for a church to attend that I need to use in other areas of my life. Some of my decisions have not been as good as the churches I have chosen. I prayed and kept looking until I felt God answered that prayer and didn't settle for less. I need God's direction in all parts of my life. I believe there is something good about being loyal but we also need to follow God direction for our lives. I am glad I didn't stay where I was brought up. I am thankful for what I was taught at the time, but I am also glad I moved when I felt God wanted me to move. It was hard at first, I felt as if I was going against God. God is not just in one place. He meets with many congregations all over this city and other cities. Some people can stay and be an instrument for change. As I was looking I had one young minister tell me I needed to look for the Church where Jesus was at, not the right Church. I felt it was time to move on because I believe God meets with many congregations, and what may be right for the next person may not be right for me. Are they there to help people and to build people or are they there for numbers? I believe the Church is more of a Hospital than a health club. If we had perfect Christians I guess it could look more like health club but I don't know any perfect Christians, so I do think the Church needs to be more like a Hospital. A city of refuge, possibly, I heard a sermon by that title one time that I thought was pretty good. God bless, LVZ.