Music

Music is a universal language, and a tool which needs no translation of words sometimes. “If music be the food of love, play on”, is the first line of the play “Twelfth Night”, by William Shakespeare, and he was a man who knew a bit about drama and the human need to be calm.

We have music all around us 24 hours a day, every day. It’s playing in the supermarkets, shopping malls, radio stations dedicated to various genre, clubs, elevators, and you can’t have missed the masses of people walking around with headphones or earbuds in place listening to their favourite singers and bands. These people, whatever their taste in music, and whether you like their taste or not, are good at expressing their thoughts and inner feelings through the medium of music. Yes, it is universal.

Churches make the most of the gifts of music too, and the singing voices of the congregation, lifting their hearts and voices in praise to the Creator is a good example. We know that He is the creator of all things, and that includes music. The uniting fellowship of singing together is special and unique to the family of God. It can lift your spirits, or move you to tears, and we have to thank our musicians for using their talents in this way to foster a spirit of worship.

Good musicians don’t just happen. They didn’t decide one day to pick up an instrument and hey presto, they turned out a melody. A player of any musical instrument will tell you it is hard work, especially at the beginning, because they have to keep at it. Our faith is a bit like that. We don’t reach the fullness of our faith quickly, and in fact we have to practice it daily. There may be times when we don’t feel that God is close, or that he is listening to our prayers, but we have the assurance that He is near, and He knows our frame that we are frail. Don’t give up or lose hope. God is faithful and He will never let us down. I like the way the Good News Bible translates 1 Thessalonians 1:3 when it says…..

For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm.

Grace and Love

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

There is a theme which occurs constantly through the New Testament, and it is one of Love and Grace. Our verse shows the trinity of the Godhead linked directly with Grace, Love, and Fellowship. In my book that makes this theme pretty important in the mind of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As if to emphasise their importance, the apostle Paul uses them often, so we should not shy away from them either.

I never tire of hearing sermons, or even talking with friends about these real, God driven, passionate thoughts, feelings and emotions. Since we are told directly in 1 John 4:8 that “God IS love”, then the more we love in His Spirit, the more Christlike we become. In fact the verse also says, if we don’t love, then we are not like God. It’s really quite simple. Well I think so anyway.

So, I am disheartened when I hear some folks outside the church play down any or all of these Godlike characteristics. I suppose in a way, I can understand the unchurched and unsaved wanting to play down or discredit the love of God, but not a fellow believer! How can that be possible I hear you ask, and you are echoing my own thinking. Mind you, I am very thankful that I have met very few who fall into that ‘love-less’ (less-loving, not unloving!) mindset and category. But they exist, and the truth is that saddens me.

If we ever needed more proof, John, the apostle of love says it this way: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love. 2 John 1:3 NIV

Why This Church?

Do you know what your church stands for? The things it accepts or frowns on? Have you checked anything out to your own satisfaction? Whoa, too many questions there I hear you say. However, there are reasons why we find ourselves in our particular place of worship, and the biggest one is that we just like it there!

I was brought up in a Christian home, with Godly parents, so it was easy for me to see that the Christian faith actually works, and I wanted some of that for myself and my family. Added to that was my observation that most non church goers I knew didn’t seem to fare as well when hit hard by life. So, for years I went along to the same fellowship, and grew up ‘in the church’. Not a bad thing at all. How about you? But why your particular church? We can give different reasons.

I was sent to Sunday School as a child, and never really stopped. Perhaps that’s your story too. Some of my best friends still go there, and we use it as a place to meet up. The singing and sermons make me feel good about myself. Or maybe, like me you have experienced a personal encounter with the living God, and no other reason is as important. Let’s go back to the beginning. The church you attend is there for a reason, but do you know and understand what that reason is? Do you know how it differs in doctrine and practice from other churches? If not, don’t you think it is worth finding out?

Shouldn’t we find out what our church believes about things like: The Bible, Creation, Evolution, Salvation, Heaven, Hell, The Christian Life, Sanctification, Marriage, Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Homosexuality to name just a few. I hope I have given you something to think about, but the most important thing is this, don’t stop going to church!

Simple and Easy

During our time in North Carolina in the 1980’s we enjoyed the good folks we were privileged to meet, the fellowship of the church which was important to us as a family, and more so because we had (and still have) two lovely daughters who mean so much, and as I became more immersed in my work it was good to have that faith family away from home. We could count on them for fellowship, friendship, and good Bible teaching and preaching. These were good days, and have made for equally good memories.

One of our neighbours was a fine Christian lady, but because of her own circumstances she had decided not to attend or be associated with a ‘formal church’ group. Her church was a TV channel televangelist, and she got all the spiritual feeding she needed from that program. She tithed to her ‘TV Pastor’ and for the time we were neighbours this didn’t change. Let’s not be hasty to sit in judgement on her choices, because we didn’t know her circumstances. Keep in mind that this was in the 1980s before the internet came on the scene and changed all of our lives.

We like things made simple and easy, or at least I do. I would think that our neighbour would have logged into an internet church of her choice if available, and perhaps used that medium for her worship instead of TV. For a while it would have worked, but crucially for how long? In her own case she didn’t seem to be actively looking for fellowship.

There is good reason for being a part of a church body of believers. There is fellowship, working with others, spiritual growth, responsibility, Kingdom activity, praise and worship in word and song, and the teaching ministry which helps us grow. Another small point. Who will visit when you are sick? Encourage you when you feel down, and when you are promoted to Glory, who will be right there for your grieving family? Certainly not the TV or internet preacher. But we must remember above all else, it is the will of God that we gather together.

We must not quit meeting together, as some are doing. No, we need to keep on encouraging each other. This becomes more and more important as you see the Day getting closer. Hebrews 10:25

Why Church?

...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the Day approaching. Heb 10:25

We’ve all heard the reasons and excuses for not going to church, and probably used some ourselves at some time in our lives. As Christians the Word is clear, we are commanded to attend church and we should be encouraging others to do the same. But why? Why is church even necessary?

The most extreme reason would be that of the person who doubts there is a God, so church is far from their thinking. But other reasons are given and don’t really stack up, with the most used being, “It’s not relevant anymore”. This usually come from the lips of someone who has never given church a serious chance. Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him”, so it would seem that we have to give church attendance a fair chance, by tasting (checking) and making a reasonable effort to be there each Sunday.

The benefits are obvious to the Christian. We have fellowship with like minded people, no matter where we travel. It’s true that the Christian community is a welcoming group. Then there’s the encouragement of praise and worship as we sing to the Lord our thoughts, feelings and prayers. Church would not be complete without the Word of God taught and preached by a Godly pastor whose job it is to draw us closer to the heart of the Lord, and even convict of sin through the work of the Holy Spirit. When leaving the service, you often feel like the psalmist when he said, “I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord” in Psalm 122:1.

So, why not give church the chance it deserves, and you need?

Valuable Community

I am a slow learner sometimes, so I have no right to second guess other people’s thoughts, preferences, or experiences. But I do like a sense of community, which some would call fellowship. My upbringing put church ‘fellowship’ into the Sunday Services, and maybe the occasional special service where tea and biscuits were provided, and a light evening of music was arranged. I liked it, and admit to this being part of my past. A personal observation: Sometimes we bring our past experiences into the present day, and think that’s how it should remain. No, no, a thousand times, NO!!

Now, when I think of fellowship, I think of minds which are alike, who enjoy the same things, and agree in matters of faith and God’s Spirit. More than that, these feelings of unity (because that is what fellowship is) mean we don’t even have to be in the same room. When we give something of ourselves in say, prayer, we are in fellowship with one another. When we give to others in need, we are in fellowship with that person in need. I have stopped thinking that my fellowship with God’s people ends when I am outside the church doors.

I am going to state the obvious. The ‘world’ starts outside the church doors too, and the ‘world’ has even provided the means for us to stay in fellowship with each other, and share our needs and burdens, to allow us to pray. The greatest form of fellowship we have with the Father is prayer, and I would suggest, the greatest thing we can do in fellowship for each other is pray. We also have the means at our disposal to aid fellowship. There are phones, cards, visits, and hey, there’s always Facebook!

I started off by saying I am a slow learner. There are times when we are absent from our own fellowship, for business, illness, or holiday reasons, and it is not possible to send a card, phone, or visit, but we can stay in touch. Sorry, but I am back to Facebook again. As I write this, I am away from my own church family, but I don’t feel the distance so much, because I am able to stay in touch with some family and church folks. I get to know about prayer requests, fun things, heartfelt encouragements, and all through the wonder of Social Media. Let me make a statement, and you can feel free to take it as you wish. Through the social media of Facebook, I hear from, and can participate in other Christian’s needs and lives, but unfortunately not so much from my own church family. I know there are reasons for this, but I would suggest we are missing out on something which is a continuation of the old style of fellowship I once knew in my church, but has been made alive again in a new and different form, and keeping the spirit of togetherness breathing in many churches.

Learning can be slow and even painful, but what about setting aside some of those prejudices we have about Facebook, and using it to God’s glory, and the fellowship of the saints? Just another thought!

I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Cor 9:22 NIV

Belonging

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:4,5 NIV

I think it is safe to say that we all want to feel that we belong. Deep inside we want to be with other people, especially those that act and think like us. The feeling is expressed eloquently by Joan Baez in her 1960s song, which has the lyrics:

No man is an island,

No man stands alone,

Each man's joy is joy to me,

Each man's grief is my own.

We need one another,

So I will defend,

Each man as my brother,

Each man as my friend.

Paul reminds us that we belong to each other, so the theme of the song is not a new one. The truth is universal, so we join all kinds of clubs from our school days onwards. There are all sorts of clubs: Stamp, Chess, Fitness, Science, Swimming, Bowling, Walking, Camera, Sewing, and the list could go on. One of the benefits of these clubs is that members usually stay in touch between meetings, because they get along with each other. They feel they belong to each other in some way because of shared interests.

Hold on, isn’t church a bit like a club too? We have regular meetings with other people we like and who share our faith. We sing and pray together, and chat before and after our meetings, just like the other clubs. But is that where it ends? Does it only happen for one hour a week, and all the other days we don’t feel that we belong? Church is not a club, but next time you are there, take a look round. There are hurting and vulnerable people attending who may need a phone call or a card in between those weekly get togethers. In case you are wondering, I don’t want my weekly meetings to become a club. However, I would like it to be the kind of church Scripture says it should be. After all, there may be some good folks who might just be ‘longing to belong’.