"Come on kids! Time to get up and get yourselves ready to go to church!"
"Oh, I'm sorry we won't be able to make it. We have to go to church Sunday morning."
"The leak in the roof of the church needs to be fixed."
"Why don't you come to church with me on Sunday?"
These phrases are all very common in today's Christian circles. However, do any of these phrases, or others like them, use a proper definition of the word, 'church?' Though few of us would, when asked, define the church as a building used for Christians to gather in for worship, our mindset has certainly taken on this definition. Because of this shift in understanding, the way has been paved for many false concepts to creep in to the hearts and minds of Christ-followers, and the consequences are far reaching; in fact, eternal.
So if it's not the building, what is the church? I'm amazed by this question, and here's why. Most followers of Christ will get the answer to this question correct by saying that the church is the body of Christ, with Christ as its head, or the bride of Christ, whom Christ loved sacrificially; so much so that he died for her. Paul backs this up in Colossians:
1:18b - "[Jesus] is also head of the body, the church;"
1:24 - "...I do my share on behalf of [Christ's] body, which is the church..."
And in Ephesians 5:23b - "...as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body."
What amazes me is that most Christians will answer this question correctly, but it doesn't change how we think of the church on an everyday basis. While we know what the church is, we don't talk like we know it. In fact, we don't act like we know the definition either. Our actions show that we believe the church is something that it is not. We know the Sunday School definition, but we live differently. We are so focused on going to church that we forget to be the church. We are so concerned with being fed that we forget to feed.
Now, don't get me wrong. We have a command to not forsake that gathering of ourselves together (Heb 10:25). We must gather together. It is important for exhortation, fellowship, discipleship and coperate worship, among other things. But we've got to stop seeing church as a once- or twice-a-week activity, and starting to see it as a lifestyle.
Our thought process leads us to go to church in order to hear the Word and be fed, and church stops there. We go home, carry on with our week, and do it all over again the following Sunday. Instead, we need to see church as something we are, having been given the means by which we can be doers of the Word, feeding those we come in contact with every day, not just one or two days a week.
Let's stop going to church and start being the church.
We've all heard it. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." What an aweful saying. First off, sticks and stones? I can see logs and boulders, or at the least, branches and rocks, but sticks and stones? Come on! Who are we kidding? Maybe, "Sticks and stones will leave a bruise," but that may even be pushing it. Of course, that is the least of the concerns we should have with this phrase, as it grossly underestimates the power of words. Wounds from sticks and stones, or logs and boulders, may be gone in a matter or days, weeks, or possibly months, but wounds left from harsh words can last a lifetime.
Words have the power to tear down, build up, prove folly, reveal wisdom, express truth, and carry out deceit. We can see the chasm that separates the two ends of the spectrum in two verses, though the ideas are strewn throughout Scripture. Proverbs 16:24 says that "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." But, in James 3:6 we are made aware that "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
I'm an outgoing person who loves to talk. I'm usually loud and long-winded. However, the bible warns people like me that "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (Prov. 10:19) It also mentions that "a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Prov. 15:1)
What a challenge, especially in the information age, to do what James says can't be done, and that is to tame our tongue. Information is all about words. Words are everywhere, and so it's no wonder we have incidents with people leaving radio and television because of ill-placed words, most recently seen in the Don Imus/Rutgers women's basketball team incident, or public feuds like Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.
If that isn't enough, look at the words that Christ, Himself, uses in Matthew 12:34 & 37, "...For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks...For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." If that doesn't make us more careful about what comes out of our mouths, I'm not sure what will.
Words have the power to tear down, build up, prove folly, reveal wisdom, express truth, and carry out deceit. We can see the chasm that separates the two ends of the spectrum in two verses, though the ideas are strewn throughout Scripture. Proverbs 16:24 says that "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." But, in James 3:6 we are made aware that "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."
I'm an outgoing person who loves to talk. I'm usually loud and long-winded. However, the bible warns people like me that "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (Prov. 10:19) It also mentions that "a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Prov. 15:1)
What a challenge, especially in the information age, to do what James says can't be done, and that is to tame our tongue. Information is all about words. Words are everywhere, and so it's no wonder we have incidents with people leaving radio and television because of ill-placed words, most recently seen in the Don Imus/Rutgers women's basketball team incident, or public feuds like Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell.
If that isn't enough, look at the words that Christ, Himself, uses in Matthew 12:34 & 37, "...For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks...For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." If that doesn't make us more careful about what comes out of our mouths, I'm not sure what will.
I'm not sure who wrote this originally, but it was passed on to me about eight years ago and I pulled it out recently, so I thought I'd pass it along to you.
When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy, THAT IS DYING TO SELF."That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." Phil. 3:10
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any impunctuality, or any annoyance; when you stand face-to-face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility - and endure it as Jesus endured, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any climate, any society, any raiment, any interruption by the will of God, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendations, when you can truly loved to be unknown, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy, nor question God, while your own needs are far greater in desperate circumstances, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no reellion or resentment rising up within your heart, THAT IS DYING TO SELF.
I've read through James many times before and the book has always struck me as choppy. James touches on one topic, moves to another topic, leaps to another, and the book ends. They are all wonderful topics, to say the least, but it always has seemed to me to be a smattering of topics, nonetheless. That is, until recently...
I was going through a study on the spiritual disciplines, and as I was focused on the specific discipline of Scripture intake, I realized something that has revolutionized how I read the Bible. Now, when I say revolutionize, I don't mean that what I realized was something that was new or never been discovered before, but that it was something so simple and plain that I'd missed out for a long time. Our society is a society built on speed and efficiency, and it has translated to how we (I'll speak for myself - I) read God's word. We hear statements like, "Read your Bible through in a year," and, "5 minutes with the Lord." We might also talk about how many chapters we've read this week or hear of people talking (boasting?) about how many times they've read the Bible in it's entirety. Why is it that when it comes to spending time with our true Love, we speed through it? I wouldn't do that when I spend time with my wife, so why do I do that when it comes to spending time with God?
"Hey hunny, I don't have a lot of time today, but here's five minutes. Go!" "Babe, I'm on a schedule. I know you want to talk about other things, but I've got to talk about _____ and _____, and then skip over to ______. It doesn't look like I'm scheduled to have that discussion with you until October." "My wife wrote me this love letter, and I breezed right through it!" It just doesn't make sense, but that's how I would treat reading through Scripture. I wasn't content with reading a verse or two and marinating in it; meditating on it and memorizing it. One may say, "But Ryan, it'll take years to get through Scripture that way!" to which I would reply, I'd rather take it slow and get daily insight, wisdom, correction, doctrine, and instruction in how to live righteously, than read my Bible through in a year and have grasped very little to actually live by and make applicable to my life.
Now, I know that God's Word "doesn't return void." So please don't think I'm saying that reading through Scripture in a year is, by any means, bad or wrong, or that you won't get anything out of it. But what I am saying is that we shouldn't let our cultural concept of speed and efficiency dictate how we spend time with the One who loved us so much that He gave His life for us.
For years, that's how I read James. I just breezed through it. Lot's of good topics, but I wondered how good a writer James actually was. I didn't see any continuity or flow. But now that I've slowed down and actually taken the time necessary to grasp what James was writing about, I see it much more clearly now. Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter that concludes with the main concept. We, as Christ-followers, are to be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers. He then ends the chapter by stating three things Christ-followers do that separates them from the rest: they work at bridling their tongue, they show true benevolence to the outcasts of society, and they don't allow the world to "spot" or "taint" them. The rest of the book, James spends his time writing about those three things. And to think that I'd missed out for all these years because I just had to read as much as I could in as little time as possible.
I was going through a study on the spiritual disciplines, and as I was focused on the specific discipline of Scripture intake, I realized something that has revolutionized how I read the Bible. Now, when I say revolutionize, I don't mean that what I realized was something that was new or never been discovered before, but that it was something so simple and plain that I'd missed out for a long time. Our society is a society built on speed and efficiency, and it has translated to how we (I'll speak for myself - I) read God's word. We hear statements like, "Read your Bible through in a year," and, "5 minutes with the Lord." We might also talk about how many chapters we've read this week or hear of people talking (boasting?) about how many times they've read the Bible in it's entirety. Why is it that when it comes to spending time with our true Love, we speed through it? I wouldn't do that when I spend time with my wife, so why do I do that when it comes to spending time with God?
"Hey hunny, I don't have a lot of time today, but here's five minutes. Go!" "Babe, I'm on a schedule. I know you want to talk about other things, but I've got to talk about _____ and _____, and then skip over to ______. It doesn't look like I'm scheduled to have that discussion with you until October." "My wife wrote me this love letter, and I breezed right through it!" It just doesn't make sense, but that's how I would treat reading through Scripture. I wasn't content with reading a verse or two and marinating in it; meditating on it and memorizing it. One may say, "But Ryan, it'll take years to get through Scripture that way!" to which I would reply, I'd rather take it slow and get daily insight, wisdom, correction, doctrine, and instruction in how to live righteously, than read my Bible through in a year and have grasped very little to actually live by and make applicable to my life.
Now, I know that God's Word "doesn't return void." So please don't think I'm saying that reading through Scripture in a year is, by any means, bad or wrong, or that you won't get anything out of it. But what I am saying is that we shouldn't let our cultural concept of speed and efficiency dictate how we spend time with the One who loved us so much that He gave His life for us.
For years, that's how I read James. I just breezed through it. Lot's of good topics, but I wondered how good a writer James actually was. I didn't see any continuity or flow. But now that I've slowed down and actually taken the time necessary to grasp what James was writing about, I see it much more clearly now. Chapter 1 is an introductory chapter that concludes with the main concept. We, as Christ-followers, are to be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers. He then ends the chapter by stating three things Christ-followers do that separates them from the rest: they work at bridling their tongue, they show true benevolence to the outcasts of society, and they don't allow the world to "spot" or "taint" them. The rest of the book, James spends his time writing about those three things. And to think that I'd missed out for all these years because I just had to read as much as I could in as little time as possible.
