September 25, 2017
I’ve been in college for a little over a month now and boy was I overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” going on each day. From classes to chapel three days a week to Bible study groups to meetings with my mentor to the abundance of homework piling up and, of course, the excitement and activities of attending school in California, I’ve failed to get connected to a church each Sunday. Now I know that having chapel three times a week and being in Bible classes and having Bible studies may seem like more than enough of your “weekly dose of Jesus,” which is why many consider adding a church service into that mix is a little excessive and choose to sleep in Sunday mornings instead, and, I’ll be honest, I’d love to sleep in on the weekends. However, getting connected with a church is so incredibly important in one’s Christian faith. Disclaimer: Attending church does not deem your righteousnessn as Christian. Worship can be done in many different ways and God adores all of them, just as long as you are spending time with Him in your daily lives so you can grow closer to Him and allow His Word to make a difference in your life.
Nevertheless, you shouldn’t bypass the opportunity to go to church, and here are a few reasons other than God calling us to commune with the body:
- you can get connected with other Christians and be fed by an overflowing amount of love, encouragement, and support in your walk of faith
- be surrounded by people of all ages who love the Lord, not just your fellow peers (and trust me, being on campus with them 24/7 you could benefit elder company)
- reach out or be reached out to by someone who is older than you as a mentor…God strongly encourages us to have some sort of older mentor in our lives. Job 12:12 says, “Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old.”
It’s great to be in a place of worship where the congregation isn’t forced to be there (unlike school chapel) - churches are often not very well funded and can use all the help they can get. This allows a place where you can serve in a ministry and utilize the talents God has given you, otherwise you are depriving others of what you have to offer (1 Corinthians 12:1) and denying God’s call to serve.
- churches will have tons of people who will want to just pray over you, and let’s be honest here…we could use all the prayer we can get! intercessory prayer in the Body is a beautiful weapon the Lord has given us. take advantage of His giftings through the Church!
- church is merely a place where a bunch of sinners can all come together and worship the God of abundant love, grace, power, and mercy!
With that being said, I am going to be attending a local church on Sunday, and I can’t wait to share with you all how it goes! I encourage each and every one of you to drop the homework for just a few short hours, skip out on that activity, and wake up to go to church next week. Let’s beat the fatigue and laziness together. When your friends have something better planned or you’re exhausted, Let Your Light Shine and go to church! It’ll be worth it (:
Much love, Em