WELL...DUH?

I was walking through the aisles of Meijer this morning and overheard a brief portion of one side of a phone conversation.  This woman was standing in the aisle answering her ringing phone as I walked by.  She was talking rather loudly so it was not hard to hear my material for today's blog.  She said, "Hello."  There was the normal pause you hear when listening to one side of a phone conversation, which was followed with, "I'm at the grocery store."  I obviously couldn't hear the caller but I know what the next question was based on the response.  They asked, "What are you doing there?"  Because the answer was, "Buying groceries."  I chuckled as I walked because of the tone in which she said it.  If she wasn't in her 70s I would have almost expected her to say, "Well...duh?"


What a ridiculous question to ask (at least my assumption of the question).  What else would you be doing at the grocery store?  Of course, you're buying groceries.  Isn't it obvious?  But that got me thinking (not the big one; wait for it) there are many reasons to be at Meijer that have nothing to do with groceries: they have household items, clothing, a pharmacy, etc.  Maybe she wasn't at Meijer for the obvious reason.


And that got me thinking...why do you go to worship on Sunday morning?  Is it for the obvious reason--to worship the Lord?  Most likely.  But for some, maybe not.  For you, it may only be partially the reason.  Some of us go to worship for reasons other than the obvious.  Some go because it's the "right thing to do"; some for the relationships; some to look good; some simply because it's part of their weekly routine and they hate change.


It may seem like I'm being picky about this.  Some may argue with me and say, "at least they are in church."  And yes, that's true.  But for me, there needs to be this desire to worship the Lord.  There needs to be this longing for life-change.  There needs to be a solid reason to gather together in the "Lord's house".


I realize that God can change hearts and do miracles with people.  So even if someone is in church for the "wrong" reasons, God can do something.  I guess this blog is really a call out to make sure that we have our mindsets right.  I want all of you in church and for the right reasons--to worship a Holy God.


Benefits such as fellowship and feeling good and all the others are great advantages, but make sure that the main reason is to worship God for who He is and bring Him glory.  It's not about the music, or the media, or even the pastor.  It's not about your preferences.  In fact, it's not even about you--it's about God.


"My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!"  -Psalm 34:2-3 (ESV)-

CHECKING EVERY SEAM

Today I had to return an item that I had picked up from Target yesterday.  I have no issue with returning things if something is not right.  That goes from clothing items that are not the right size, from damaged items, all the way to restaurant food that does not meet my expectations.  So it is not the fact that I hate returning items in general.  However, today I hated returning this item because it was my fault that I had to return it.


Heidi is really good at checking things over before we buy them.  When we buy clothing, she spends a good amount of time checking every seam to make sure there are no loose threads.  Most of the time when I buy goods, I give them a quick look over to make sure there is nothing obvious.  This time...I did not look.


Heidi had found coupon caddies at Target for 50 cents.  And the way we go through coupon caddies, this was a great deal.  She bought a couple of them and then asked if I could pick up a few more after work yesterday.  Not a problem...with picking them up.  What was the problem was how I picked them up.  I found the bin where they were, reached in, grabbed a bunch of them, and marched off to the checkout lanes.  I never once looked at them, checked them out, or investigated as to whether they were up to par.  Today, I returned one of them because the closing strap latch was not there...it was broken.


And that got me thinking...how often do we pick a church without investigating its beliefs and doctrine?  How often do we accept a pastor's word on what a Scripture means without looking into other Scriptures to verify it?  How often to we just reach in and grab a bunch of theology without checking it out to make sure some of it is not junk?


Now...what I do NOT want you to hear is that you can dishonor or disrespect your pastor.  They are in a place of honor and authority--Romans 13:1.  But I am one of them and I realize that I am not perfect; I am human.  I have told many of my church members, "Don't take my word on it.  Go and search the Scriptures yourself."


What I am saying, is that we should not blindly run in our Christian lives.  We need to ask questions; we need to study the Bible ourselves.  We need to check every seam to make sure it's not going to unravel.

SPIRITUAL PHARMACY

It started late last night…Heidi started to not feel quite right and said that she thought she was getting sick. She went to bed early. When I finally came to bed, hours after her, she was in bad shape. She was running such a high fever that I couldn’t even touch her. I tried to rub her back and actually yanked my hand back as if I had touched a hot stove. She was burning up.

She had a rough night of restlessness, but still felt a little better this morning. But that didn’t last very long. She kept on getting weaker and weaker and eventually had to lay down to rest around lunch time. After lunch, I put the boys down for bed and went to the store to get some Vitamin C and Garlic tablets. With Heidi still nursing Caleb, she is trying to get through this without an antibiotic so they don’t have to struggle with yeast again.

So I go into the pharmacy department at the grocery store to look for the Garlic tabs and the Vitamin C and I immediately become overwhelmed. There are shelves and shelves dedicated to Vitamin C and 14,294 different varieties of Garlic tabs. Where do you start? Do you read the labels? Do you go for the best price, the coolest label, the best packaging? What do you look for when there are so many choices?

And that got me thinking…how do we choose which religion, which denomination—if any, which church to join? There are so many choices out there. Some have nice packaging and great programs; some have watered-down theologies that don’t make me feel uncomfortable; some preach the Word of God, but that challenges me. How are you supposed to choose in this overwhelming spiritual pharmacy?

Some may say that a Garlic tab is a Garlic tab—and that may be the case, but you can’t possibly take that view when it comes to faith and religion. You have to take everything into consideration when choosing your spiritual vitamin. This isn’t just picking one from the others to save money or to get the best product; there are eternal consequences to this shopping trip.

If you aren’t sure, I’m a pretty good shopper…drop me a note and I’ll help you find the best product. Or, I have a friend who happens to own the best store; you can contact my friend Jesus anytime.