I also love to go so that I can praise and worship the Lord with other believers. When we are praising the Lord there are times I know the Holy Spirit is there with us. It is a feeling that a person will never forget. It is really the most wonderful and awesome feeling to feel the presence of the Lord. I want to always feel His presence at church, home, walking, shopping, or whatever I am doing.
I can feel the presence of the Lord when I am talking with Dave. When we are discussing the Word and the Lord I know He is there with us. Again, I say the feeling is awesome.
Back to the question I asked in the beginning. Why do you go to church? Do you go so you can visit with your friends, play video games on you cell phone, whisper/talk when the pastor is trying to give his message, make out your grocery list, write a letter, or what?
I have told you why I go to church. I get so angry when I see someone playing games on their cell phone. I have seen a woman making out her grocery list and of all things a person writing a letter. Playing games on the cell phone, making a grocery list out, or writing a letter is something that can and should be done at some other time.
Our attention should be directed towards the pastor and what he is saying in his message. When a pastor is giving his message it is something he feels everyone should hear. He has worked to get the message ready.
The anger I get when I see this is what I call 'righteous anger'. I am not calling anyone names or calling them a godless person, I feel they are defiling the house of the Lord. After all, isn't the house of the Lord supposed to be a place of worship and communion? When you are doing things such as playing games on a cell phone, making out a grocery list, writing a letter, or whispering/talking how can you be worshipping or listening to the message?
You can find in Luke 19:45-46; "And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; v. 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves". Jesus drove from God's house the ungodly, greedy, and those who were destroying the true spiritual meaning. Jesus' concern is for holiness, dedication, and godly honesty within His church. He wants the church to be holy, a place for sincere worship and communion with Him.
Playing games on a cell phone, making a grocery list out, writing a letter, whispering or talking isn't making the house of the Lord a den of thieves but it is taking away the holiness it is meant to be. We just need to remember what the house of the Lord is all about and to make sure nothing is taken away from it. The next time you start to do something like the above mentioned why not say to yourself "I don't need to be doing this" and enjoy the worship service; join in on the worshipping and also listen to what the message is about.
May you always enjoy the love, joy, and peace of the Lord!
3 comments:
So often I see people playing on their phone and talking during church or even just the constant getting up and down. It can be distracting to those of us around them. We need to go to church to worship our Savior and learn more about Him. The fellowship is great, but needs to be before and after service. Nor during.
I totally agree. In fact, I am going to be making some changes in Kidz Klub. I have some 'helpers' that like to play games and text during the service. It certainly doesn't set a very good example to the kids...
I understand that some people, me included, have the Bible on their cell phone...reading along with the sermon in the Bible on your cell phone...that's ok, I think. But anything else, you are most certainly grieving the Holy Spirit!
I go to church for the worship, to fellowship with other believers and to hear the message and learn, but it is also like an umbilical cord for me, I miss a Sunday and I feel all of sorts for the entire week. I sat next to a woman one week who brought her laptop with her, I thought it was really rude until I realized what she doing, she was reading the bible online. To me I think it would be easier to just bring a bible rather than lug a computer to church...
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