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I work in a church building. A church building where hundreds gather for worship every week on Sunday. A building where dozens of people gather for classes and studies on Wednesday nights. Still more, who are in this building on Sunday, meet during the week in their homes through small groups.
God is with these people. God is with his Church, both when it is inside their building and outside their building. A teaching I heard time and time again is that God's church is not the building, it's the people. There is much truth in that.
But guess what. The building may not be God's Church, but God is still in it.
Right now this building is empty. I am the only person in it, all rooms unoccupied except one, all lights off save the automatic ones and the one in my office. The Church is not in this building at this time. But God is. There is something about this that is intriguing to me. There is something cool about being in an empty building, knowing that in a few days hundreds will gather to worship God. There is something cool about going into the middle of the room where they will gather, a room which is devoid of people and chairs, and sitting. And Praying. And Praising. There is something cool about noticing God and being aware of his presence.
There is something cool about realizing that you can notice God everywhere, and that God wants you to notice that He is everywhere. Do you notice Him as you study for mid-terms? Do you notice Him in your locker? Do you notice Him as you slip in the time-card and pull the lever?
Do you notice Him when you're alone? (You're not alone...)
I've been the last person in this building many times while I've worked here. I've made it my life to seek, study, and serve God. Why did it take me so long to notice God in a quiet, empty building that He has been in all along? I may not have the answer for that, what is important is that I found Him, and know where He is.
Have you taken time to notice God this week? Where did you find Him?
I interviewed at South last night. As I was interviewing I was asked a question. A question that as I think about it I am pretty sure it has been asked at every Church interview I have been to. The more I ponder it the more it becomes a question that I dread. What is it?
"Where do you see yourself in 2, 5, 10 years?"
I have never had an answer to that question. I really just don't think about it. I hardly think about next year, sometimes let alone 2 years or even 5 years. 10 years is simply unthinkable to me.
Why? I don't know. I just get so caught up in what is going on and what we are doing that I don't think about the future. Maybe I'm too literal when I read Matthew 6:34, where it says "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
The future is not something I am very good at thinking about. I try to live and take each day as it comes, yet I'm finding that in ministry, and even in life I feel continuing pressure to think about tomorrow, to think about the future. My thought has always been I might not even be permitted those days, why think about them? Why make my own plans when I know God has a plan?
It's hard for me to balance all that. I know I should think of the future. Whenever I try to, that verse in Matthew comes back to mind. It just happens.
Last night I had another experience with that question. I was able to give an answer. I was comfortable with the answer I gave. In fact I liked it. What I always wrestle with is whether I'm keeping true to that answer or not.
I thought it over, I talked about my uncertainty and about how I don't think much of where I'll be, and then I said, "I hope I'll be where God wants me to be."
It sounds cliche, obvious, and like a "Sunday school" answer, but it's the only one I can think of. I have no idea what to expect in 5 to 10 years. I have no idea what's coming, I have no idea where I'll be. All I know is that in whatever I am doing, I hope I am serving God.
I'm hitting a point where I need to be thinking about the future, whether I want to or not. Regardless of what happens it needs to be on my mind. I struggle with this because there is so much to be doing today, in the here and now, and I can easily get so wrapped up in it that there's no time to think about the future.
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21)
I don't know if Jim Davis intended this with his legendary comic, but this website is dedicated to showing us that the Garfield comic is just as interesting without its main character. Instead of a lasagna chomping feline that we love so much, we have John Arbuckle, schizo. The result is almost as entertaining as the original comic!
