"I'm sorry...I have to go to church tomorrow..."

Have you ever been invited to an event and found yourself declining the invitation in this way?  

Unfortunately, if we are honest, many of us would say we have.  Maybe, we used this "excuse" when we were in junior  high or high school and we were still in that, "My Parents Make Me Go to Church" phase.  Maybe, it was when we were in college and knew we needed to go attend worship with our brethren, but not yet were we fully appreciative of this time or fully convinced this time was very much needed in our lives.  

How do you feel about that statement now?

Growing up, I heard preachers and Bible class teachers talk about how I needed to change my attitude from "I have to..." to "I get to..." or, even better, "I am blessed to..."  At some point in my adolescence, I grasped the more positive attitude, and I really felt blessed to be able to worship with my family.  Eventually, attending worship became more of a habit.  I remember a time not long after graduating college that my spiritual life really suffered because of this.  I was living on my own, teaching school, and worshiping with an incredible church family.  I was teaching the 4-5 year old Sunday school class and a Wednesday night huddle group with some teenage girls.  Sounds great right?  The problem was with all that was going on, I felt alone and lost.  My attitude wasn't what it should have been.  I attended worship because it was expected of me.  Don't me wrong.  I LOVED teaching the Bible classes.  I have to admit, however, that there were some Sunday mornings where I would have been quite tempted to sleep in had I not had the responsibility of teaching.  Thank God for the opportunity I had to teach precious 4-5 year olds, because it kept me going!  One Sunday morning, I was especially in a low spot, I planned on going to worship, teaching, and ducking out before I could really be noticed.  A sweet friend of mine caught me and really encouraged me to attend our weekly lunch and small group Bible study.  Reluctantly, I went with her.  By the end of the small group Bible study, I was sitting there with tears streaming down my face!  What we discussed and studied from God's word was EXACTLY what I needed that day!  I had not been speaking the words "I have to go...," but I had been living those words.  I had become very lukewarm in my walk with God.  Shame on me!  

Have you ever felt this way?  I pray that you haven't.  The reality, though, is that many of you probably have.  If you are there now, I urge you to reach out to someone with whom you can be open and honest.  Someone with whom you can share your burdens(Galatians 6:2) and who will pray for you.  Pray that God will prick your heart and help you to see the importance and necessity of worshipping Him.  Pray that God will guide you back to Him before it is too late. 

This past Sunday morning, I was blessed to be able to attend worship with my family for the first time as a family of three.  I was blessed to be able to attend worship with my husband for only the second time in 7 months!  This had been a true case of forgetting how blessed you are until it is gone.  For months I have kissed my husband goodbye as he left for worship each week.  For months, we have been praying that Flu season would quickly make its exit so that Harper would be able to attend worship with us.  When we received the "green light" from our daughter's doctor on the Thursday before, I was giddy with excitement!  This whole week since Easter Sunday, my attitude has been completely different.  I have been happier; I have been more energetic; I have been excited.  Several times today I have found myself talking to Harper about what we needed to do before tomorrow (bath, early bedtime, etc.) because we get to go to church again tomorrow! What a BLESSING!!

There is a reason God commanded us to assemble together on the first day of every week.  He, in His infinite wisdom, knew we would need a reminder of His love and sacrifice at the beginning of every week.  He knew we needed to start every week with Him at the forefront.  He knew we would need the encouragement and time of fellowship with our brothers and sisters.  We are commanded to worship Him, yes.  This is not something for which we should be sorry!  On the contrary, because we are Christians, we are BLESSED with the opportunity to worship Him!  What an incredible privilege!  

As we face the beginning of another week, it is my prayer that we approach worship with an attitude of thanksgiving and humility.  It is my prayer that we put away the feeling of obligation and the apathetic motions.  It is my prayer that we stop apologizing for following our Father's command to assemble with other Christians to praise His name.  The gathering together of the saints is a weekly celebration of the Lord's sacrifice for us.  It is a weekly reminder of His unending love for us.  It is my prayer that we regularly thank God for blessing us with the opportunities He places in our lives:  opportunities to study His word, opportunities to fellowship with brethren, opportunities to grow, opportunities to worship Him. 

My Sundays and Wednesday evenings are booked from here on out.  I will not apologize or make excuses.  I will praise the Lord...I AM BLESSED!