Jump Start # 647

Psalms 30:4  Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy  name.

God is good. He’s good to all of us, even if we do not realize that. He is worthy to be praised, honored, followed and obeyed. There are many ways to praise God and it is something that ought to be done everyday. Now, having said all that, I love Sundays. I write this on a Monday morning. Many groan because it means back to work and when school is in, it’s back to school. For me, that’s not the problem. It’s that it’s not Sunday. I wish every day was Sunday.

Sunday is different. Our schedule is different on Sunday. We get together as a church and we worship. We see each other. We are with each other. That’s special. We learn. We connect. We praise. We thrive on the spiritual level for more than a moment or two. Sunday is about God. Sunday is awesome!

As Sunday ended yesterday, I had this thought. I wonder how many people world wide had spent the day praising God. Some in little rural church buildings that are a hundred years old, others in huge new buildings, with a massive crowd, with all the latest techo stuff. How many voices, world wide sang to God yesterday? How many heads bowed as hearts reached out to God? Not just in this state, nor this country, but villagers in Nigeria, those meeting in secret in China, in India, or some of our Jump Start readers in South Africa or Norway? Different voices, different needs, different concerns, but one faith, one love and one devotion. I wonder how many sermons were preached yesterday? Old faithful preachers who have been doing this for more than fifty years, yet still preaching with all the passion that they can. Sermons that taught Jesus. Sermons that reminded about the one true doctrine of Christ. Sermons that answered questions. Sermons that challenged us to work in the kingdom. Sermons that called us to our great responsibility before us. Sermons that gave us hope. Sermons taught by young men who are just starting out. I wonder what the Lord thought yesterday when we witnessed His people world wide, remembering that precious death as they took communion? His people remembered. His people thanked Him for that. His people were touched by that incredible sacrifice.

It is so easy to see Sunday only through our eyes and through the lens of the congregation we attend. It’s much more than that. I have been to some small places. It’s hard. I preached for a church in Nebraska one week. There were only 7 people in that church. I preached at another place where there were only 4 people. Small. Hanging on. Hoping for more. Yet even then, they are part of something huge—the kingdom of God.

God is so worthy of all that we can give Him. Sunday is so special. I  think about that passage found in Romans and also Philippians where every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess. Every. Not most. Not nearly all, but every. Didn’t happen yesterday. Some had the chance to praise God but they didn’t. Those that did, sure benefited. Worship helps. It has a way of bringing out the important stuff and getting our order in order.

Yesterday was special. Did you sense that? I hope so. Did it  make a difference to you? I hope so. There’s nothing boring about worship if you think about God. The good thing about all this is that if the Lord allows it, we’ll get to do this again in just a few more days. It’s not a once in a life time event. It’s not something that happens every once in a while. Sunday’s coming and I’m already thinking about it!

Hope you are too!

Roger