Church

What comes to mind when you see a church? We hear sermons preached in a church, but often the building itself preaches an impressive sermon.

There is the steeple pointing upwards towards the sky which reminds us to look up and think of God.

The door of a church represents the invitation of Christ, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out ...? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest" Matthew 11:28 (Msg). Also the door represents Christ who says, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" John 10:9 (KJV). The door should be open to all whose purpose in entering is to find Christ.

The foyer of the church is a place of preparation...a space separating the secular from the sacred. It should be a place where we prepare our hearts and minds for entering God's presence.

The sanctuary is a room designed to turn one's mind toward the Lord. As one enters he should feel, "But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him" Habakkuk 2:20 (NLT). Even as Moses recognized that he was standing on holy ground at the place of the burning bush, so one should recognize the sacredness of the sanctuary.

The ceiling in a sanctuary reminds us of the sheltering arms of God over all His children. "Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!" Psalms 61:4 (NLT).

The aisles represent the opportunity of all to walk freely into the presence of God. Both the saint and the sinner each have the right of access to Him. All who are far away from Him can come near.

Within a church are pews. They remind us of our promise, that when we joined the church, we promised to attend and participate in the services regularly. Empty pews are a church's shame. As people sit closely together in their pews it is a symbol of the unity and fellowship of the church. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (KJV).

The altar of the church represents our prayers of appreciation, celebration and worship. The altar also stands for repentance, forgiveness and life change!. It is the physical symbol of our own dedication to God and our purpose to walk with God in newness of life.

The communion table is where the bread and wine are placed, representing the broken body and shed blood of Christ. A song in our long forgotten hymnals asks, "What can wash away our sins?" and then we answer, "Nothing but the blood of Jesus." His sacrifice is our only hope of salvation.

There is the pulpit from which radiates the messages of hope for the desperate, courage for the weak, comfort for the sorrowing, light for those in darkness and inspiration to all. The pastor is there to communicate a relevant message from God.

The instruments, vocalists and song sheets remind us to sing unto the Lord. The essence of worship is when your heart and soul, all that is within you, adores and connects with God.

We should all be able to exclaim "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord" (Psalm 122:1 (NLT).

Easter's Hope-"Portrait of Christ"

I loved this video as I was thinking about the brilliance of Easter's message! There has never been a time better than right now to invite people to what God offers and is doing!


David Garibaldi Paints @ CBN Christmas Party from Mike O'Neal on Vimeo.
Easter is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated events on our Christian calendar. On Good Friday Christ agonized on the cross for six hours. Jesus was God's only Son and He gave Himself for every one of us. Focus on that and the fact that the message of the cross is one of hope! The incredible promise of Easter is that we don't have to go through life's challenges and circumstances alone. It seems that people everywhere are in desperate situations. Every day someone else is losing their job, losing their home and losing hope. Life is so full of changing circumstances and challenging moments. Our feelings can plummet with every negative experience that comes our way. When life seems to be upside down and you're crushed and cloaked with the heaviness of discouragement may I remind you to look to the cross. Your hope is in Christ! Though right now you may be living in the midst of turbulence the cross reminds us that Jesus died so that He could redeem us and always remain near our side. May His glory surround you this Easter weekend!

Don't Give up!

The Lord cannot do much with a crushed soul, consequently our adversary daily attempts to push the Lord's people into despair and hopelessness over the condition of their circumstances. Have you ever felt like giving up? Do you feel sometimes like throwing in the towel and just quitting? Possibly you have been hampered by an protracted illness and it has you discouraged. Or maybe your the one who just received the pink slip at work. Possibly Satan has been camped at your house for quite awhile and he's been attacking you without mercy and it's all you can do to just tie a knot in your Christian faith and just hold on. What can a person do when they are surrounded by so much doom, gloom and despair?

Today I read in Galatians 6:9 (NIV) "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." To become weary actually means to lack courage, lose heart, be faint-hearted. Paul is actually telling us, "Do not lose your courage. Stick to your guns." The main thing is to keep on keeping on. As Christians we too will see good times and hard times, times of struggle and times of plenty, and throughout it all, we are not to become weary in doing good. Keep on keeping on. Don't give up!

Once you change your focus to the One who gives abundant life you will also see that He has charted an amazing life for you! Often our disappointments and struggles play a very important part in our spiritual development. God can redeem, restore and recover what the enemy try's to take away from us. Satan cannot obstruct God's goodness from us forever. Our God can reach us through the fog that we sometimes find ourselves in. Just like the hand of any good father, our heavenly Father's hand will provide just what you and I need when we need it.