I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.  Psalm 122:1

Are you glad today? The goodness and grace of God is surely beneficial and powerful enough to keep us glad. Gladness means cheerfulness. And God not only loves a cheerful giver, He loves a glad Christian too! Although God's love is unconditional on His part, it is not as far as our part is concerned. The truth is, our gladness is a pretty good gauge of our love for god. Yes, the truth makes us free, but sometimes that truth hurts! God condensed all His commandments down to just two. The number one response to His divine love is that we love Him with all our heats, souls, minds, and strength. i don't know about you, but this very first one attests to what a great need I have of a Savior. If having a Savior doesn't make us glad, nothing else can. 

Jesus said if we love Him we should keep His commandments. He is telling us to do something we cannot do, although we do love Him. What we can do in response to His imputed righteousness and cleansing from all our sins is to be glad. God always gives us something to look forward to and it's always good and for His glory. We may not know everything about the bible, ever go on a mission trip, sing a solo or preach a sermon, but we can and should be glad. Most of us have two gears, a gripping rear and a gladness gear. Both will move us along life's path, but gladness will make the trip much smoother, especially when negotiating bumps and curves.

The Lord know how important gladness is to Him and to us. So, He provides various means of His grace as platforms to exercise and grow in gladness. A marriage, a family, our work, His Word, even trials, when God is in the center all, creates much cheerfulness in our lives. One of the most prominent places though for gladness to hatch out is the church.

The Church Is A Place Where We Can Express Our Love For God Publicly

There may be lots of reasons people go to church or don't go to church. Yet probably the most worthy reason is loving God. David loved God so much He wanted to build Him a house. Even though it wasn't God's will for him to build it, God approved of his desire in his heart, for He knew his heart and that David wanted to do it because he loved the Lord. When my children and grandchildren come to my house, it makes me glad because I love them. And, they all seem glad to be here when they come too. I rather suspect they love me. (Although some of the little ones may come for the popsicles!_

What makes the true Christian glad about going to church is knowing that they are doing what God told them to do.

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

Remember what Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments!" Going to church is one of those commandments. Sometimes we can't go to church, but we sure out to be glad if and when we can go If my family never came to see me, I might have a good reason to question their love for me. It could be too that they are doing something that they know I wouldn't approve of, so it's easier just to stay away. Sin separates and will cause gladness to leak out fast.

The church is a place where we can get a fresh look at Jesus.

Sometimes we may not feel like going to church. That is the time we need to go though. Jesus Christ is to only our Savior, He is also our Great Shepherd. Sheep need to know the shepherd is near,  especially when danger approaches, and seeing Him makes all the difference in how we see everything else.

And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. John 20:20

The church is where the gospel is preached! And the gospel is good news, good enough to make any sinner glad. The church also is where we come to Jesus to feed on His word, the bread of life, and to drink from the fountain of living water. Jesus Christ intends for us to see Him at the church; for, He gave His church two ordinances which provide us a "fresh look" at Him, the Lord's supper and water baptism.

We also get a fresh look at Jesus in the church when we see one another. After all, the church is the body of Christ! This fellowship and comradely among believers breeds much gladness in the heart. Knowing that we are in Him and He in us means He is in others also. God does His best work through people, people he has called out of the world and into His church. 

Keeping our eyes on Jesus will do a lot to enhance our spiritual gladness. it can be more difficult to walk cheerfully on the earth when we don't see Jesus than it is to walk on water looking at Him. The revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ is something indeed to be glad about. And if going to church helps us see Him better, don't you think we should head that way?

Going to church teaches us how to do life!

This world is a beautiful place but it's a hard place to live. The local church is where believers make a spiritual living. One of the many reasons life gets chaotic and confusing is because our priorities are wrong. Stress can make life a mess and cause us to give our best to the wrong or lesser good things. What we learn though is that when we get God right, everything else will fall into place.

But see ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

We can go to church for the wrong reasons, but we can go for the right reasons too! Sometimes we may need a little discipline in order to stay on the right course. Surely the author and creator of all life knows how life is to be done. And, He explains it in a book called the Bible and teaches it through the Holy Spirit from a raised platform in a special building called a church.

Going to church promotes balance in our lives. God knows we have to work and make a living and spend time with our families. Yet, we'll find we'll enjoy all of these more by making church a part of our weekly schedule. God is a balancing God when we consider His law and His grace, His night and His day. The good times are balanced by the bad times in all practical aspects of life on Earth. Going to church, being around God's people show us that we all have problems. What's hard to imagine is what we would do during difficult times if we didn't have a church family. right in the church is where we most likely hear the words of the Lord Jesus most clearly when problems and pain surrounds us.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peach. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Sunday ought to be our favorite day of the week because it's the day we go to church for public worship and to praise God. We don't go to church to get saved, we go because we are saved and we are so glad! Perk up! Sunday is coming! A strong and true evangelical statement was made by an aged lady in a nursing home who loved God and His people. She said, "Brother Randy, tell everyone to go to church because the day is coming when you won't be able to go!"

Brother Randy