“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”   1 Timothy 3:15

     This divine desire to shake off sin and be like Jesus is not a human or academic decision, but is the result of God calling His redeemed ones out of this world to be a part of His very body. Eternal life is defined biblically as intimacy or oneness to our holy almighty God. It is no secret what God can do; and, He doesn't keep it a secret either when He saves His people and notifies them by the Holy Spirit of this divine work. What He does is provide an institution, organized and orchestrated for His glory, for the purpose of encouraging His people and as a witness of His grace. This institution is called the church. The church is the only institution which Christ Jesus ever build. Jesus Christ surely and effectively came from Heaven to Earth to save sinners, but He also came to build a church.

     What an humbling honor it truly is to be a member of the church of the living God! Christ is the head of the church and He makes all the decisions regarding faith and godliness. The greatness and the grace of this wonderful institution most assuredly should affect our behavior in every aspect of our lives, but especially when we come into God's house. From the pulpit to the very back pews, there should be a holy feeling as we gather to worship the one true and living God at a place He set up and sustains with truth. Never come to church with the idea of getting a blessing. Always come to church to worship God! If we do that, blessings are sure to follow.

     The church is not a place to promote man's performance, not in preaching, singing nor music. All these surely have their place and are vital to worship so long as God's glory is the true motive for all. When the church service becomes a stage to satisfy our appetites for entertainment, we can be sure we are not behaving the way God wants us to in His church.

     When we go to church, it ought to make us more alert. Sort of like in the morning when we first get up, we go to the bathroom sink and splash some water on our face to get the sleep out of our eyes. The church doesn't save us, but it surely should awaken us to our need of a Savior and also to the need to improve our own behavior. The apostle cites or describes the church as a pillar of truth. Note that he didn't say pillow of truth. I can only imagine that some of my sermons can get pretty boring, but I do hope they are not so soft as to put you all to sleep. The church is probably the only place we find truth promoted in the context of behavior patterns. Now the truth will make us free but the truth sometimes hurts. But it's the hurt that keeps us alert. Jesus promises to remove every stain and wrinkle from His church and He not only does it with His shed blood, but also by His pure word.

     May the Lord bless us to covet each and every privileged opportunity we have to gather in Jesus' name in His church. May we always come into His house to glorify His name and hear His word. When we "do church" like this, it's sure to have a lasting and positive effect on our behavior. Going to church helps us use the bitter to make us better.

Brother Randy