The first time I saw a real, live deer was when I toured a wildlife park in Colorado. Its back was momentarily in front of me before it dashed off in a flash. I was a human intruder. But I thought of the verse in Psalms 42 that we now sing in worship, "As the deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for you, my God."
During our staff devotions at work, I read aloud Mike Cariño's article, "Help! My Church is Boring!" that had Psalms 42:1-2 as its Bible passage. It's also one of my favorites from REAL TIME devotions for Filipino youth. Let me share portions of it with you:
"He walked out of the church in deep thought after the worship service. Danny felt so spiritually dry and empty in spite of the church's dynamic Sunday activities.
" 'It doesn't make sense,' thought Danny. 'If God's Word is preached, why do I still feel so hungry? Why do I drag my feet every time I go to church? How come I find it still routine, predictable and boring?' He felt confused, guilty and frustrated as he feebly waved farewell to his church friends...
"So how can a committed young Christian like Danny ever become bored with church?
"Many times, the problem does not lie in the church we attend. It is in our own hearts. When we are exhausted, numb, or resentful, we tend to lose our passion for God. With our spiritual appetite gone, no amount of program or preaching can reignite our enthusiasm...
"When our hearts are on fire for God, no church can really bore us."
For once, my devotional message (with scripted comments before and after the reading) was short enough to give us more time to pray. Afterwards, two officemates told me separately that their own worship experience concurred with my talk. One of them even asked for my notes, perhaps to use it with her own small group. That made my day.
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2 comments:
How true... someone dear to me keeps saying the same thing; it isn't what the order of service is, or the style of music played, or even the general age-group of the fellowship you're part of that makes church worthwhile. It's the attitude you have that makes it count.
haaay...Christian youth faces that kind of dilemma.(I experienced that a year ago) The challenge for us is to understand them and pray for them that God will draw them to Himself. I can soooo relate. But I praise God for those who understands. Some "churchy" people tend to "judge", when we youth need understanding and guidance. It is God who will work in the hearts of men,It is a challenge for the church to be authentic and accept/welcome the broken without prejudice.
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