Fuel Up

What is church? For a while, I had been looking at it as a place where I went every Sunday, played with kids, sang fun music, listened to a sermon, and headed on out to Zaxby’s. I didn’t look at it as unnecessary, exactly, but I looked at it as a routine that I would tend to just go through the motions. Church is a wonderful thing to have in your routine, of course! But when you forget what church really is, your relationship with God deteriorates.

At youth last night, we were supposed to be talking about Nehemiah, but we ended up sharing stories about instances where we had to have faith in God, or instances where we struggled to have faith in God. It was an awesome discussion, and it took up a solid 45 minutes. We were all sitting in a circle, listening to each other, and encouraging each other. I think everyone (along with myself) was just overwhelmed by the sense of security between our fellow high schoolers and our teachers! It was such a comforting feeling.

On the way home, the song “Redeemed” by Big Daddy Weave came on the radio. It says,

“I am redeemed, You set me free.

So I’ll shake off these heavy chains,

Wipe away every stain, now I’m not who I used to be.

I am redeemed.”

I was thinking about the word “redeemed.” By definition, it means to compensate for the faults. I don’t know about you (especially because I have a strange love for words and definitions and synonyms), but that is a beautiful definition! God redeemed us, he compensated for our faults.

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

-Colossians 1:13-14 (NIV)

I continued to ponder that thought, and I came to the realization: I have so many faults, it’s ridiculous. I think it makes me feel like I won’t have the answers to the questions people may ask me about Jesus, and that scares me. Therefore, I won’t speak up and share His love, and I lose an opportunity. I think that makes me feel like when I read my Bible, I won’t have the understanding needed to let what I read sink in. Therefore, I don’t put 100% effort into Scripture.

The truth is, is that I don’t have all of the answers and I can’t understand everything in the Bible… without Him.

“Hey God, it’s me again... Maddy. ‘________’ is giving me vibes that I need to tell them about You. I don’t know what to say, so I’m asking you to give me the words to say… or this may turn out ugly. Oh yeah, while You’re here (even though you’re always here, HA HA), I didn’t understand or take in one word of what I read last night. I’ll read it again tonight, please bring me some sort of comprehension!”

In the words of my boyfriend, “I think God has a sense of humor.” So I’m not going to say I DO word my prayers in the manner of the previous one, but I’m also not going to say I DON’T word my prayers like that… Anyways, I’ve found that prayer REALLY does work (who’da thunk it), and to me, that’s just amazing. A God that you can talk to, lay all of your problems down, and He gives you peace from it!

Church also does wonders. As I was listening to that song (you know, the one I mentioned 30 minutes ago until I went off on a small tangent), I time traveled back to sitting in the circle at youth when Shane told us that we can back up our God even more if we KNOW the Scripture (remember this!).

I’m not going to lie to you people, I zone out a LOT reading my Bible. It truly does take focus and concentration, and I don’t always have that. But during the times when my mind is in the zone, and I am completely invested in Scripture, OH, HOW WONDERFUL I FEEL! I try so hard to have that every night, but the desire doesn’t always come.

Do you guys ever have that problem? If so, it’s your lucky day! I’ve found a little trick that works... It’s going to BLOW your mind. It’s something you would never expect…

CHURCH.

Okay, so I was being a bit facetious. But after going through the motions of church every week, it truly does become second-nature. That’s not a good thing. Church is a place to get together with other believers and worship the Lord, learn more about Him, and grow closer and closer and closer. Sometimes, the devil creeps in and makes me think, “I don’t understand why I have to wake up at 8:00 when I can just do this at home! Just give me the verses and I’ll go at it.” Sure, I can read at home and I SHOULD. But if I read at home and start zoning out like usual, then there’s no point. I need to comprehend or I won’t know God anymore, and referring to what Shane told us… I won’t be able to defend Him when someone asks me questions or tells me I’m wrong for believing in Him.

Think of yourself as a car. I like to think that I would be Lilly, my little yellow bug. What do cars have to have every 130 miles or so? GAS! If a car runs out of gas, it can’t go anywhere. It’s the same way with church… if we don’t go to church, we can’t fuel up, and we can’t go anywhere. We can’t grow. Church is necessary, it rejuvenates our desire for the Lord, which gives us a desire to do other activities! Pray, read our Bibles, forgive someone, worship, help others out, anything! It “re-juices” us, and we are ready to take on life with a Christ-like attitude.

Being surrounded by people who love the Lord, love you, and are supportive of each other can influence your attitude like nothing else. Church is a place where you can let loose, learn, lead, and love! My outlook on church is much different after this realization, and I hope yours is, too, if you were like me and were just going through the motions. Let’s all take church to a whole new level! After all, we are REDEEMED, right?

We all have faults, so let’s get to know the One who compensated us!

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
-Galatians 2:20 (NIV)