It was not that long ago that I avoided attending church. In fact, it seemed like it would be a sacrifice to have to get up early on Sunday mornings instead of getting to sleep in.
But oh how things can change drastically when the Lord grabs hold of our lives.
Psalms 122:1 NLT
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord .”
Yes, now I’m excited to go to the house of the Lord.
For those who are still asleep on Sunday mornings like I was – both physically and spiritually asleep, this must seem odd, or manufactured, or faked, or a trick, or a manipulation in an attempt to get them ducked in. But I assure you, my excitement is not for your benefit.
You see, there is a Holy and Almighty God.
There is a creator of everything.
There is a spiritual and eternal realm that we cannot measure with our physical science, but that nevertheless we each know exists – probe your inner self deeply and you will know this is true.
We each have a desire to understand those things that we cannot explain.
And yes, people throughout the ages knew spiritual things in part – as if looking for the truth through the shadow of a veil – until God himself came as a man to reveal His nature fully to us in Jesus Christ.
He was not just a wise man who spoke wise words, but He walked it out and demonstrated it. He was so different, so pure, so blameless, that His very teachings were divisive and drew the lines between good and evil, even will extending mercy and forgiveness to all.
And we get to spend time with Him. And not just in church on Sunday mornings. And not just each morning in study and prayer. But daily, moment by moment as we walk through our day – IF we have surrendered our lives and received this life altering gift of the Holy Spirit, of Christ in me.
I found that it’s much better to be alive than asleep. It’s much better to be spending time with the Lord than dead. It’s much better to be following his guidance than trapped in sin and death.
So I awake.
So I arise.
So I live.
So I worship and praise Him who lives in me and who lives through me – and that is how I know that I am no longer asleep and dead.
Harold J. Ballinger 