March is the one month of the year when I feel totally un-American. Don’t get excited, I love my Country and don’t wish to live anywhere else. But I do feel like a foreigner during this time of the year.
The reason is two-fold. American Idol and March Madness. I’m not a fan of either. And today they are as American as apple pie – getting people caught up in a fanatical frenzy over who will be in the finals and who will win. So for that reason, I have one month out of the year when I feel like I’m a stranger in a strange land. Please do not try to convert me either . . . I’m beyond reach.
Maybe you feel like a foreigner at times. While I joke about this Month for me personally, maybe for some Christians – you feel like a foreigner. Church seems foreign, God seems far off, Christians are few and far between in your life. You feel alone.
Can I tell you the solution? Go to church every time the door is open. Don’t miss a service. Drag yourself here if necessary. Devote yourself (Acts 2:42) to belonging to a church where the Gospel is preached and you can be challenged, encouraged, and in fellowship with other Christians.
Do you know the Bible tells us to get together as often as we can? And even moreso as we see the day of the Christ’s return approaching? Hebrews 10:25 “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
When you go to a church regularly – it’s hard to feel like a foreigner after a while. It may take time but eventually you will feel connected to God and His Body in a whole new way. If nobody greets you, why don’t you greet them? If nobody says hello (and I doubt that will happen) why don’t you say hello to someone first?
Did you know that those who go to church regularly have less chance of feeling depressed in life? I posted about that here.
Also, your chances of having car trouble is lower when you go to church regularly . . . okay I made that one up, but I thought I’d give it a shot.
But don’t just go to church, get involved. See and need and meet it. Hear of a new ministry (like our “Parking Ministry” soon to start) and join it. Nothing brings people together like a shared cause. Email the church to find out how you can get involved. Do it today, stop feeling alone and link up with a loving Body of Christ.
Don’t be a stranger!
Pastor Tim
