Give God Your Best

It’s the end of a very busy weekend and while all I really want to do is snuggle under a blanket and watch movies – there is much to do.

I normally attend the Saturday evening service at my church but lately I’ve chosen to go to church on Sunday mornings at 9:00 am.  The vibe is different on Sunday and I like to switch things up every now and then.  Saturday night is appealing to me because then I really get to enjoy complete rest on Sunday.  But Sunday morning service is how I grew up and I’m beginning to like the idea of going back to my roots, so to speak.  It’s nice to have choices.

Every second Saturday evening I work at the Information Desk at church.  When I’m on duty I have to man the desk for the entire service, so I miss out on the praise and worship and the sermon.  I told myself that it wasn’t an issue because I would get up and come back to the Sunday morning service.  However, when I returned home from church last night for some reason, I had made up in my mind that I would skip Sunday morning.  I heard most of the sermon so I wouldn’t really be missing anything.  I curled up on the couch and watched two movies, then went to bed and watched another one.  It was close to 1:00 am before I finally turned the television off and went to sleep.

I awoke this morning at 7:00 am with every intention of staying home.  I checked my phone, read a few Facebook posts, scrolled through Instagram and rolled over and went back to sleep.  At 8:00 the following conversation took place:

Me:  I’m staying home

Holy Spirit:  Get up and go to church

One of my constant prayers is to be able to not only hear the Holy Spirit but to take immediate action when I do.  So I got up and for the first time in several weeks I got out of bed without pain or stiffness in my lower back.

Me:  Okay.  I’ll go to church.  It’s less than 5 minutes from the house so I’ll just throw something on and go.

Holy Spirit:  Give God your best.

My church is a “come as you are” church, more or less.  In other words, there is no pressure to wear this or that.  However, I quickly reviewed in my mind the events of the weekend.  I got up early on Friday morning to attend a networking event and I got up, showered, put on makeup, did my hair and dressed appropriately.  On Saturday, I made sure that every hair was in place and that my face was camera-ready.  Why in the world would I just throw on anything to worship God?  If I can give the world my best I can certainly give my best to the One who has given me everything!  So, I showered, carefully applied my makeup and put on a suit to attend church.

Me:  I really need my coffee.  I’ll take it with me into the sanctuary and I’ll sit in the back.

Holy Spirit:  Drink the coffee in the car and take your seat up front.

And that is exactly what I did. 

I was so blessed during today’s service.  The speaker’s subject was “Taking a New Road” and the text was Matthew’s gospel chapter 2, verses 1-12.  The 5 points that he gave almost mirrored my morning experience:

     1.      Every journey begins with discontentment (we usually decide to take a new road because we are not content with our current situation.  I thought I was content to lie in bed but I knew my spirit would be unsettled all day if I did.)

     2.      The new journey is a selfless journey (I put my own comfort on the back burner in order to be obedient)

     3.      Christ is our destination (I went to church to hear from the Father)

     4.      Worship is costly (It cost me some extra sleep and I missed breakfast)

     5.      Adoration opens a secure way (There were so many words that were spoken at this morning’s service that I needed to hear in order to feel secure as I face the upcoming week.  If I chose to be disobedient I would have missed out on it all!  I’m secure in the knowledge that every single one of my steps will be ordered by the Lord!)

As you start your week, remember to give God your very best!