Praise God for County Line Church of God!

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” And now here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a well-built city; its seamless walls cannot be breached. All the tribes of Israel—the LORD’s people— make their pilgrimage here. They come to give thanks to the name of the LORD, as the law requires of Israel. Here stand the thrones where judgment is given, the thrones of the dynasty of David. (Psalms 122:1-5 NLT)

I miss my church. Yes, Stephanie and I have been away from our church quite a bit this spring. We have attended multiple church visits with our Cma family, traveled to DC to honor our vets, and camped with the family. It's been busy and I miss my church. County Line Church of God is home. I am glad, jubilant, when we get to attend a Sunday worship. We have a great pastor, worship leaders, and a loving / caring congregation. That church IS a house of the Lord. But, God calls us to be away. 

I am a servant of the most high God and I will serve him as he is guiding me. Right now that is at school as a teacher, with my Cma family, and with my own family. He calls me away from my home church often and I will obey. But that doesn't mean I don't miss them. I long for a good sermon from Pastor Stu, the wonderful County Line Choir led by Kevin McIntire, and the leadership that serves the congregation. I am blessed beyond belief with this wonderful group of Christians. 

Praise God for great churches and great leaders that help us worship the Lord. If you don't have a church that you TRULY miss when you are gone, find one that you do. Church is not a chore. Church is not an obligation. Church, true worship, is a gift God gives us through great Christians. It is a gift to each of us and God weeps when worship inside and outside the church becomes a burden. Don't let it become stale, old, uninspired, or mundane. Serving the Lord should be a great  joy in your life that is best shared with a group of faithful believers. 

Praise God for County Line Church of God! I hope to see you this Sunday!

Why I go to church

that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. (Romans 1:12 NIV)

That's it. The reason I attend church. That's the reason I am a member of the Christian Motorcyclists Association. We have a great mission to bring others to know Christ like we do, but that lifetime goal can be demanding and a challenge most of the time. So, we need to spend time encouraging each other.

I love my church. I love my CMA family and I love the encouragement I get by being with these wondeful believers. This weekend I will be at the CMA Indiana State Rally and i am looking forward to the time encouraging and being encouraged! I am so blessed. 

If you don't have a church, a fellowship of believers, to encourage you or for you to encourage. FIND ONE! You can't go through life,as a believer in Christ, in isolation. You need to be encouraged and you need to encourage others. I know some churches that really hit this nail on the head and others miss the mark by a mile. If you are at a church that doesn't raise your spirits, change.  God designed us to be in fellowship with each other and designed the church to be the center of that fellowship.

Dear Lord, help those that do not know the fellowship of a good church. Help them to find a great place to share their Christian walk. Help them to discover a place that helps them endure the pains, the joys, the tears, and the laughter, of everyday life. I praise you for my faith family. AMEN!

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me.........

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6 NIV)

This verse really brings back some great boyhood memories. I used to be a pretty good singer and I still enjoy praising God in song. This particular verse was put to song. Here it is:

Ok, I know this is an oldie. But, it is a goodie. I remember singing this as a very young boy at my grandparents small country church. I just love the old hymns. My memories of this song and songs like "How great thou art" or "He touched me" or "The Old Rugged Cross" were such big parts of my growth as a young boy. I can still smell the old churches. I can hear the reverberating sound of my grandfathers preaching. I can hear the pianos and the wonderful voices praising God. I love my new modern church and it's glorious performances, but nothing touches my heart like the memories of the boyhood churches I attended growing up. It's a time lost to the world but still alive in my heart.

I praise God for my wonderful Christian upbringing. I am so blessed to have been raised in the church. I've heard friends say their parents dragged them to church. As a boy, I counted it a privilege to go to church. That's probably why I love it so much now. My kids might tell you different, but I never heard them complain about going to church either. They also grew up in the church and made so many friends and memories there. I think that's why they are all so involved at their own churches. I'm glad that tradition lives on. I'm glad their kids will have that same experience.

 Praise God for our freedom to worship!

I Love My Church!

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 122:1 NIV)

I really love going to church. My wife and I missed the last two Sundays. I was sick on one of those and church got cancelled due to a snowstorm on the other. When we went this past Sunday, it was good to be there. 

I attend a great church that works hard at serving its members. Worship is grounded in great biblical teaching and authentic praise. We have recently built a new sanctuary and it really looks like we are continuing to grow. God has blessed our church. He has provided great leadership and people to attend who are genuinely interested in growing closer to God. I rejoice when I have the opportunity to go to the house of The Lord. Praise God for this wonderful place of worship.

My commitment to weekly worship is not out of obligation, it is out of desire. I have attended weekly worship for every year of my life. You would think after attending at least 2500 worship services in my life, they would have lost their luster. Yet, I learn something new and am touched by every service. I think is an attitude. If you go to church with an open heart and mind, God will speak to you. If you go with the attitude of drudgerie or obligation, you will not receive ll the blessings of the Holy Spiirit. Rejoice in the freedom to worship. Rejoice in going to the house of The Lord! 

My Church moves me!

1 Timothy 3

 ¹⁴ Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, ¹⁵ if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.


I know I have bragged about my church several times. I'm about to do it again! Today our Senior Pastor gave his vision of where our church is going. It isn't really his vision, it's Gods vision. The vision he shared today is not about our Senior Pastor, the Church Staff, or the members. The vision is the working of the Holy Spirit. 


I have been deeply touched and amazed at the happenings at County Line. I have seen the movement of God in this church for all 5+ years we have attended. God has drawn together a great staff at CLCG. He has drawn together members who have a real heart for service. He has drawn together members that act upon the movement of the Holy Spirit. From Worship, to missions, to community service, to saving the lost, God is in the center of every activity at our church. 


I, myself, have been personally affected by this church. Over 3 years ago, I was prompted to serve the motorcycle community through CMA. That didn't come from within me. It came from the prompting of a new church mission, presented by our Senior Pastor, prompted by the Holy Spirit. My Church has moved me to action for God. Can you say that about your Church?


I don't want to be critical of specific churches, but if your church doesn't move you to act for God, why even go?We are not meant to attend church passively, once a week, for our own blessing. We are called to serve the Lord and the call, the prompting, is delivered by the Holy Spirit through the church. Worship should take place in every action we take. If our Faith doesn't prompt us to action. If your support group,(the church), does not encourage you to serve, Find another church!


  Praise God for County Line Church of God. May we follow Gods mission. May we serve as he would have us serve, not just in 2012 but beyond! Be with us as we take your blessings and use them to serve others!

Equal to the task!

2 Corinthians 2

........ And who is equal to such a task? ¹⁷ Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

Sharing the message of Christ is so difficult in this world. What are your motives? I don't think I have ever thought of winning someone over to Christ for profit. But, if you think about it, you can see why they might think you are. Are you more interested in preaching the gospel to the lost, or finding members for your church? Are we just trying to increase the $$ in the collection plate or are we really looking to have people know the love of Christ.

I love my church and all that it stands for. We have a great senior pastor and support staff. Still, I need to be careful how I promote my church to the lost. Is my church filled with perfect people? I know that answer is no. Do I portray them that way? I have to be careful about describing the people, the facility, or the many programs we attend. We need to be clear about our message. That message is not about us, our church, it is about the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

All of us are equal to the task of leading the lost to Jesus. We are made specifically for this purpose. God provides us everything we need to lead people to him. His planning is perfect and he dwells within us. Check your motives. Check your heart. If you don't like what you see, change it with the power of the creator. If you like what you see, you should already be out there working for the Lord.

In all things I will serve him!

Scandal!

1 Corinthians 5

 ⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister^[c] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

 ¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”^[d]

The modern church does not have the monopoly on scandal. The early church, specifically the church at Corinth, had it's share of scandal. This message from Paul really puts our churches on alert. We can not worry about our "Ministry" to the outside world of sinners, if we have scandal from within. Churches are not going to be perfect places. But, sometimes this is used as an excuse to accept sin from within. We must not allow sins of sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, slander, drunkenness, and other sins take over our churches. We must be diligent to deal with these sins upfront and with all candor and honesty. We can not accept immorality for the sake of members. We can not ignore the premise of the bible to be more popular. Churches must take a stand. We must draw the line in the sand to not accept sin in our midst. We can not even chance the appearance of endorsing sin. If we accept it from those who claim to be followers of Christ, if we accept it from those who are leaders, we will earn the label of hypocrite. The only respect we can possibly hope for is if we are true to the values of Christ. 



We walk a fine line between endorsing sin and accepting broken people who are in search of Christ. I'm not saying we should close our churches to outsiders. I am saying we must make sure that we are firm in our stand against sin and that we do not change our standards to make it appealing for people to attend our church.  


Example: Murder is a sin. Yet, we can accept the murderer. By accepting the sinner do we need to endorse murder as OK. NO, of course we don't. Yet, that is what we do for abortion, homosexuality, drunkenness, sexual immorality, and a multitude of other "controversial" sins. 

Are you with me?

Psalm 34 (New International Version, ©2010)

 ¹ I will extol the LORD at all times;
   his praise will always be on my lips.
² I will glory in the LORD;
   let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
³ Glorify the LORD with me;
   let us exalt his name together.


It is so much more fun to be together with others who Love God. I could sit at home and Glorify the Lord on my own, within the quiet confines, privately. How much fun could that be? Sometimes I meet people who say they don't need to go to church to believe in God. I agree. They can worship at home. They can do a lot without stepping a foot in a church. Yet, why would they want to? Where else can they get together to praise God and exalt his name with others who want to do the same thing. Oh, I know you can do it at concerts, camps, or other special events. I also know that "churches" can be held many places. I really call "Church" any place where we Christians gather together to praise God. But, if all I do is Praise God at special events, it's just not enough for me. I can't wait to attend Sunday services, or special events like CMA Seasons of Refreshing, or the CMA State Rally, or Trinity Fest. I just can't get enough of Praising God with others. We are all "afflicted". We all have times we just don't think we will make it. Yet, God not only wants to spend time with us, he also wants us to spend time together. We can provide support because we all share the same sinful experiences. When we just don't feel like we can Praise God on our own, it is important to be around others who can.

Find a place you can worship and praise God on a regular basis. Find a group who loves to spend time praising God and can't wait to do it all through the week. I attend services at County Line Church of God in Auburn, Indiana. The services are always just like that. We have a great time worshipping and praising  him. I also have a great group of fellow believers through the Christian Motorcyclist Association. I also have a great group of co-workers who aren't afraid to Praise God. I just can't get enough. I would feel lost JUST attending Sunday Services.

Thank You Lord for providing people I can worship with who Love you as much as I do! Amen!

Invite a Biker to Church!

James 2 (The Message)

 ^1-4My dear friends, don't let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith. If a man enters your church wearing an expensive suit, and a street person wearing rags comes in right after him, and you say to the man in the suit, "Sit here, sir; this is the best seat in the house!" and either ignore the street person or say, "Better sit here in the back row," haven't you segregated God's children and proved that you are judges who can't be trusted?

As you know, I hang out with Bikers. I guess I'm a biker. Leather, Loud Pipes, and the sheer joy of riding are my definition of a great day! Our CMA (christian motorcyclist association) chapter visits a lot of churches. We get a few strange looks by the church regulars until they realize we are christians too. I love my chapter and the goals of CMA. CMA takes Christ to people who won't/don't attend church. We host events that are not designed for the christian biker, but they are designed for NON-christian bikers. (It's not the healthy who need a doctor.) Our organization is all about building relationships with people that most christians feel are hopeless. I love it! Many of the people I've met have dealt with drug and alcohol problems, they have family issues, they struggle with jobs and money. I guess they're like all the rest of us!

I wonder if I would be welcome in your church wearing my leather vest, my boots, and riding into the parking lot on my Harley! Is your church only for the "Healthy" christians? Our Church has a mission "Restoring our communities with Christ, one life at a time." I'm not looking to make Christians more Christiany. I want to help those people who don't know the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I want to introduce them to my savior! I don't care what they look like. I don't care what their life is like. I don't care what they wear or what they like to do in their spare time. They don't have to wear a suit to get a front row seat in my church. I just want them to be with me in paradise. If you don't know a biker, I bet you know someone who society considers "undesirable". Why don't you spend time, get to know them, and invite them to  your church. Make sure you give them the best seat in the house!

Church Quitters!

Hebrews 10 (The Message)

 ^32-39It won't be long now, he's on the way; he'll show up most any minute. But anyone who is right with me thrives on loyal trust; if he cuts and runs, I won't be very happy. But we're not quitters who lose out. Oh, no! We'll stay with it and survive, trusting all the way.

About 2.2 million kids play little league baseball. Their are only 130,000 High School Senior Baseball players. That means for some reason over 2 million kids give up on playing baseball by the time they get to High School. You wonder how many of those players, if they stuck with it, would have been All-State baseball players. The story is true for sports across the country. Even from the freshman year of High School to graduation, we see a lot of athletes who quit sports. You can't label all of these kids as "quitters".  However, I have seen MANY student-athletes give up on a sport for poor reasons. Some say it's too hard. Some quit because they don't want to commit the time needed to get better. When a talented athlete quits a sport, I always have a talk with them. My conversation is always the same. In my final plea, I always tell them they will regret not following through. In my experience, these students ALWAYS live to regret quitting. I also see that once you quit for the first time, it's easy to quit the next time. It's like running a marathon. Once you convince yourself it's ok to walk, you're done. You'll be walking off and on for the rest of the race. You also have a greater chance that you will drop out altogether. When you get done with the race you feel cheated. You feel let down.

Attending Church is just like this. I find that I really NEED to attend Church. When I miss church, I have a hard time staying focused on living as I should throughout the week. Church is more than worship. Church is a time of renewal. Church is a time to top-off the tank. Church is a time to praise God for all the blessings. It is also a place to become aware of those blessings. Church is a time to look inward and to be critical of what type of Christian we are. Church is a place to learn about our own weaknesses and to find help in getting better. Church is a place to find sinners just like us who are trying to find others that are going through the same troubled times they are.

It is easy to get out of the habit of going to church. Once you take off that one week, it becomes easier to not go back. It becomes easier to skip the next time. Once you get out of the habit. You might never go back. I have heard so many people say they don't need church. They say they can worship God from home and he will love them the same. Yes, I can't find anywhere in the Bible where God makes attending Church a commandment. God will love you no matter what you do. Is that a good enough excuse to not attend? Or, I have heard people say the church is full of hypocrites and "fake" people. All churches are made up of sinful people. We are all sinners. Some of us try to hide that. Ye who have not sinned can cast the first stone. Church is specifically designed for the sinners of this world who want to live more like Christ. Some people are further along than others.  Maybe the people who attend your local church need you more than you need them. If your relationship with Christ is great without attending Church. Great! I wish I were you! If you have that type of relationship with Christ, YOU need to be sharing that with others. If you're like me, you need all the help you can get in living Christian life. If you're like me you need someone holding you accountable for your thoughts, actions, or words.

Don't quit on attending church. If you have already given up on Church and you don't attend anymore, try it again. Make it a habit. Search for a church that suits your style of worship. Pray for God's guidance. Pray for motivation. Don't be a quitter. If you do, you might lose out on some fantastic blessings! Make a commitment THIS SUNDAY!