This Post is from August 9, 2020 during the covid-19 pandemic. Sadly, today, many people have made the choice to continue to stay away instead of returning to God’s House to worship Him. It makes us wonder if worshiping Him was their priority after all? We are just thankful for all the ones who have been faithful to press on and draw closer to God!

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for giving us another wonderful day! We may not be assembled together in a building this morning, but we know that the same Holy Spirit is present in us as we Pray, Praise and Worship You, Almighty God!

Some of you may have noticed the word “assembled” was used instead of the word “gathered” as in some of the past writings so we want to explain the change! Several weeks ago Pastor Irvin preached on the word “assembly”. Before we headed to Church that morning, Irvin had asked to bring one of my puzzles for his message. He talked about how in the Bible there are several scriptures using the word “assembly”. He talked about what it means to gather versus being assembled. Sorry if you missed it because it really touched my heart and made me realize what is happening in many Churches today! We hope that you will take time to read my side of this!

I have always liked jigsaw puzzles. When I was younger, I remember going across the street to my Grandma’s house and we would spend hours working on a puzzle. Sitting quietly looking over the pieces but still being with her are such precious memories. Grandma had a plan to put together all those puzzle pieces. When the box is first opened, it is a sight to see. The pieces are turned every which way. Grandma would dump them out and sort for the pieces with straight edges to “assemble” the “frame” of the puzzle. When that was finished she would focus on one location at a time and before we knew it, the box of “pieces” were all “assembled” and Oh, what a beautiful picture we had made!

That being said, let’s get back to our thoughts for today. What is “Church” really about and what does it mean to you? Is it just someplace for you to “gather” to see everyone each week or do you have a specific purpose for going? Are you going to Church to grow in the knowledge of Jesus so that He can “assemble” you in His Likeness and Image? Or are you just going to be counted as another number? Are you going to Church to be a blessing to someone? Or are you just sitting around the Church waiting to “get your blessing”? We can only tell you what the Bible says about “Church” and what it means to us! In Isaiah 56:7 & Matthew 21:13, God’s House is called a House of Prayer. We definitely believe in Prayer and the Power of Prayer because we know for a fact that by the prayers of faithful men and women of God, our lives have been saved from death, many times!

This year has been hard on all of us! Up until March of this year, out of the 21 years of our marriage, we could count on one hand the number of times we had not attended “Church” on a Sunday. And there were many years where we went 2 and 3 times a week to a Church somewhere just so we could grow closer to the Lord and let God continue to “assemble” us! But over the years we have seen a different take on going to “Church” or maybe it has always been that way for some and it is just getting more and more noticeable! It seems like many churches are turning into entertainment houses instead of Houses of Worship. People gather there in huge numbers to hear music and jokes, watch movies and eat and other “fun” things but on Sunday morning or midweek service the same building is almost empty! Not many want to come to be part of the “assembly” where they can be used by God! Oh, how God’s Heart must break! He deserves so much more! But He will never make you do anything! Going to Church and being the Church has been our life and our God has rewarded us so much for that! By letting Him continue to “assemble” us we have peace and joy that no money can buy. We may not be able to “gather” each Sunday in a building but we can still “work” for God! We are still busy sharing God’s love and goodness with others! We are still busy telling others how Jesus Saved our wretched sin-filled lives and how God “assembled” them into something that He could use for His Glory and His Honor! We are still praying each day! We are still reading His Holy Bible each day! We are still singing Praises to Almighty God and we hope that you all are, too! If you can’t gather in a Church building you can still assemble your families for a time to pray and seek God! We will all be back together again soon and we hope that everyone will be ready to let God “assemble” us all in one mind and one accord! He has more great things to do and there are still many lost souls to be saved so we cannot continue to just gather in a building that we want to call Church, without letting God “assemble” us the way He wants to! Time may be running out but as long as we, Born Again Believers, still have breath, we have hope for this World to change! Let us all strive to become that “Completely Assembled” person that God has put together! Let us all strive for the abundant life that Jesus came to give us!

Have a great week everyone!