On this first Lord’s Day of the New Year, will we find you and your family in worship to the sovereign God who reigns over all?
Yes, there are legitimate reasons for missing the gathering of God’s people in corporate worship. It’s sometimes inconvenient. It’s true there is travel, especially for college students returning to their studies after their trips home and to other venues. There is illness– please don’t spread your colds or worse. The weather alerts for the north are posted for millions among us, and tornadoes have destroyed places of worship and it will take a long time to rebuild.
But, for others of us, we’ve made our semi-annual visit (Easter and Christmas) and we think that’s enough homage to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Let me set the record straight. Zephaniah 3:17 says God is waiting to hear from you and wants to bless your life with full joy. Here’s what this prophet, grandson of Hezekiah and a direct ancestor of Jesus says: “The Lord your God is in your midst, the Mighty One, will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing.” Susie Larsson in her Blessings for Every Day writes for January 5th, “May you–in spite of your critics–move forward in faith. May God’s song over your life drown out every lesser voice. May you look up and rejoice because heaven rejoices over you. Remember who you are today! In Christ Jesus, you possess all you need. Your name is written on His hand. Your desires are especially close to His heart. His call on your life fits you perfectly. Be watchful and thankful today. Jesus is with you.”
The question is, will you worship Him today with fellow Christians? Will you sing hymns and psalms and spiritual songs to Him? Will you listen to scripture read and preached? Will you greet fellow Christians and encourage them in the faith? Will you tithe to advance the kingdom’s efforts to spread the gospel and keep our churches and ministries strong? Will you commit this new year to God’s plans in your prayer and Bible study?
Will you stand up for your faith in a time of persecution in a fallen world?
That may be a bit much to ask, but fellow believers all over the world look forward to Lord’s Day gatherings in secret places. Some have lost family members for their faith. Some languish in prisons. Some have seen their places of worship and work destroyed. Some are refugees in other places because of hatred toward the faith we are blessed to profess. We pray for those martyred, those who have no pastors, churches which are literally closing because their peoples’ faith is not strong enough to support congregations’ missional impact.
So, that all being said, will you worship with me today in person? Will you show the world that Lord’s Day is indeed the Sabbath and deserves our attention to its specialness? Will you make the effort to worship as you begin a new week? Then, we’ll get to the rest. Will you commit to witnessing to the world that Jesus is King of your life? Will you pray for the church’s mission and for the day when Jesus will return, according to the Scriptures, and every knee will bow to King Jesus? There will be two responses: bowing in fear and trembling, or bowing in worship. As for me and my house, as Joshua said long ago, we will sere the Lord. Will you?
This is the first day of the week–the Sabbath. It was established in the Ten Commandments in honor of the work of creation by God. We are instructed to keep it holy. That means, a day of worship, a day of rest from our usual life journeys, and a time to prepare for the other six days’ routines. Will you keep God’s law and call Sunday the Lord’s Day. Surely it is.
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