TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! (Psalm 95:6 ESV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• In my three years of writing My Grace-Full Life, I’ve been diligent about walking a fine line. I don’t talk about politics here and even outside of MGFL and my business, I’m highly selective about who I discuss politics with. But for me, some issues in the political forum aren’t about politics, but they are moral matters. An example: the issue of pro-life or pro-choice is not political. It’s moral. God is the giver of life and it is up to Him when life begins and when it ends. So with that said, I’m sure it’s no surprise to you who are reading that I am pro-life. And it hasn’t set well with me that abortion clinics have been deemed essential while churches were closed. It is a deeply disturbing reflection of the priorities in our culture.
But, on Friday, President Trump deemed churches essential and I couldn’t agree more. He said, “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but not churches. It’s not right. So I’m correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential.”
I don’t care if you like Trump or not. All Christians should be happy with him for taking a stance on this matter.
The church IS ALWAYS essential. Now, I will say again, to some degree, I think this shutdown has proved that the church was never about a building. But as I wrote last Sunday, we’ve been in dire need of fellowship. That IS essential—we need to be back in our churches so we can fellowship and worship together. Thanks to President Trump’s declaration, churches can begin to make plans to reopen.
Psalm 95:6 says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” Yes, I know. You can worship at home. And if that’s where you’re more comfortable right now, that’s fine! I’m worshiping again at home today too, but the first chance I have to get back to church, I’m there. God is with you wherever you praise and worship Him. But “us” is a small but powerful word in this verse. Let US worship! Let US bow down! Let US kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Pulling from another Psalm, Psalm 34:3 says, “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!” Worship WITH ME! I can’t wait to worship again with my brothers and sisters in Christ!
Praise and worship Him today! The church IS essential! And when we recognize the church as essential, we remember that every body has a head. And Colossians 1:18a says of Jesus, “And he is the head of the body, the church.“ To deem the church as non-essential has diminished Jesus as the head of the church. And we can’t allow that to continue.
Today, as you pray, thank God that the church—and Jesus—have been deemed essential. Pray for President Trump and our leaders as they navigate these uncharted waters. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide our church leaders as churches around the country prepare to reopen. Ask Him to given them wisdom and discernment.
SHARING ••• Please share with others! Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. ***Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture references are from the ESV translation.
