Small Crowd

On our recent vacation, my wife and I gathered with four other people to worship the Lord together on Sunday morning on a balcony of a cruise ship. I must admit that I was a bit surprised at how satisfying this worship experience was.

I understand that worship is not for our benefit; it is for God. However, there are often some times of worship that move us emotionally. I wasn’t expecting that to happen in such a small setting. Sometimes we think that it takes a bigger crowd to really experience the energy and emotion that often accompanies worship.

It turns out that this is not the case at all. I found myself getting choked up by the words of the songs we sang and the Scriptures we read and the prayers that we offered. A communion service consisting of only six people can be a powerful experience.

So, don’t count on the size of the crowd to make a worship service meaningful. It is the presence of Jesus that makes the difference.

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”—Matthew 18:20

 

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Overhearing the Gospel

Yesterday I wrote about how my family and friends worshiped together on a Sunday morning while on a 7-day cruise. What I didn’t tell you was that we were on a balcony that was off of one couple’s room. It was such a beautiful setting, looking out over the vast sea and enjoying the early morning warmth of the sun’s rays.

As we read Scripture and sang songs together, I couldn’t help but wonder if anyone sitting on a nearby balcony could hear us worshiping the Lord. I was reminded of how the jailer in the prison where Paul and Silas were praying and singing later asked these men how to be saved (Acts 16:25-34).

Sometimes the best way for people to accept the gospel is to overhear it. This can only happen when we are speaking it.

 

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Sing-a-Long

My wife and I recently took a 7-day Caribbean cruise with family and friends. There were six of us in our group, all followers of Christ. We gathered together on the second day of the cruise, Sunday, to worship the Lord together. We prayed, shared some Scriptures, participated in communion together and sang some songs to the Lord. We didn’t make any announcements, and we chose not to take up a collection, but other than that, it was a regular church service.

We tried to choose songs that most of us would know, and, for the most part, we did a pretty good job. Almost everybody was able to join in on almost every song.

That made me think about how our songs of faith can unite us. The six of us had grown up in five different churches, yet we could sing many, many songs together.

It is a shame that music has caused so much divisiveness in the kingdom, especially when our songs have such potential to bind us together.

“Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—Ephesians 5:19-20

 

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Different Story

A man went to see an insurance agent about getting some life insurance. The agent asked the man, “How old was your father when he died, and what caused his death?”

He answered, “He was 39, and he died of a heart attack.”

The agent then asked, “How old was your mother when she died, and what caused her death?”

The man replied, “She was 43 when she died of cancer.”

“I’m sorry,” the agent said. “Your family history shows too much of a risk for us to insure you.”

The man went to a different insurance company to try his luck there.

The agent asked, “How old was your father when he died, and what caused his death?”

“He was 96, and he died when he fell off of a horse while playing polo.”

“And what about your mother?” the agent asked. “At what age did she die, and what caused her death?”

“She was 97,” he answered, “and she died in childbirth.”

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”—Proverbs 17:22

 

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Fasten Seat Belt

When Muhammad Ali was in his prime as a heavyweight prizefighter, he was on an airplane that was about to take off. When the flight attendant reminded him to fasten his seat belt, he brashly replied, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” The flight attendant quickly responded, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either!”

Ali sheepishly fastened his seat belt.

Even the man who called himself “The Greatest” had his moments of humility.

The Bible consistently urges us to forgo pride and to adopt a humble attitude. We would do well to take that teaching seriously.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”—James 4:10

 

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Right Size Gift

A teenage boy walked into a candy store and told the owner that he wanted to purchase three boxes of candy—small, medium and large. The owner couldn’t help but ask the boy about this unusual order. The boy confidently replied, “I have a date tonight. If the girl lets me hold her hand, I will give her the small box of candy. If she lets me put my arm around her, I will give her the medium box. If she lets me give her a big, passionate kiss, I will give her the large box.”

That evening the boy ate dinner with his date and her family before they went out. The boy volunteered to give thanks for the meal. He prayed a long, fervent, eloquent prayer before finally saying, “Amen”.

The girl whispered to him, “I didn’t know you were so religious!”

He whispered back, “I didn’t know your father owned a candy store!”

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”—Proverbs 17:22

 

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Risking Much

Some unknown person once wrote the following about taking risks:

“To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try at all is to risk failure.

But risk we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The man, the woman, who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.”

 

This brings to mind the story Jesus told about the wicked, lazy servant who hid his talent rather than investing it for his master (Matthew 25:14-30). What was his sin? He was afraid to take a risk!

 

What are you risking for the Lord?

 

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The Great Value of Books

Commenting on 2 Timothy 4:13, where Paul asks Timothy to bring him a cloak, books, and the parchments, Charles Spurgeon wrote the following words:

“He is inspired, yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, yet he wants books! He has seen the Lord, yet he wants books! He has had a wider experience than most men, yet he wants books! He has been caught up into the third heaven, and has heard things which it is unlawful to utter, yet he wants books! He has written the major part of the New Testament, yet he wants books!”

Do you want books?

“The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”—Proverbs 4:7

 

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Help for the Weary

Bruce Larson tells about the time he almost drowned in the Gulf of Mexico. He was swimming far from shore and a storm came up. The sky grew dark, the wind picked up, there was thunder and lightning and the waves were seven or eight feet high. He was struggling, trying to make it back to shore, when it seemed that the Lord told him to just relax and tread water. In the end he was rescued. However, if he had continued his frantic efforts to get back to the shore, he would have exhausted his strength and drowned.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that may threaten to wear us out and potentially destroy us. That’s when we need to stop our frantic efforts to save ourselves and simply trust in God.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”—Matthew 11:28

 

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Happily Ever After

A lonely young woman noticed an interesting book while she was browsing in the library. The title page caught her eye:

HOW—

To Reach Men

To Hold Men

To Win Men

It Has Been Done

When she got home and examined the fine print at the bottom of the page, she read: A Manual of Useful Information on How to Build a Men’s Bible Class.

I hope she wasn’t too disappointed!

Marital happiness is difficult to find and perhaps even more difficult to maintain. It must never be taken for granted.

“Marriage should be honored by all…”—Hebrews 13:4.

 

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