As many of you know, I have been struggling with my relationship with the church. I want to have a connection with God's people. I also want to have a strong relationship with God and to feel his presence in church. The problem is, that often I don't feel His presence there. Often I come out of the service just as tired as I was when I entered. I'm asking myself these days what do I need from church and how will I know when I have finally found my church home?
We went to a church this morning and the pastor said that he had been in that church about 3-4 weeks. He was very excited and you could tell that he was still in the "honeymoon" period where things were going well and things are new. I hope that he keeps his enthusiasm. I hope also that the church stays behind him. He seemed to say that, for him, he experienced God's presence in the service, which was billed as a "healing prayer" service. I'm glad that he had an encounter that was meaningful to him. I felt mainly distance and like an outsider.
Having said that I believe that God does heal. One of the verses that was read that I was thinking about was James 5:16 which says "confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." It can accomplish much, because that person is praying by faith. And with faith, we know that God can move mountains.
We went to a church this morning and the pastor said that he had been in that church about 3-4 weeks. He was very excited and you could tell that he was still in the "honeymoon" period where things were going well and things are new. I hope that he keeps his enthusiasm. I hope also that the church stays behind him. He seemed to say that, for him, he experienced God's presence in the service, which was billed as a "healing prayer" service. I'm glad that he had an encounter that was meaningful to him. I felt mainly distance and like an outsider.
Having said that I believe that God does heal. One of the verses that was read that I was thinking about was James 5:16 which says "confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." It can accomplish much, because that person is praying by faith. And with faith, we know that God can move mountains.
