The Path: Intimacy

Well, this is a first for me…I listened to the sermon online!  “The Powers that Be” had my name on the list this weekend to write a post for the blog…but, I was gone all weekend!  So…now there really is NO excuse to miss the teachings of God through our Hope Point Pastors…believe me, I tried to come up with an excuse like; “I will be 2,000 miles away!” or “In order to get the most out of the sermon, you need to be present and experience the fellowship and the communal sacrifice of drinking bad coffee together!”  Not only can you listen online, you can read everything that was in the bulletin on the website, make inquiries, and tithe online TOO!  So…why go to church at all?  We can experience church from the comfort of our recliners as we sit in our jammies.  Yeah, but who would drink all the bad coffee?  Your children couldn’t experience licking out the communion cup to get every last drop of that yummy grape juice we never splurge on at home!  Who would be there to shake the Pastor’s hand after the service?  Someone has to clap to keep Ray’s worship on the beat…plus, the Naz Cafe does have some awesome bagels on Sundays!  Right about now, I imagine “The Powers that Be” are really regretting asking me to write a post…so I better get to the good stuff.

As I listened to Pastor Moore’s sermon on “Intimacy”, I realized that attending church is part of knowing God and God knowing us.  Online is great when we can’t make it to church, but our corporate worship, the teachings of our Pastor, the fellowship, and coming to the altar are things that draw us near to our creator.  Pastor Moore taught on Psalm 139.  One of the parts of that passage that always amazes me is in verse 13…”For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”  Picture yourself as a piece of clay.  God starts to mold you into shape with his hands.  Not just the outside…but forming inside working parts as well.  He lovingly forms a nose like no one else’s.  He gently places hairs in your head in a pattern that is only meant for you and he counts them as he puts them in!  No one else will have the same curves your ears have, the same length of eyelashes, the same shaped toes, or even the same pattern of small ridges he placed on your fingers.  He gave you a unique personality.  He is acquainted your thoughts, intentions, and ways.  Does He KNOW you or what?  But it doesn’t end there…he made you with the intention of having a relationship with you.  Spending time with you.  Having fun with you.  Knowing all your junk.  Being with you in every circumstance.

I have heard many times when people are having trouble in their marriage that “It takes two to tango.”  Well…it is true!  It takes two to have a relationship…or lack thereof.  God created us for a relationship with Him.  He is waiting with arms open to embrace us.  But, it is us…his creation…that has the final say.  He is always saying “Yes” to us, it is we who choose “No”.  So the challenging question is…What blocks our path to intamacy in our lives?  What keeps us from spending time with God?  What thoughts or offenses have we tried to hide?  When do we decide that this world has nothing to offer us that comes close to what God has for us?  He is waiting…waiting for you to run to him like my 2 year old runs to greet his father as he comes home from work…or like the cat runs under the bed to retreat from the afore mentioned 2 year old!  I think it is time for all of us to put on our running shoes.

P.S.  Please don’t write any nasty notes about my opinion of the coffee, grape juice, or Ray’s rythmic challenges.  The opinions expressed above are not those of the entire Pastoral staff and may not even be my own opinions…it is hard to tell as I have had an abundance of caffeine and write this in the middle of the night.  I sincerely hope that the only opinion you concern yourselves with, is that of your creator God and that you seek intamacy with Him in all areas of your life.