Relationships...

Hopefully this doesn’t sound too strange… but, in my adult life, I have spent a lot of time in empty churches.  Let me explain…

Being as my wife and I spent over 35 years in ministry and in particular, in the areas of music, College-Career, Youth and Children’s Ministry, I spent many hours each week preparing for services, programs and/or for special events.  For most of those years I felt like I was in creative heaven writing and putting together, probably hundreds of skits, programs and performances, Family Fun Nights, curriculum and songs.

And many… if not most times, it meant spending time in the empty sanctuary or Children and Youth centers, physically measuring, mentally assessing the space for whatever we were planning, setting up or tearing down props, equipment, tables and chairs or just sitting in an empty chair or on the floor letting my imagination go wild while I was praying, dreaming, and envisioning the event….

Ah! Fun times and I enjoyed every second of it!  My youngest daughter also has fond memories of her and I or with other members of our family being there in the midst of such activities.  She said that she always felt close to me during those special times!

For me, there was always a great sense of awe at being in the presence of God when alone in the quiet of the large sanctuary.  I think that comes from my Catholic background.  As a youngster attending church or Parochial school, I was taught a quiet reverence for the church building and especially inside the sanctuary.  That was one thing that surprised me when I began to attend my wife’s (girlfriend at the time) Baptist Church.

The sanctuary of First Baptist Church in Santa Rosa, California was gorgeous back then.  There have been some changes since we left, so I can’t attest to how it looks today.  But with its rich wood walls and pews, the deep maroon carpet and stained-glass windows, it immediately felt like home to me… until Sunday mornings, when the kids would run around the sanctuary before service and everyone coming in kept loudly talking until the service started.  To their compliment, the Pastor was always reminding the parents to not let their kids run in the sanctuary!

That subtle difference between the Catholics and Protestant view of the church building was consistent with every other Charismatic, Pentecostal church that we attended.  And while I understand that they have differing views concerning the presence of the Spirit in the building… I still miss the reverence that I always felt in Catholic Services.  I was glad that Piper got to experience Catholic services for a prolonged period while we were in college and in her attendance with me during the many events that we were invited to attend by my folks throughout the years.

So… being alone in the quiet sanctuary always made me thankful for my Catholic beginnings and caused me to enjoy the reverence that I felt in the quiet of the church building.  I was always amazed during the few times that our classes would have a prayer service in Bible School when we went into the church sanctuary and were able to quietly and freely roam around the huge, 250,000 square foot auditorium of Rhema Bible Church while we prayed.  You talk about a strong sense of awe and reverence… WOW!

I have always tended to feel and/or sense that awe and reverence when I pray to God… but when Piper got sick, the Lord and I entered into an entirely new depth in our personal relationship with each other.  I’ve written many times of the Lord’s revelation to me way back in 2007 when the initial results of Piper’s first MRI were being discussed, and how He led me to one of Paul’s prayers in Ephesians 3 where Paul was praying that we would be able,

“to understand how wide, long, high, and deep Christ’s love is” in such a way that “we will KNOW Christ's love, which goes far beyond any knowledge…”    (Ephesians 3:18-19 God’s Word ©)

With the caveat being the word “KNOW” likened (as per Thayer’s Greek Definitions) to a husband and wife’s most intimate act of marriage together.  So that in my most difficult times in the ensuing eleven years, when my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual abilities were being stretched beyond the limit, that I would always come back to Him softly and sweetly reminding me of how His love was just like… and even stronger and deeper than mine was for my sweet Piper… and therefore He would always be true to His Word toward us!

I was listening to one of my favorite evangelist’s Father’s Day sermons yesterday afternoon and had my curiosity peeked when he stated that “the strength and power behind Christianity is the personality of Jesus Christ.”  He went on to explain that when Jesus walked this earth, that He attracted people to Himself and NOT to a set of doctrine!

The evangelist, who has a worldwide ministry with thousands of partners (myself included) went on to say that the reason people follow any minister of the Gospel (whether they have a worldwide ministry or pastor a local church) is because they like the minister.  They can connect with his or her personality.  They trust him or her.  They feel comfortable in their presence and respect and honor their integrity, character, faithfulness and trustworthiness.

He then went on to discuss how this is the same way that we should understand our relationship with Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.  I can look back at my relationship with Jesus before Piper got sick and clearly see that it was a close and meaningful one… but nowhere near as deeply personal and intimate as it is today! 

When I think of Him knowing and loving me in the same intimate ways that I loved and physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally “KNEW” Piper… Well… I can’t help but want to know Him even better each and every day, to please Him, to spend time with Him and to include Him in every decision that I face throughout my daily life!  It also inspires, challenges and empowers me to be the light of Jesus to non-believers who haven’t yet met Him!

I am reminded of Mark 14:37 when Jesus was praying in the garden of Gethsemane just before the ordeal of His crucifixion was to begin and He emotionally calls out declaring,

“Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” (KJV) 

Jesus’ use of the term “ABBA” is only used in two other places in the New Testament and it was by Paul when he was also expressing his personal relationship with our heavenly Father.  John Gill explains in his “Exposition of the Bible” that Jesus used the Syriac word “Abba” in addition to the more formal Greek word “Father” in order “to express the vehemency of his affection, and his strong confidence in God, as his Father, amidst his distress…”

I’ve personally experienced a taste of that kind of closeness in my personal relationship with Jesus. 

How about You?

Just how deeply personal and intimate is your relationship with Jesus.  Is He one with whom you only reverence and respect at or in your church?  Or is He an intimate partner in life that you take everywhere with you.  One with whom you include in every decision and conversation.  One Who is so close to you… that you just can’t imagine ever being without Him… never distant from your presence.  Always strengthening your faith, visual in your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual acuity and ever-increasing in your heart!

As we celebrate Thanksgiving Day weekend here in the USA, remember to draw close to Him and personally THANK Him for His presence in your daily lives...  and while you’re at it… enjoy a turkey thigh, smothered in gravy, just for me… I am sooo looking forward to the leftovers!