Thought of the week April 6th thru 12th...

With all of the March Madness now taking place across the country, I think it would only be fitting to reflect on what it really means to be a fan and how our Christian walk should be littered with evidence to the fact that we are a fan of Jesus Christ, our personal Lord and Savior...Many people throughout the country fill out brackets, watch games, and cheer on their team through their NCAA tournament run. People allow the outcomes of these contest to effect their mood, change or alter their sleep or eating, or even plan their life around the broadcast of the games. Now that's crazy, or should I say fanatical!
Now think about this...how amazing and powerful would our church services become if people started letting church and being in the presence of almighty God effect their mood. Wouldn't it be great to see people's attitudes change the second that they walked into the house of God? Think of the tidal wave of joy and peace that would sweep through the congregation if everyone would allow themselves to be overwhelmed with the happiness that should fill their hearts with a deep and meaningful relationship with Jesus. Phenomenal!
Think of the power and the demonstrations that we would begin to see in our services if we allowed our relationship with God to alter our eating arrangements in such a way that people began to fast and pray daily because of their love for God. Wouldn't it be something to see God work in people's lives and change their hearts and minds every time the doors of the church were opened? To see the power of God fall during our prayer meetings or during a midweek bible study in response to the dedication and earnest seeking of God's will. Fantastic!
Finally, what if people started to plan their lives around the activities and the ministries of the church and not around the things outside of the church. What if, instead of missing church due to a football or baseball game, we missed the football or baseball game due to church? What if instead of staying home to watch American Idol on Tuesday night we missed it to go to Prayer Meeting? What if we went to bed early on Saturday night rather than going out and partying so that we could get up early and go to church the next morning? Fanatical!
So the question is this...Are you a fan of God or a fan of something else? Do things come up that keep you out of church, or do the things of the church and the desire to do God's will keep you out of the things of the world? Who or what are you a fan of?!?