Monday, October 31, 2016

What I love about Sundays

"Then Jesus said to them, 'The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath'" -- Mark 2:27 (NLT)

So, the Sabbath is pretty important. Just a day of rest, a day away from trouble and responsibility, a day dedicated to God and to recognizing the blessings He has given us. Not the last day of the week, but the first; starting a new week celebrating who He is, what you have, who you have, and a little r&r to top it off. For a lot of people, that day is Sunday.

My Sundays are not like that. They're work. For the first half. But it's like heavy work. It's kind of a short sprint instead of a long jog, so it still leaves you worn out. Tracking with me?

Great. But with that, I don't want to sound like these Sundays are anything short of amazing. They're powerful, and I look forward to them every week. I get to see so many of the faces of the people we have met here in Manta, new Christians with a passion and a hunger. And they all worship together, they're starting to hang around and talk with each other after the service, and they're turning into a real family.

It's like, we work in our pairs all week long with one or two people at a time until our houses of prayer, where we have a small group, usually. Then they're all there on Sunday for the EXACT same reason -- to spend their Sabbath in the house of the Lord, looking for him. We even have a few of them starting to help out during the service! That just makes it so real to me that we're here and that these people's lives are being affected.

But then there's also my team on Sunday...

If I haven't said anything to any of you before, my team is fantastic. Each one of them is talented and driven. And on Sunday morning, they're all at their peak. We all work together so that everything goes smoothly, but they're all so real about it. They don't themselves forget that we are also there to Worship, to learn, to have fellowship, and to serve. In spite of the fact that it's work, it isn't a burden.

So, Sundays in this time in my life are different than they used to be. Church isn't exactly relaxing, but it's refreshing. And having so many of the indescribable people that I've come to know and love here with me on Sunday morning... I dunno. What's not to love about Sunday?