Getting Over Me

I had said in my last blogpost/devotional that I have been looking for a church that will help my spirit grow and I can be a part of with. Last last week, I attended a service from Rivers of Life Fellowship (ROLF) at Mcdo. And this Sunday I was invited by Cha, a friend of mine, to a ministry she usually attends to. It's Christ's Commission Fellowship or CCF. I really longed to experience the service in CCF since I've heard it from many people and I've been invited to it many times, I just can't find the right time. So when Cha invited me, I did not hesitate.

Little did I know, it was a great blessing to go to CCF since the message of the Gospel is so timely for my situation. The sermon started with the verse 2 Timothy 3:1-2.

It is said in the scripture that difficult times will come in the last days, especially by the time men will be lovers of, first of all, self. We are all guilty of this, right? Pastor wanted us to imagine a situation where selfie never existed, like when you and your friends had seen a waterfall and the first thing you do is to take a selfie instead of be amazed first of the majestic creation in front of them.

The point is we are so invested in finding what makes us happy and what makes us comfortable that we tend to forget to appreciate the things we are given, that are in front of us. I know this may sound revolting since I might be '"romanticizing" pain or mediocrity, but no, I am not trying to because I am referring to certain situations where this message could actually apply.

I'm referring to situations like we are worrying about things that needed no worrying about and more on our selfish expectations about the church and the people e.g. I might not be able to relate the songs being played at church; People might not like what I wear; what if I would still not learn and grow in this church; the church is quite ineffective, etc.

These situations happen because our focus in our lives is wrong. My focus IS wrong. While we were on our way to CCF, Cha and I talked about our expectations in finding a church, she talked about why she ended up in CCF and what she liked about it and I also talked about my story of wanting to find a Church, etc. We did not know that the solution for our questions and for our longing and soul-searching is not finding the right church, but finding Jesus Christ. The Gospel is trying to tell us that our minds should be more Jesus-focused. We need to stare at Jesus Christ.

I was really slapped with the truth during the sermon since all this time, I was looking for a church that could fill me up, thinking it would be a remedy for my starving soul when in fact I could fill myself up with Jesus Christ and His promises. I could not and would never find the perfect church for me if my focus was not on Jesus's. Below are the words written on the leaflet that was given to everyone at CCF:

If you have been coming and attending church for so long, you should be a teacher by now, and yet, a majority of churchgoers "suck" because we depend on milk being fed to us by our pastors, disciplers, partners,... We blame them for our lack of growth or productivity in the Christian life, "you didn't feed me enough". 

It was a dagger through the heart but a good one. I was again humbled. We complain for the things need not changing. What's putting us between this relationship with God is this selfishness we have. For putting our self first and our wants. (But it's not bad to put ourselves first, though, in some situations. I'll explain this some time in another blogpost.) It is time to get over me.

This is now a reminder, self, that we go to church for Christ and ONLY FOR CHRIST. It doesn't matter if I will be hearing the Gospel from ROLF, from CCF, or from the Catholic Church and from other churches. The point is the growth we are longing for relies on our hands, not for asking for input from others but instead offering them to Jesus and having a personal and consistent relationship with Him.

Let Jesus Christ our Shepherd fill our dry and broken containers with overflowing life-giving spring of waters. ❤