When our church doors reopened late last summer, my family couldn’t get inside fast enough.

We knew things would be different…We’d wear masks, sit every other row, the water fountains would be shut off. There would be no more coffee in the lobby, no handshakes, and no hugs….but that’s okay. We were THRILLED to be back in the house of God.

It’s where we get to experience corporate worship and gather as one. It’s where we find inspiration, not only from the pulpit or the worship team, but from one another…

Speaking of finding inspiration, I’d like you to meet my new friend, Sharon. (See pic below)

Life changed for all of us once the Covid lockdowns took place. We were all told to shelter at home…but what if your actual home is across the world, a million miles away?

For Sharon and other international students, life was now filled with more questions than answers. Weeks turned to months and her season of uncertainty and discouragement had no end in sight. Friends and family back home encouraged her to get back into church.

But how? She had just moved to a different part of town, she had no car and no church on this side of town to call home. She was literally a stranger in a strange land.

But my young friend (she’s only twenty) was desperate. Sharon googled ‘churches near’ her and found my church. She mapped it out & saw that it was only a 30 minute walk away.

On a warm Texas Sunday morning, my friend made her way to church. I wish you could hear her sweet voice as she explains,

“As an international student- it is hard for me to ever feel at home anywhere…but when I walked through those church doors and began to worship. I realized, God’s presence is my home.”

In the book of Daniel we read about a young man who was taken from his home in Jerusalem and carried off into Babylon. Life was different in Babylon. The food was different, the laws were different, but Daniel made sure one thing did not change- rain or shine, snow or sleet, whatever the political or actual climate of the day, Daniel opened his window and “prayed three times a day, JUST AS HE HAD ALWAYS DONE, giving thanks to his God.”

Daniel was a stranger in a strange land. He needed God. Period.

Perhaps your state is still on lock down or you’re at high risk, health wise or just not comfortable entering back into public places. PLEASE STAY HOME AND BE SAFE. Praise God for online services!

But friends, maybe you ARE able…but you’ve gotten comfortable being at home watching service in your pajamas. Can I meddle in your business for just a moment?

David was confident of God’s omnipresence. He tells us “if I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.”

YET this same David did the happy dance when it was time to go to church. “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.” (Psalm 122:1)

Friends, if you are able, can I encourage you to make your way to the house of God. Like Sharon, I think you’ll be happy you did.

~ Binu

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