Whew! It is late and just sitting down to post about church #3! It
is great that someone noticed I hadn't posted #3. Thank you for
noticing! It is encouraging. Church #3 was a home church out in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. It
was on the way to Medina Lake. If the guy had said, "Watch for the
big dog in the yard.", I might have found it easier. Just kidding
about finding it easier, not kidding about the dog. :) I am intrigued with the "home church" idea for a lot of reasons.
Actually, I don't know that they call themselves a home church. I
just know I went to church in their home. You know I was looking for a God Spot, right? As always I was not
disappointed and you will not be either. In another life my wife,
Cora and I were youth directors (back then you had to have credentials
to be youth pastors) at Valley Hi Baptist in San Antonio. I guess
that was 30 years or so, ago. There was a guy and his sister that
were youth in our ministry. The guy even helped us move to Oklahoma
City when I was employed by the Department of Defense on the Cruise
missile program. He was a wonderful person. Even now, I remember his
quiet smile. You can guess. The guy was at the home church. He was one of maybe a
dozen adults. This was not an accident. This was a God Spot! The
guy shared how miraculous God has worked in his life to literally save
him from self destructing. I kept thinking. God, "Your hand is in
this. How incredible!". In this home church, we sang a song or two. The heart felt melody was
refreshing. No instruments were required, only a love for Jesus. My
friend was on the "hot seat" to share about his life. A coincidence
for many that I was there. A God Spot for those in the know. :) The people that made up the assembly, each asked questions of my
friend as the night went on. I got up to get chips, coffee and
popcorn whenever the time seemed right. My sidekick Federico, got his
share of popcorn, although he didn't share with me. ha! The focus of the home church was on Jesus. They had "flamed out" on
traditional church. The rigors of attempting to meet other's
expectations had taken their toll. One day they woke up to discover
their works were not getting them any closer to God. Admirably, they
found themselves together, individually and collectively seeking after
God in their daily walk. I think if a Life Group can set their target as becoming a functional
Home Church, Jesus will smile and God will be Glorified. Thank you Church #3 for your hospitality and I trust I didn't give
away any secrets. Ha! ~the janitor As for God's conditional love, I remember many situations where God's
love was shared in a positive sense with those that exhibited love for
Him. He zapped the others. But then grace came on the scene. Maybe
you have a clearer understanding of God's conditional love?
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