I pray that you and yours are well on these cold February days, but that your hearts and your souls are warm enough.

I've been thinking a lot about going to church to worship God on Sundays, and what that says about our relationship with Him. For some of us, going to church on Sundays is a weekly habit of the heart. Going to church is one of the ways we express our thanks to God and our hope that God is with us and for us and guiding us in the right way. For others of us, it's a habit that we practice as part of overall spirituality and time with God, but not something we feel called to participate in every week. For others, coming to church with any regularity is not one of our priorities in our life with God. Since God is everywhere and we can pray and give thanks to Him anywhere, at any time, coming to church on Sundays is not something we feel required to do. We come from time to time or very rarely, but it's not part of our life with God. And for others, the activities of our lives and our other commitments actually precludes our coming at all.

Interestingly, we're living in a time when church attendance has dropped significantly. And please understand, this is not the first time in the history of our nation or in the history of Christianity that church attendance has dwindled. Still, more than 100 million Americans attend church every week, so my fellow "religionists" or "professional Christians" need not be too alarmed.

For me, coming to church and worshiping God with others, when I am not leading it, is the one hour in the week when I am clearly focused on God. Oh, my mind strays in the "boring" parts (pick which part applies to you), but the concentration of time on God, in His presence, with others who are also seeking to spend time with God changes my heart. It may be the music. It may be a piece of scripture or something that is said in the sermon. Sometimes the prayers draw me closer to God. Sometimes it's hearing the words from the last supper and sharing in the communion that opens my heart and draws me closer. Whatever it is, it doesn't happen if we're not there, if we're not attending and worshiping on Sundays.

Apparently for Jesus, coming to church, or for Him, the synagogue, was part of His custom. Part of Jesus' habit for loving God and knowing God's love for Him involved attending to God in a public forum on a regular basis. Many of the stories of Jesus teaching, healing and challenging the religious authorities happened in the synagogue and the Temple, so we might wonder that perhaps attending public worship is something that will, in fact, draw us closer to God in important ways.

In this season of Lent when we are paying more attention to our life with God and to finding ways to love Him, let me encourage you to try church on Sundays more regularly or after you've been away. You know where and when it is and God will be so pleased to see you here. You may be surprised how the habit changes your heart for God.

See you in Church!