Church & Concerts

Hello friends! The last two Sundays of my life have looked quite different from each other. One Sunday was spent in Dallas the day after a Tate McRae concert, and the other was spent at my hometown church. I encountered the Lord in both places. How could this be?

Church 

Last Sunday, for the first time ever, I went to church without Bailee. She was asked to speak on a panel of alumni Ford Leadership Scholars at noon. Since church gets out at noon, she wasn’t able to attend the service. Although I was also a Ford Leadership Scholar, for some reason, they did not ask me to be on the panel. Perhaps, the Lord orchestrated this so that I could write this blog for you today. 

There’s a few things I learned from this experience.

The first is that it is okay to miss church sometimes.

Going to Texas A&M opened my eyes to this. School is tough, and I don't always make it to church. Fortunately, God works even outside the church building and has used this season to open my eyes to so many things. 

On the Sundays when I would go to the library to study instead of church, I was always interested to see who would be there. It made me realize that the people who need Jesus the most are the ones who aren't in church on Sundays. The people who are slaving away at the library on Sunday mornings likely need a reminder of Jesus’ love for them the most. Maybe they weren’t raised in a Christian household and would never consider stepping inside a church, but they have no problem going to the library. Maybe striving for academic success is all they’ve ever known. Although I often take the time to silently pray for those in the library with me on Sunday mornings, perhaps one day I will seize such an opportunity to verbally evangelize, aka tell people the story of Jesus and what He's done in my life. This would honestly be really cool, especially since academics has played such a huge part of my testimony.

I think it’s important that we don’t get so caught up in our routine of Sunday school, church, lunch, and a nap that we forget the true purpose of it all- to bring others to Christ.

This is why I am such a fan of prioritizing a relationship with Jesus, but I also acknowledge the value of religious disciplines. I mean it's kind of wild that the church has been around for so long, and if the God of the Universe commands the gathering of believers regularly, it's probably for a good reason.

It's best not to question God's commands, but when we do, God is gracious enough to walk alongside us as we come to the conclusion that His way was best all along.

Hebrews 10:25 says:

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Going to church without Bailee for the first time also gave me empathy for those who are nervous to go to church.

Even as someone who has gone to church more times than I can count, I sometimes still get nervous. I can only imagine how scary it might be for someone to walk into a church for the first time by themselves. In fact, the first time Bailee and I tried to go to Wednesday night church, we drove into the parking lot, saw a bunch of people outside that we didn't really know, and drove right back home. We came back the next week with a friend of ours for moral support. Call it social anxiety or spiritual warfare- whatever it is, I know there’s something inside of all of us that makes it difficult to choose church sometimes. 

If this is you, know you aren’t alone, and keep this in mind when wondering why some of your friends and family don’t go to church. Bottom line, it’s scary! This should be motivation for us Christians to reach our full potential in Christ so that the unbelievers will be willing to face all their fears to find the light that shines so brightly inside of us. 

Trust me when I say that going to church isn’t always comfortable. However, I’ve found that if you truly care about something, you’re willing to make sacrifices for it. Maybe your sacrifices look like rearranging your eating schedule, sacrificing an hour or two of your study time, or putting in some effort to pick out a decent outfit. At the end of the day, science and scripture support the gathering of Christians, but your salvation isn’t dependent on it.

Trust me, I get all the struggles. I've had seasons where I haven't missed a Sunday, and I've also had seasons where I can't remember the last time I was in the Lord's House.

Part of my prayer in posting a blog and podcast on Sundays is that it will reach the people who partied too hard on Saturday to go to church on Sunday, but perhaps have the energy to press play on a podcast.

Or in last week's case, perhaps one of the people on Bailee’s Ford Leadership Scholar panel will look up our podcast and hear the gospel for the first time. Our ultimate goal is to lead people to Christ, which includes being connected to the body of Christ- the Church.

My conclusion is this: I value the church, I believe you should be a member of a church, and I know the world NEEDS the local church, but your spot in Heaven isn’t dependent on where you spend your Sundays.

So if you’re struggling, consider it evidence that you live in a sinful world, and rest in the fact that your salvation isn’t dependent on anything other than your belief that Jesus Christ came to earth, died on the cross for your sins, and rose again.

That being said, here is a list of ways going to church blessed me this morning:

1. Singing - Singing God’s praises is always a good thing, and seeing others have the courage to sing solos is inspiring.

• Scripture- The message was based on Acts 20: 1-12. The preacher focused on the importance of encouraging others. I can testify to the importance of encouragement. I’ve received a lot of encouragement after sharing our devotional and my testimony on social media this week, and it truly means the world to me.

• Sitting with other believers- Part of honoring the Lord with your body is being present with your body. Your presence in God’s house is encouraging to others- young and old. Because I went to church this morning, I got to feel the embrace of a girl whom came to tell me what grade she was going into, and I was reminded that several kids from our church will be moving to college soon for the first time. Now, I can be praying for them. 

Concert 

Now, I’ll share a spiritual message I got from one of the songs Tate McRae played at her concert. No, she’s not a Christian singer, and I don’t even know if she’s a Christian, but God is in everything whether it’s specifically labeled as Christian or not. 

What's your problem lyrics:

What's your problem?

You think that you're a God

You came and messed my life up when you knew that I was lost

What's your problem?

I'm crying on the floor

You made me hate myself, just so that I would love you more

I shoulda known when my mom said she don't like you

Shoulda took that as a sign

Thought I caught you smiling the night that you saw me cry

Bet it feeds your ego

That I'm low all the time

'Cause that stuff gets you high

She’s talking about a toxic boy in this song, but honestly, this song could be written about any of the idols in our lives. I’ve never had a toxic boyfriend, but I have had a raging eating disorder + anxiety + depression, and it’s felt about the same as what Tate described in her song. It came into my life when I was lost, it made me hate myself so that I would love it more, my mom didn’t like it, etc. Additionally, we all have an enemy- satan, who probably smiles when we cry. 

John 8:44:

He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

John 10:10:

The thief (devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Psalm 135:5:

I know that the Lord is great,  that our Lord is greater than all gods.

Psalm 135:15-17:

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.

1 Corinthians 8:4-6:

we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”—  yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

The reason why I can learn about God at a concert is because the Holy Spirit + Scripture is inside of me. But you know where I first learned about the Holy Spirit & Scripture? Church.

***

I could go on and on about all the things the Lord has done, is doing, and will do, but for now, I’ll leave you with this verse because it’s literally how I feel: 

John 21:25:

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.

I'd love to hear your perspective on these things!

Love, Breanna Chavez