Thought for Today
Genesis 2:18 Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner."
1 Samuel 3:21 The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.
Matthew 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,
Luke 18:11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
“Where does your soul best connect with God? We’re invited to meet God in the places where our lives take us, either by ourselves or in company with others. Jesus shows us the value of both venues.” (These Days, July 30, 2026)
Where indeed? I believe the second sentence above answers the question of the first sentence. The best place for our souls to connect with God is wherever we are. Is there a best time for our souls to connect with God? Is one particular hour on one particular day any better than any other? I think not.
Of course, all of that makes it difficult to argue with my friends who golf and/or fish when they maintain that they can connect with God as well on the golf course or in their fishing boats as they can attending church. If anywhere and any time are the best times, why do we even need churches? We can’t even cite the Bible as demonstrating the need for churches and/or cathedrals. Try as I might, try as you might, you cannot find a single incident where Jesus attended church. The only place Jesus even talks about “my church” is “Matthew 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” The rock of which Jesus speaks is not some sort of physical bedrock which will form the foundation for a building. Jesus is talking about the spiritual bedrock of Peter’s confession of faith, “Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
For Christians, our confession of faith, our echo of Peter’s response, is the best and truly the only place where our souls best connect with God. Our connection with God is not about physical space or time. After all, we are creatures of space and time. Creatures created by our Creator God. The same God who created space and time. “Genesis 1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,” tells us that space and time are themselves created things. There was neither space nor time before the beginning. Before the beginning, there was only God. God self-identified to Moses with, "Exodus 3:14 I AM WHO I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
All of us on occasion find the need to withdraw from all of the mental, physical and even spiritual clutter of our world. All of us, including Jesus, sometimes find the need for ‘alone time.’ Time to clear our minds and our lives of the detritus of living, the clutter of society. Jesus was no different from you or me in this respect.
But Jesus knew full well that such times could only be transient. Jesus knew that the best time and place for his soul to connect with God was when Jesus was fulfilling the role God had given him. Jesus understood that being the Son of God meant that Jesus was to obey the will of God. As Christians, we must understand that being a son or daughter of God means that we are to obey the will of God.
What does that mean? When asked about what must be done to inherit eternal life, Jesus evoked this response from the one asking, "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus replied, “10:28 And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."
Jesus is still saying that to you and to me. We can only do that, “in the places where our lives take us, either by ourselves or in company with others.” All the places. In church, we do that “in company with others.” As that author noted, “Jesus shows us the value of both venues.”
Love God, love neighbor, let your soul connect with God wherever you are, trust God,
Pastor Ray