the delimma
I was driving back from the Allen Premium Outlets on Sunday evening; windows and sunroof down; wearing shorts and a short sleeve shirt. It was a very nice day and I was relaxed. Then I thought to myself, “It’s 6:20 and church starts at 6:30!.”
The delimma arrived. “To go, or not to go.” See, that was really the question. I didn’t want to go for alot of reasons. The biggest part of me didn’t want to go cause I don’t want to just go sit there by myself and just attend church. I don’t really want to just go and sit there. I can do that on my couch watching Joel Osteen. I want to be involved and contribute, or not go at all. Of course, my rationalization says that I’m already in a Life Group at church so I’m atleast involved somehow. Then I realized that the biggest reason I don’t really want to get too actively involved in a church and become a member is because I want to do that with my wife. You know, a couple thing. So my brain went off on that tangent and I finally convinced myself that that train of thought was ultimately absurd! Why wait to get involved in the church, which is a community of believers, until I’m married? How did I ever come up with that? That’s like saying I’m going to wait to eat until I have a wife to eat with. Stupid.
If you are still reading, you are wondering if I even went to church. Yes, I did… And I enjoyed it! Worship was a great time and I thanked God for letting me live all these years. 
Pastor Pete Brisco talked about “Remaining in Christ”. As Christians, we all know that Jesus lives with us. Very few of us realize that He wants to live in us. Cause when He lives in us, only then He is able to live through us. I wonder why I don’t see miracles happening around me. I wonder why God doesn’t use me as much as I want Him to. Well, how can He when I don’t remain in Him? Yea, I read my Bible and pray, but do I really let Jesus to live in me? Cause in order for Jesus to live in me, that means that I no longer live. The old is gone and the new has come. Oh yea, I want the new, but do I really want the old to go. Ouch, that hurts.
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:4,5
I want to be a branch that remains on the vine and bears fruit.
