Sunday, September 26, 2010

Church: Difficult with Barriers

As I am immersed in a Spanish speaking culture, I have no escape from the language barrier at any church service. It is a blessing to experience new things and see how other cultures function; however, it is becoming more of a challenge "settling" into a church. No matter where I go, I can never fully know if I agree with the doctrine or what's being said. I can pick up on the overall message based off of key words and passages frequently used in the sermon, but there is a lot that I cannot understand, obviously. The first time attending was good for the entry way deeper into the culture, but now as things are settling out of the "meeting of the new society" the immersing is revealing difficulties and uncertainties.  Church this weekend was difficult as far as language and length.  Despite these obstacles, I am determined to press deeper into the heart of God, so I found a good solution. Because my Bible is in English, I can understand it.  Thus, if I read from it and write in reflection on what I read, I am able to grow during church, have fellowship with people, and use my time effectively with the Lord as my Shepherd and light to my path.  The verses I meditated on were Psalm 18: 32-33, "It is God who arms me with strength and make my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights."

Psalm 18:32
When I turn to my body,
It will always tire and fail me.
When I turn to my own way,
Success is never seen in the day,
For my body is a corpse that's dying,
And my desires, promising fulfillment, are lying.
Never will my own body prevail,
Nor my wants ever not fail,
But when God enters my being,
My muscles and bones start singing.
He arms me with divine strength;
The revived blood in my body gives thanks.
When the Shepherd enters my life,
I no longer lead, but follow His Guide.
He makes my way perfect;
Along the road, His name I will worship.

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