This weekend I watched the first round of the NFL playoffs, known as “Wild Card Weekend.” I realize that you may not be a sports fan, let alone a football fan, but stick with me. The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins played the fourth-coldest game in NFL history on Saturday night. The temperature for the game was minus-4 degrees Fahrenheit with wind gusts up to 27 mph, making for a wind chill of minus-27 degrees. The freezing temperatures set a record for the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history.
The crazy part? More than 76,000 people still showed up to cheer and watch the game in person. I was cold just watching the game from my living room, and these people braved the arctic temperatures just to watch their beloved team.
Watching those dedicated fans did make me think about worship and sanctuary in this new year. We choose who, what, where, when, and why we worship. The details can change from day to day, event to event. But, it’s always a choice. Our God is holy and just. He is full of grace, compassion, love, and mercy. He could demand our praise and adoration…but He lets us choose. We worship because we feel led, not because we are forced to do so. Like the cold fans in Kansas City, it is our choice to worship no matter the circumstances.
In 2024, we will have plenty of opportunities to worship…if we choose to do so. It’s not always going to be in a warm sanctuary on a Sunday morning. It may be in a cold car on the way to work or at our desk in the middle of a work day. It may be on a sports field just before a competition or sitting in a classroom. It may be a quiet moment on a porch while on vacation or a somber moment when life hasn’t gone your way. Rest assured, 2024 will be full of moments to worship God. Will we choose to worship in praise and adoration for the Lord? He is certainly worthy.
Joshua 24:15
“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
Grace and peace,
Aaron [email protected]
(704) 300-0081