An Ode to Sundays

I love Sundays. Time for church days. Family meeting days to hear the Word preached days. Time to worship together in spirit and truth days. Take authority against the enemy days as we come together and pray with power days. Time for the family of God to gather days, so the enemies of God can scatter days. Oh how I love Sundays.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” ~ Hebrews 10:19-25 ESV

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” ~ Ephesians 6:12 ESV

It’s time to go to church, so we can be the Church because without church, the world can not see the Church.

C’mon Church. Now is not the time to idly sit by, withdraw, or retreat. Now is the time to rise, come alive, and remind the enemy of his defeat. We have work to do, and although it may not all be done in a church pew, I’m convinced that the beauty of the bride of Christ grows deeper and fuller, and her call becomes clearer and louder as she comes together and gathers.

We gather for our marching orders — straight from the uncompromising Truth of the very Word of God. We gather to prepare for battle — fully equipped and armored up so God can send us out to take back what the god of this world has run amok.

We don’t gather to hear a word just to scratch our itching ears. We don’t gather to receive a pat on the back and then walk away still gripped by fear. Sundays aren’t some social club to puff us up as we pay our dues. Sundays can build us up, yes, but Sundays need to rebuke us, too.

God’s Truth transforms us beyond societal norms. It disrupts the evils allowed by cultural reforms. When we stand up for God’s Truth, we must not yield. And when that Truth seems a little rough around the edges, It’s merely the sharpness of the Sword we wield.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” ~ Hebrews 4:12

As Pastor Joe Green of St. Paul’s Missionary Baptist Church in Harrisburg, PA said on Sunday, “The more dangerous the situation, the sharper the Sword,” and I completely agree, the more evil our iniquity, the sharper the Sword must be!

Church, there is never a time we can justify the compromise of the Truth of the very Word of God. It was given to us to work in and through us. It is alive and active and requires much of us. So much so, our faith must be alive and active, too, and our faith is fed by gathering together, whether with many or just a few, but Church, we must not stop having church so we can be the Church on Sundays and the rest of the week, too!

2 Peter 1:19 infuses us with confidence in the Word of God and the power it contains. I used four translations to study this verse within the context of the passage its found and each convicted and convinced me to not just to read and receive God’s Word, but to speak and declare it so His voice can be heard.

In the KJV, the Word is referred to as "the more sure word of prophecy,” while the ESV reminds us, “we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed.” “The prophetic message’s complete reliability” is our assurance in the NIV, and “we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed” in the NLT.

{I included 2 Peter 1:19 in all four of those translations below. It is such a rich passage of scripture, I’d encourage you to read it and speak it over your life. Allow it to infuse you with courage and confidence to remain steadfast in and stand up for the Truth of God’s Word.}

We desperately need the Word of God and the power it has to overcome this world, and we desperately need gather together as the body of Christ regularly to hear the Word thoroughly so we can do what it says completely in this world that is also in desperate need.

That’s why I love Sundays. Time for church days. Family meeting days to hear the Word preached days. Time to worship together in spirit and truth days. Take authority against the enemy days as we come together and pray with power days. Time for the family of God to gather days, so the enemies of God can scatter days. Oh how I love Sundays.

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“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” ~ 2 Peter 1:16-21 KJV

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” ~ 2 Peter 1:16-21 ESV

“So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” ~ 2 Peter 1:12-21 NIV

“Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone. For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw his majestic splendor with our own eyes when he received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice from the majestic glory of God said to him, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.” We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.” ~ 2 Peter 1:12-21 NLT