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| Today I wore Pajamas to Church |
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Today I wore Pajamas to Church
No kidding! I really wore my pajamas to church this morning. :eek: LOL
Don’t you know that Jesus wants us to come to him just as we are, any time, any place, in any condition?
I’m positive that those that came to Jesus did not always wear their “Sunday best” clothing. I’m positive that those that came to Jesus did not always have a “clean shaven” appearance. I’m positive that those that came to Jesus did not always have that nice aromatic cologne or perfume smell on them. I’m positive that those that came to Jesus did not always have that best of health appearance.
I’m also positive that some of the well dressed, nicely groomed, wearing too much of that good smelling stuff and looking at the top of their game “church goers” avoided those that did come to Jesus in the conditions mentioned above like THE plague.
So why am I being judged because I sat throughout the entire service, waved my hands above my head like a lunatic and wore my pajamas to church?
Oh me, oh my. Do they pity me or should I pity them?
How about if we don’t pity anybody?
Let’s focus on Jesus!
Somebody is thinking “I didn’t go to church today because…”
Yes, we all have an excuse to not attend church on any given day. Some have an excuse to never attend church. Some do not have a church to attend yet.
Even I did not attend my church today.
Somebody is thinking, “But I thought he said he wore pajamas to church today?”
Well, yes, I did. And today the church service that I attended was at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas via the Internet. Their entire 90 minute church service is broadcast live on the Internet. You’ll hear the band tuning up their instruments in the beginning, the entire praise and worship time, the prayer time and then see Joel Osteen’s live sermon with any “oops” that are eventually edited out for the 30 minute television rebroadcast in the “near perfect” version.
For anybody reading this blog, if you are too sick to attend church one day, new to an area and don’t yet have a church to attend and even those of you that do not attend church for whatever reason; please consider watching the live service at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church as it occurs from Houston, Texas one Sunday morning. Since their "early service" starts at 8:30 AM, here on the east coast the Internet webcast starts at 9:30 AM. Their 11:00 AM service is also broadcast live. I even think their Spanish language service is broadcast live in the afternoon.
So I did attend church today and was wearing my pajamas and had not yet shaved nor showered nor even brushed my teeth. You're fortunate that you were not sitting next to me today. LOL
But Jesus didn’t care. Jesus saw through my ugly, smelly appearance and saw me worshiping Him in unison with Joel Osteen’s congregation. Jesus saw my heart as I bowed my head for prayer while Joel Osteen’s wife, Victoria, prayed. Jesus saw my thoughts as I grabbed hold of everything Pastor Joel was preaching. And perhaps most important, Jesus listened to me as I asked Him for forgiveness and prayed for strength to continue the good fight as Pastor Joel made the altar call at the end and led many to Christ with a simple prayer like,
“I come to You Jesus as a sinner, I believe that You have died for my sins
and are now risen and I ask for You to come into my life today.”
I was not in good enough health today to make it to my own church service. This is becoming more common as my degenerative medical condition worsens. But I have not given up because I know to stop running the race now means that I will never cross the finish line. I plan on crossing that finish line in any way I can; even if somebody has to pick me up and carry me over. You see, I cannot quit because I know, if all else fails and I can go no further, as long as I have my eye on the prize and have not given up hope, it will be Jesus that will carry me over the finish line. He has picked me up and carried me many times throughout my journey in this life. Perhaps the best writing to describe that experience is from “Footsteps in the Sand.”
In closing, I do not want to “endorse” any particular television preacher or evangelist or even any particular ministry. I mentioned Joel Osteen’s live service from Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas because it is readily available to anyone with an Internet connection at:
(Note: You might need to establish a free account with a username
and password to actually log in to the media player on their website.)
That live service, or in fact, any broadcast service or no broadcast service at all, will give you the opportunity to worship Him from the privacy of your home under any set of circumstances. That is all He wants. He wants you to just take a “time out” from whatever you are wrapped up in and focus on Him for a while. Take a break and give your all to Him. Even if you don’t watch a 90 minute live online church service, the 30 or 60 minute edited television version and even if you watch no broadcast service at all; just take a break and look to Him for a moment. Please. That is all He wants.
Right now is even a good time. Go ahead. Just bow your head and talk to Him. His arms are open for you. Soak up His love for you. Give your cares to Him. It is an easy exchange and can be as short as 15 seconds or as long as 90 minutes and even longer if you like. Whatever. He just wants you to know that He is here right now, with you.
So... Churched or unchurched, this is your opportunity to attend church in your pajamas. You don't need to go to a fancy building with a steeple and cross on the top to have a church service. Try it sometime; especially if you are "sick as a dog" and cannot get out of bed to attend your regular church. And for those of you that may be unchurched, you'll learn of His love for you. And then, gradually, you can seek out other Christians in your area for fellowship. And finally, you may even find a good church nearby to call your home that will embrace you, lift you up when needed and feed you God's Word. Good churches are everywhere; worldwide.
God bless and have a GREAT week! This I pray upon all of you!
Dave |
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| Great subject and I know the feeling! I've gone to church in my pajama's before--via telecasts! Interesting blog! |
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Kathy |
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November 18, 2007 at 12:12pm |
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| Pastor Dave, do you wear Spongebob pajamas? Bunny slippers? :) I hope you are feeling better tomorrow! |
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| Thanks Dave I'm just happy to hear from you. |
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Sue |
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November 18, 2007 at 1:05pm |
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Another fantastic post Dave! Awesome! The girls and I all have colds, so we weren't able to attend our regular church either. But I will sure to be at the 12:00 AM service of Lakewood tonight, with pajamas in tote!
Right on about the way we should dress. I believe we should come as we are. No one should feel pressure to impress people by getting all dressed up. Of course, if we choose to dress up, that is certainly fine. But I dress casual on purpose for two reasons: 1.) To keep it casual at our church. 2.) To be who I really am the rest of the week. Too many people put on church "faces" that they are not wearing the rest of the week. We should be real with God and His people, because He knows our hearts anyway. |
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Joey |
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November 18, 2007 at 1:31pm |
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Do you know how much I love you? You just ministered to me. |
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| that is purty neat man. You had me goin at first, but that is a really awesome ministry. Gave me an idea for the local nursin home here in town. If I could get them a computer and a nice sized monitor they could do the same thang! |
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| No kidding someday I need to have enough guts to go to church in a modest pajamas. (appropriately dressed) Thanks for the idea, I truly have this impulsion:-) SOL |
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Robin |
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November 18, 2007 at 5:41pm |
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Dave, Great topic. I really enjoy my pj's. In fact my girls and I look forward to Pajama Days on cold wintery days. I think the internet is agreat place to connect...certainly doesn't replace the local family. Have a great week. Robin |
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Wendy |
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November 18, 2007 at 10:00pm |
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| LOL believe it or not I have done that too! |
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Deb |
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November 19, 2007 at 9:36am |
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| So good to hear from you again Dave, and I am glad that you found a way to "go to church" without even leaving the comfort of home. |
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Glenn |
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November 19, 2007 at 10:22am |
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Hey Pastor Dave, Thanks for sharing with us about your worship time. God is great no matter where we are when we raise our voice and hands to worhip Him. I was very happy to see that you were writing here again. Thanks for sharing your experience with us all. peace |
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So how was the fellowship time afterward? Did you hear any interesting stories? Did you get to pray for anyone? Just kidding man. Those are tongue in cheek comments. Great post. When we can't get out for whatever the reason on Sunday, you presented a great alternative. But I fear some people do the same thing as you and use that to justify that they don't need to attend church because of it.
Great to hear from you. Keep up the good blogs. |
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| Sorry, I should have read the WHOLE blog, you already said that. |
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Randy |
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November 19, 2007 at 3:56pm |
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Thanks Dave,
Hope you are back to your services soon. On this weird work schedule that I have, I too miss being able to go to service for long stretches. Fortunately the church I attend puts our Pastor's sermons online that I can listen too about a week later.
Thanks for the inspiration,
Randy |
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Lourdes |
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November 19, 2007 at 4:06pm |
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| Great blog. It makes me appreciate the fact that our church also puts the pastor's sermons online a day or two later. Thahks, lm |
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| This just reminds me of how comfortable and relaxing my church is. It doesn't matter what you wear it only matters that you are there!!! |
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Pastor Dave,
Excellent blog!! I am reminded of a particular Bible Study discussion that we had at our church. In studying the Old Testament, your post reminded me of the fact that the people of the OT, when worshipping their God, they came dressed in their Sunday's best. One problem though...they probably hadn't bathed in a week or two, maybe even a month, combine that with the slaughtered bulls and lambs used for offerings to the Lord....that makes for one aromatic place.
God's love for us is unconditional. He is not concerned with how well we dress, how nice we smell or even who drives the nicest car. He loves us for what's inside.
God Bless,
Matt |
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Let us wear ordinary dresses while going to the House of God. In India, Mahatma Gandhi, our father of freedom, wore a dress which the poor Indians used to wear. Through this simple dress, he won the hearts of millions of Indians. Similarly, our Lord also wore a very simple dress.
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| That was awesome! I am finding a lot of cool stuff on this site! Thanks!! |
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Ashley |
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November 27, 2007 at 11:54am |
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i wish i could go to church in my pajamas
but i do get ur point ppl shouldnt care b/c we all know jesus doesnt judge us for what we are wearing.... |
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| The title of your blog reminded me of a sermon I heard Benny Hinn's wife preach. She was talking about how her and her daughters were going to go to the movies and she had told them to be dressed and ready at a certain time and when she came home one of her daughters was still in her pajamas and not ready to leave for the movies. She was comparing it to us not putting on the whole word of God, not praying and worshipping daily and how if we are not doing these things in our lives it is as if we are going to church in our pajamas. |
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