It seems lately that there have been more hard weeks than ever before. This is precisely why I come to church on Sunday, excited to be nourished, encouraged, and revived for the next hard week. Unfortunately, there are times I leave my place of refuge discouraged, even drained, because the music isn't my favorite, the sermon is“from Leviticus,” or no one really talks to me. This is faulty thinking straight from a fleshly heart.

Church shouldn’t be about me. It’s about worshipping an incredible God! And if I were to approach every Sunday, every day, with that mindset, then it doesn't matter what the music, sermon, or even people are like. By shifting my mindset, I take myself off the throne and focus on the One who sits on it!

Recently I heard a minister say that we should be “dead men (women) walking,” because dead people don't have their own desires, feelings, or demands. In fact, if I have been crucified with Christ (dead to my flesh), then any anger, disappointment, even dislikes I might have about the way things are done wouldn't even exist. Just as warning lights on a dashboard reveal that a car needs to go to the maker, the negative warning lights in my heart reveal I need to go to my Maker. And so once again I confess the idol of “me,” asking Him for the desire to kill my flesh and worship Him alone, thanking Him for the privilege we have in America to publicly praise His name.