RULES OF CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Today's reading: Ecclesiastes 5-6

"As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut!.." Ecclesiastes 5:1 NLT

I'm not a Greek scholar. The only thing I know about the Hebrew language is how to spell it...H-E-B-R-E-W.

I can only offer an opinion as to what God intended this verse to mean by letting you know what He's spoken to my heart, so I'll continue.

In the Malinda translation, this verse would read:

As you step inside the church open your ears to hear My voice. Shut your mouth, you've said quite enough this week, it's time to listen. Bring a heart filled with a relationship with me--not a heart your pastor must fill for the week with his wise words and well thought out three-point sermon. Empty hands, please--you've nothing to offer God. You've done nothing worthy of His attention. You accomplished very little with your best efforts. Come in with tired feet. Shoes worn out from going about your Father's business--rushing here and there to tell the Good News. And as for your wallets? Go ahead and leave them at home until you've mastered the above criteria and your heart's in the right place for worshipping the Savior. And, Malinda, this means you!

No, I'm not adding anything to the Holy Scriptures. If anything, I'm allowing them to do what they're intended to do--speak directly and intimately to my heart, mind and soul. It's just what happens when you take a piece of His love letter to you and you read, re-read and re-read it. It's what happens when you chew on it until it can be digested by your childlike system. It's what happens when we take the Holy Bible and apply it like a salve to the afflicted parts of our lives. It's what happens when you realize this God-breathed Scripture is alive and well--and it's intended for you to take personally!

What will you do with the Bible today?