I was in a meeting recently where the speaker compared the church to Noah's ark. In fact she suggested that perhaps Noah's ark was God's test for the church. In other words, if God could manage 40 days of animals packed close together without the crocodile eating the rabbit, then perhaps He might have some success with us and the church. After all, God has put together such a diverse range of people in our churches that it is amazing that anything gets done at all. All of us would no doubt be able to pick out the elephants, giraffes and gorillas in our midst if we thought about the comparison.

Jesus in Matthew 12:30 shows us that the enemy of our faith, the devil, would try to scatter the church but God's heart is to gather it. I guess all of us realise the importance of gathering together in our church worship services, but for many in our fast-paced world by the end of the week, we only just have the energy left to turn up, let alone participate or volunteer for anything. So we arrive and collapse in a seat hoping that someone will have something to help us get through. You know that is not what God intended for the church. We must recognise the power of momentum in our gathering together. The church is not a minority group even though your own church may seem small and insignificant. In fact we are all connected together. We are one of those making a difference on this earth and there is great strength in that. Where other gatherings are, you are there with them and a part of them, big or small, because of connection. Every person is part of the church worldwide. We are amazingly connected to each other.

Church is all part of God's big idea so we need to be sure that we don't turn up on a Sunday and put ourselves on autopilot and just let the service roll out before us leaving us unaffected at the end.

No, we are in a vast and powerful army ready for battle and we cannot afford to turn up in our slippers ready for an easy time. Are you like that, or do you even feel the assault is on and you look round wondering what to do? Well let me suggest that when we come together, we rise up and come in our strength. After all, the Holy Spirit of the Living God who was there at creation and caused Jesus to rise up and conquer the grave, is living on the inside of you as a believer. He is there working powerfully on your behalf as you allow Him to be all that He was sent to be for you.

Remember the scripture in Philippians 4 that says you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. The power of God is in you whether you sense it or not. The potential that is in you as part of the body of Christ is awesome. Yes we do need each other, scripture is plain on that, but together we can harmonise and as we give of our strength we will also receive all that we need to be victorious in our own life.

So next time you are getting ready for church, get excited. The Holy Spirit is big on the inside of you so you can put a smile on your face, walk through those doors and be ready for awesome things to happen as you take your strength and be all that God has planned for you to be.