Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing…but let us encourage one another… Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
I want to attend a worship service that fits me like my favorite shoes. After receiving a newsletter from some missionary friends this weekend, however, I vow to quit whining!!!
My friends are missionaries in a third world predominantly Muslim country. That is as specific as I can be without threatening their safety. They have to travel two hours to meet with the closest Christian fellowship…any Christian fellowship. That is two hours by public transportation! And I am complaining about – what?
“Let us not give up meeting together…†and let us stop making excuses!
For what reason do I come to worship? Is it because of obligation? Is it for socializing? Is it to perform? Is it to take my children, hoping they will grow up to be ‘good’? Is it to serve? Is it to worship our Lord and Savior?
Let us not just speak the Sunday School answer. Let us allow the Holy Spirit to really examine our hearts and reveal the truth of why we worship. Let us allow the light of God’s truth also reveal when we worship. Is it about one hour per week? Do I hear God’s Word any other day of the week? Do I read His Word for myself? If I gave my spouse or children the amount of time that I give God every week, would I have any relationship with my spouse or children? Or would they say they didn’t know me?
Meeting together is about worshiping together! It is about being in unity because we love our Lord and He is worthy of our worship! Can we not agree about THAT???
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)
Read that again. Words like ‘together‘ is there several times, isn’t it? They had ‘glad’ and ‘sincere hearts’. They praised God and people liked being with them. They had ‘favor’. God blessed all of this by bringing more people to join their group. Now there is a something we do not see enough – a church growing!!!
Let us get our priorities straight and get on God’s program instead of trying to make up some more of our own! Let us worship in our meeting together. Worship our Lord and King, Jesus Christ!
