Pastors, as a breed, love September. Most people do, because most people are fond of autumn, but pastors love it because people are home more. The school year dictates, to a large degree, when families travel for vacations, and by the time September rolls around, most peo-ple are settling in for life that is more routine and structured. And, of course, this usually translates to more people being in church on any given Sunday and I know of no preacher who wouldn’t rather preach to 200 people than 160, or whatever numbers you want to throw around.
But I’ve noticed, and I’m sure you have too, that people are just getting busier and busier. There is such a wealth of opportunities that surround us and our children that it would be easy to have something planned every day and night of the week. And there’s nothing wrong with activity, with busy-ness, per se. As always, it comes down to priori-ties. We talk about this principle often as it relates to tithes and to our devotional life. We make spending choices based on what is important; if tithing is important to us, we make decisions that reflect that. We or-der our day and schedule in such a way that we “budget” time for what is important to us. If time in the Word and in prayer are important to us, we make time for them.
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10:25
Same way with church. When our lives become super busy, sometime skipping church can be an easy decision to make. And hey, why not? It’s not like skipping church is going to send anyone to hell, is it? And we can do Bible study and even praise and worship at home, right? But, the Word of God tells us clearly not to forsake the assem-bling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). There are many reasons for this, but here are two big and simple ones: you need us, and we need you.
There is no way to experience the life God has planned for you if you do not regularly join yourself to a community of believers. You were certainly saved because of a personal decision you made, but the life God saved us into is not a life of privacy and one-on-one relation-ship. He saved us into a body; HIS body. We simply cannot experience being a part of the body of Christ if we do not meet regularly.
And if you do not sense that need yourself, guess what? It ain’t all about you! We still need you! You may be convinced that you are being all you can be without regular church fellowship, but the church is not all it can be without you. Ephesians 4:16 tells us that this body thrives and grows and works because of what every joint supplies; when every part does its part.
Great things are happening at LWFC! Prayers are being an-swered, people are being saved, and visions are coming to pass. As you settle in to the fall routine, examine your schedule. Making room for church? As a priority item? You better; you don’t want to miss what’s coming! Welcome home, and see you Sunday and Wednesday!
