We are heading into the “crazy days of summer.” Kind of hard to believe, with the cool temperatures we are still experiencing, but May is almost here, meaning holidays, graduations, summer vacations, and family vacations. It also means yard work, gardening (woo-hoo!) and the opportunity to do things the cold weather prevents or discourages us from doing. And despite my well-known dislike for hot weather, I really do enjoy many aspects of summer.
Sadly, statistically speaking, it has also been a season of decreased church attendance. Not just here, of course; a good friend of mine who pastors a large church in a bigger city says that toward the end of summer he is always drawn to preach about Gideon’s 300 and stuff like that. Now, I get it. If you travel for vacation, it makes sense that you can’t be at LWFC on a particular Sunday or Wednesday. But please consider a couple of things: Find a church to attend while on the road. It is always exciting to me to experience fellowship with believers in a church setting outside my own church family. You may see something that will benefit us as a church; you may experience some things that will cause you to appreciate your own church more. But mostly, you will be encouraged and reminded that there are committed believers all over our great country and all over the world.
More importantly, though: when you’re NOT traveling, do make every effort to be here! A long Saturday of mowing, gardening, washing the cars, then cooking out, etc., can make it awfully tempting to stay in bed late on Sunday. And those long daylight hours can make it seem hard to commit to Wednesday night church if, like me, you like to fire up that grill every chance you get.
But there is a vital scriptural principal that is not only hinted at, but spelled out in the word of God that we must heed. As we recently read in Romans, Paul wrote to the believers in Rome that he longed to visit them in order to impart some spiritual gift to them and adds in Romans 1:12, “that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.” When we fail to assemble, we rob ourselves, and we rob other members of the body, of the gifts, encouragement, and edification that God has planned to impart through the assembly.
More specifically, of course, is Hebrews 10:24-25: “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.” We have spoken often of the trouble, the perilous times, that Jesus and the Apostles warned us would come in the last days. And we see in the book of Acts that when they experienced hard things, they responded by gathering together and praying, praising the Lord, and renewing their commitment to doctrine and fellowship.
Personally, when I experience struggles, I am strengthened in ways it is difficult to describe just by coming to church. For one thing, I am reminded in a very tangible way, by being in the presence of the body of Christ, that He will never leave me nor forsake me. For another thing, I look around at my brothers and sisters in the Lord and say, “Thank God, we’re in this thing together!” That’s a super important thing to remember; it is a potentially life-changing truth. But it is easier to grasp when we are all truly together. Remember, this is not just about what you think you need; it’s about what God says you need. What God says WE need. It is about the mutual benefits of Christian Assembly. And we have both examples and commands in scripture, that we may imitate and obey.
I thank God for you, my church family. There really is no one else I’d rather be “in this thing together” with. I’m praying for you; pray for me. I’m there for you; be there for me.
With you in Christ,
