"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:19-25, NIV)
God wants us to meet together as a church so we can give and receive encouragement while we wait for Christ’s return. He knows life is rough for his children. He knows the people we rub shoulders with every day aren’t very positive about our faith, at least not in general. He knows that some of them are downright hostile toward us because of his Son. So he gives us our times together for refreshment.
Do you go to church every week looking for ways to energize the faith of your brothers? Do you think of yourself as a host or hostess to your sisters? The host at a banquet looks out for the needs of his guests. The hostess at a party is alert to opportunities to bless her friends.
Each of us should arrive at church each week with one goal: to become great in God’s kingdom.
Jesus said this to his disciples: "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." (Mark 10:41-44, NIV)
If all of us come to church ready to serve, all of us will leave having been encouraged. Only if we all come together selfishly seeking our own good, can we not leave encouraged.
Do you need to work on your come-to-church attitude? Adjust it. Look for ways to spur others on to love and good deeds. To that one task all of us have been called.
To receive my once or twice weekly message via email, send a blank email to webmessage-subscribe@associate.com. Past messages are available at freegroups.net/groups/webmessage.
No comments:
Post a Comment