I am eternally grateful to be in a church that when I leave the building on Sundays and Wednesdays, I feel as if I have just been fed the most marvelous of meals with an exquisite desert. Those metaphors are of course standing for the Word of God and Spirit in the service. My heart continues to be burdened for a world that finds no need to be in a church with the body of Christ.
Paul warned the Church of Colosse, when they were worshipping angels rather than God:
Colossians 2:18-19 KJV
[18]Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, [19] And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.
Beguiling, deception, is what happens when one is not being taught the word of God or being taught incorrectly. Verse 19 refers to the Head, with the H capitalized, meaning God, from who we receive the nourishment required for the sustainability of the body. Someone, a false teacher, had the people of Colosse worshiping those which God created for the purpose of serving and worshipping Him.
In the book of Revelation, when John fell at the feet of an angel, the humble creature told him asolutely not! Revelation 22:8-9 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. [9] Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
The point of that being, they were listening to false teaching, and so are many others, because they’re not reading and studying the Word of God for themselves, and attending a church where a Pastor can keep you in line. Of course you can sit at home in your comfy chair, sipping coffee while you listen to your internet preacher, but as it says in Hebrews 10:25, you’re absent from the body of Christ.
Funny thing about scripture, it is so often given and received out of context. I was just about guilty in the writing of this post. Hebrews 10:25 is one my favorite verses. But I failed to realize that it’s the latter part of a sentence that started in verse 23.
Hebrews 10:23-25 KJV
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) [24] And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: [25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Those three verses are packed with good stuff!
Hold Fast my Friends!
Paul told the Hebrews to hold on to the profession of their faith. To the sound doctrines for which they’d been taught. It won’t take long when being out in the world to be influenced by multiple forces. That causes wavering and confusion in the mind like that of those worshiping the angels. God did not intend church folks to be without a body of believers and a Pastor. In the days of Paul that of course wasn’t a church house but usually it was in the homes of other believers where they gathered for house church. But they gathered. They knew that there was a need to hold on to not only the profession of their faith, but to hold on to their faith filled friends for encouragement. Get in the right church and hold on!
Provoke the People
Provoked is most often used as a term of negativity. But you can provoke good as well as evil! Paul told the Hebrews to provoke unto love and to good works. I have to tell you, when someone in the church starts a project, I’m not always a willing participant. I have a dozen other things going that I feel needs my attention. But a friend in the faith will say, “Hey Shari, I need your help.” And it’s then that I am provoked to help, because I love them and I want to do a good work. It’s always a blessing! My life is far richer and I know that I have been doing the will of God. But if it wasn’t for that friend in the faith, I’d have missed the blessing. Good Christian friends provoke us to do more for the Kingdom of God.
Can you see that the words leading into Hebrews 10:25 direct our paths, and keep us going in the direction we should go?
Always Assemble!
Wednesdays and Sundays are happy, happy days in my life. My mind begins to think on the upcoming Bible studies, the fellowship with other believers, the lifting up of people in prayer. The wonderful influence of my church family encourages me the other five days of the week! Is my church perfect? Of course not, or they wouldn’t let me in the doors. But the five days I’m out of church takes its toll on me. I can read the word of God, pray and encourage myself with good gospel music, but I need the fellowship of other believers and I most especially need the leading and teaching of the man of God. It’s not that God doesn’t speak to me, He does. But He speaks to the man of God in an amazing way, that one message can hit everyone who hears it, in a different way. It will encourage one, convict another, stir another over something they’ve been struggling with. It’s filled with the substance that we need in our lives to keep us on the right path.
I watch family and friends who are being beat down by this world struggle. And I don’t mean they’re having a little anxiety. I mean their mind is filled with frustration, anger, chaos and worse. And my thought is this, if only you had filled your tank this week, you’d not have run out of gas. The world will fill you up, but it’s got all kinds of bad byproducts in it. Junk that God never intended to be in your life. I used the word silly in the headline of today’s post. But there is nothing funny about how this world tears you apart. It’s why I stay in church… it’s the glue that puts me back together.
Love you all. Praying my words encourage you today!