Is There Always An Excuse?

Is there always an excuse?

How would you like it if your watch ran half of the time? You couldn’t count on it, could you? If you didn’t go to work because you didn’t have time to get ready or didn’t feel so good or felt like sleeping in or watching your favorite show, would you have a job? What if your car only ran on half of its cylinders?

Is there always an excuse?

How would you like it if your watch ran half of the time? You couldn’t count on it, could you? If you didn’t go to work because you didn’t have time to get ready or didn’t feel so good or felt like sleeping in or watching your favorite show, would you have a job? What if your car only ran on half of its cylinders?

Hebrews 10:23-25-NKJV

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Many church members are like automobiles—they start missing before they quit. Read verse 23 (unswervingly) without wavering. God is faithful; we know his promises will come to be. Security intended to God’s promises. The idea here in verse 23 is God is faithful; are you? There will be times when being a Christian is not easy, so Hebrews encourages us to remember God’s faithfulness, as we fine tune ours. Read verse 24-spur means to stimulate and Christians need to spur or stimulate each other toward love and good deeds or works. Read verse 25-You will not survive the world on your own. Christ did not design Christians to be completely independent of each other, he intended them to be there for one another: to help, to encourage, to laugh, to cry and we cannot only be concerned with ourselves.

One of the reasons we come together is to be there for one another. I believe it is time again for preaching from the pulpit not just on forsaking the assembly, but to press the importance of being together for study and fellowship as we praise God. How can you give or receive encouragement on Wednesday night if you are not present, what about Sunday nights? We have a responsibility to build up on another. Hebrews 3:12-14 reads

Hebrews 3:12-14-NKJV

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,

Is there always an excuse? Can we really say that we are edifying others when we are absent most of the time, we attend so infrequently we hardly know the other members, we are not present to notice that others have skipped away? Why do some Christians attend all services and some not? Does it make a difference? We all have priorities but do we put them into the proper order? How should we treat extracurricular activities that interfere with serving God? I find it fascinating that many won’t go to Church because of aches and pains, but would not miss work for the same ones. By example we show our Christianity to others, especially our children. To fulfill God’s Commands we are to grow and develop spiritually. Hearing sermons and attending Bible classes helps one to grow and develop into a mature Christian. Hebrews 5:12-14 reads,

Hebrews 5:12-14-NKJV-Spiritual Immaturity

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Many of the Jewish Christians to whom this letter was written were immature. They should have been teaching others, but they have not even applied the basis to their own lives. Commitment to Christ might move you if you let it. Is your commitment to Christ hot or cold? You might be saying to yourself I can’t get my spiritual life out of first gear. There are blessings found in faithful, regular, consistent attendance of worship. “teach and admonish” refers to the whole congregation and their responsibility to teach the Word. Our growth is dependent upon our diet and one cannot grow as they should on a starvation diet. You don’t understand, it’s hard to get up and get ready. I do understand, I did it this morning! God’s church needs workers! The Church is like a body needing every individual part to do its share.