Starting fresh: Not going to church, part 2

If you are someone like me, you are busy busy busy right now. There never seems to be enough time in the day to do the things we need to do. I have personally seen that in my own life. My kids are involved in a variety of things now that they are in high school and middle school.

There never seems to be enough time to do everything. At least that is what we tell ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong, many of us, like me, are trying to keep ourselves above water. It’s hard to pay bills and it seems like you have to take on extra projects and jobs just to keep afloat, pay bills. and at this time of year, buy Christmas presents.

However, if we are truly honest with ourselves we spend A LOT of time giving ourselves over to our handheld devices, sporting events, bingeing flicks and such.

At the end of the day, there seems to always be something more important to do. I find the longer I am away from the church the easier it is to make excuses to stay away. The truth is I want my own time and the Church doesn’t seem to have a place in my life right now. The problem is there is a reason why God has called us to be a part of the church, and it isn’t for His need for us to be there.

God is not going to fall off His throne if you don’t go to church. I do believe that God does take pleasure in the praises of His people and misses the time you spend with your brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Hebrews 10:25 says not to forsake the assembly of meeting together. Some on the pulpit have used this as a means to guilt people into the church. In Context, Hebrews 10:22-25 (NIV), “22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

On the contrary, we need to be in the church not because we feel guilted into being there but rather because Christians need Christians. We need the support of people who share the Love of the Lord and they desperately need us. I find it fascinating what comes after the verse above is the persecution in the church. The truth is more and more it is harder to do the right thing and be a Christian in our time period too.

I think one thing is worth noting is that this is not just your spiritual journey. Those around you are trying to find their way too. Without you in their life, they are missing a part of what they need too. Read 1 Cor. 12. On top of that if you have children in the house and are pulling them from church you are affecting their journey too. God has created us to be a part of the Church to help each other along. I have seen atheist friends of mine not have anyone to catch them once they fall, where when I have been at the worst in my life the Church was there.

For this reason, I am making my way back during the Christmas season. I encourage you to go back too. If you continue to struggle to find a place in the church you have gone to in the past find another place to call home, even for a season.

Reengage somewhere where you can find a healthy church family that loves, encourages, preaches from the word of God, and produces men and women of character and love.

Remember just because you have had a bad experience at one restaurant, it doesn’t mean you are going to have that same experience at another. Give it another shot this holiday season