A good translation of our verse for today is: go to church! But it is more than just going to church; we are to get involved with other believers so we can encourage them even as we ourselves are encouraged to love and do good works. The manner of some then is the manner of some today: they choose to disobey God's Word and will and not assemble with others. There are many excuses: I have only one day off, I do not like those hypocrites, I cannot agree with all the pastor says, I do not believe you have to go to church, etc.
We are to come together and receive exhortation. The Greek word translated "exhorting" is
parakaleo, which means to encourage, call alongside, and admonish. I am admonishing many of you today, and perhaps it does not feel very good. But if you are like me, you need others to give you solid teaching, whether we like it or not! C.S. Lewis has been doing this for me as I read his classic work,
Mere Christianity. For example, he writes that if you are suddenly struck with a difficulty or simply did not see it coming, how you react in that moment is actually the person you really are.
The Day approaching is the day Jesus comes again. The time between Jesus' first coming and His second is the last days. The more we live, the closer we get to that day when He comes again. "The only place where we can remain steadfast until He returns is with His people. We need each other. We need to be in fellowship with each other, as we mutually strengthen each other and encourage each other." (MacArthur,
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, p. 268)
This week, we have looked at the importance of church. Many spiritual batteries are cold and need a jump, a restart, or reboot. I invite you to come back to God and His church. Quit looking for the perfect church, for there is no perfect church.
I will close with this word from Dr. David Platt, in his book
Radical, on page 206:
"So first and foremost, I encourage you to be done with church-hopping and shopping in a me-centered cultural milieu and to commit your life to a people who need you and whom you need."
May the Lord bless you with a great weekend. If you have a prayer request, please email us at
pray@dfea.com, and we will be honored to pray for you.
Thank you to all who pray for us and support our DFEA ministry financially. We are grateful to God for every donation, large or small. If you would like to donate to our ministry to help us to continue to teach many about our Lord, then please go to:
dfea.com/donate
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