Go to church.
No, really, GO to church tomorrow.
Plan right now to do this.

No doubt, a fuzzy blanket, a cup of piping hot coffee, pajamas and a podcast have become “worship” for some.

I know some people are in seasons of life where they are home bound for various reasons, but I’m not talking to them.

I’m talking to the growing numbers of people who think they can replace church by watching a video or listening to a message. And it’s not just Millennials!

This is not church. It is not “meeting together”!

And it won’t encourage your heart like meeting together will.

God is clear in Hebrews 10:24-25 when He says in His Word, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

God’s people are to meet together and encourage one another!!

God created the church and He knows His people need each other. We need to gather together routinely!

And so, I’ll share again these words God laid on my heart about church and why I love going….

I was tired, weak, discouraged. I was, at times, ready to give up. I knew I wasn’t enough for all that came against me. I felt alone and hopeless, tossed to and fro by the world and all it says I am to be.

But still, somehow, I was drawn there.

Maybe, on some days, because, as a child of the south it is a common thing to go to church.

So I went.

I went on the days I felt good, and I went on the days I felt bad.

It wasn’t that God couldn’t be found at home in my pajamas. I’ve certainly heard His voice in the quiet times alone with Him.

But there is something profound and deeply encouraging to see my Savior in the lives of others.

At church.

When we gather.
When we sing.
When we shake hands and when we hug.

When we all sit together…
those who are tired,
those who have blown it,
those who have suffered,
and those who don’t always understand.

But we come back.

As I sit with those who come back, I’m reminded I can come back too.

Together, we draw in the life-giving Word.

And we come back.

As I look around, I see witness after witness, real people with real problems, not one of them perfect…but they are those who come back…

As we worship together, we remind each other to come back to the hope, that is not found in ourselves, but only in God.

Sunday after Sunday,
year after year,
there, at church….
together at CHURCH,
we encourage one another, again and again,
that there is real,
come back,
hope and joy
in the Living Water
who is Christ our Savior and our King!

So we come back…

Oh, friend, keep coming back!

Keep going to church!!! A preacher on TV (even a good one) or a podcast can never replace the supernatural thing that happens when God’s people meet together at church!!

It’s a beautiful thing!

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