Every one of us has habits, things we do again and again, sometimes without much thought.
- Coffee in the morning.
- Exercise routine even earlier in the morning.
- Bible reading and prayer.
- Nose-picking or nail-biting.
Obviously some habits are better than others!
In a candid interaction with the church in our first evening Family Gathering, Pastor Sam addressed the issue of habits by pointing us to Hebrews 10:24-25. Here’s what the text says:
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. (ESV)
Sam asked us at the gathering, “What point in this passage is really counter-cultural in our context?”
A few responses came from those gathered, like: “Love and stirring one another up” and “encouraging one another.” Those things are definitely good points from the text.
But the truly counter-cultural point in those verses is the good habit of meeting together more and more as a church family. For the most part, that habit of meeting together “all the more as you see the Day drawing near” is not a regular part of American church culture.
What can help us stop a bad habit (of skipping times to gather with the church) and motivate us to meet more regularly?
Two points to bear in mind that will hopefully encourage you:
- All believers in Christ are God’s family. God’s family! The encouragement there is that God chose to make us His very own precious children (see 1 John 3:1).
- God wants His children to gather often so we can know Him, worship and love Him together and love one another more as a family (see Hebrews 10:24-25).
Some habits definitely are better than others, but the habit of gathering as God’s family is one that reaps eternal and everyday rewards. See you Sunday mornings and at the next Family Gathering on September 24!
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