If there is one thing about humans it is that we are creatures of habit. Everyone has their own routines, their own habits and their own way of doing things. Christians are creatures of habits also. They walk into a church house and head to their pew. I am the same way, I walk into the back doors of the church, head to the left set of pews and sit by the wall in the 6th or 7th pew from the front for every service. If I sit somewhere else, I feel out of place and lost in the church auditorium.
They say it takes 66 days to create a habit. They also say that you never break a habit, you just replace it with a new habit. The habit of attending church can easily be replaced by the habit of making excuses. I have been in church my entire life; my parents raised me in church. We were there every time the doors were open! My habit of church attendance was instilled in me by my parents. Once I graduated high school and started my life as an adult, I had to make the choice of continuing to attend church.
I never realized the importance of church attendance until this past year. I was faithful to church Sunday morning and Sunday night but I started to miss Wednesday night services. The habit I had formed over the years was suddenly replaced by the new habit of creating excuses to miss church. I started this year off with one main resolution, to be faithful to church especially on Wednesday night. I don’t want to leave my church pew empty for any service.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” ~Heb. 10:25
The word forsake in this verse does not mean “miss.” Forsake has a stronger meaning than ‘miss’ or ‘skip’ or anything of that nature. Forsake means renounce your belief, disown as a son, abandon as a baby on a doorstep, or desert as in the military. When you take these meanings into account, missing church really takes on a whole new meaning!
So let me ask you, is your church pew empty? It’s not just missing church or skipping church, it is forsaking church. As long as you are not bed ridden or contagiously ill, you have no excuse to miss church. Don’t be that person when the pastor looks out and sees your church pew empty!
My plea to you today, don’t leave your church pew empty! Don’t forsake your church services. Don’t renounce your belief in church! Don’t disown your church by missing! Don’t abandon your church! Don’t desert your church!
You need to be in church to hear the sermon! You need to be in church for the godly, Christian music. You need to be in church for the fellowship with the saints. There is no good reason not to be in church.
Is your church pew empty?
Counted Faithful 