A Deadly Habit!

Hebrews 10:25

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching.

Bad habits are hard to break. A habit is an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. When you do something over and over it becomes second nature. It takes 21 days to form a new habit and after that it just becomes natural to keep doing it. One of the habits that is killing us is when we decide to skip church. It becomes easier and easier not to go to church when you stay at home because it has become a habit. You lose the desire to come to worship and as a result you drift further and further from God until it no longer bothers you. It’s a deadly habit.

As a child it was ingrained in me that you must attend church every Sunday. I could have stayed out all night and dragged in at 3am but I was getting up to go to church that morning. Now some people would ask, “Isn’t that hypocritical to party all night Saturday and then come to church?” I would argue that it’s not hypocritical but helpful because you can’t keep coming to church and be exposed to the word of God and not make changes in your life. What hurts us is when we cut church out and create a void of God in our lives. Oftentimes, when I didn’t feel like going to church but made myself go anyway is when God blessed me the most. The enemy wants nothing more than for you to continue to make excuses for not coming together for worship on a weekly basis.

Jesus said, “Where two or three people are gathered together in his name he would be there in the midst of them. There is no power where we stay at home missing the connection with other believers. Once a week we should meet together so that we can:

1. Encourage one another. Oftentimes, we are able to hear from other believers through testimonies, bible study, and small groups that we are not the only ones dealing with something. When we attend worship regularly something the preacher says or the choir sings can be the very thing that helps us to deal with an issue we could not solve on our own.

2. Serve one another. In church there are so many people with different gifts that we might be missing. Some people have the gift of encouragement where others may have the gift of discernment to help you see something you couldn’t. Some people have the gift of helps where they can assist you where you thought you were all alone. God gives the church different gifts so that we can help each other.

3. Save one another. There is accountability in church. When we are connected to other believers they will not let you drive down a road where they know the bridge is out. We need other believers to encourage us toward good works. We don’t need to be surrounded by people who tell us what we want to hear but instead we need believers to tell us what we need to hear.

We owe it to ourselves, one another, and to God to start a new habit of regular worship attendance. For the next 21 Sundays make a new habit of coming in the building and worshipping with other believers. This habit will save your life.

Dear God,

Help us to create healthy habits that will bring us closer to you. Please break the habit of skipping church because it's killing our power, robbing our anointing and hindering our community. Give us the discipline to get back in church on a regular basis.

In Jesus Name,
Amen