Do Not Give Up Meeting Together

Malachi 3:16-18 

16Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.17“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him.18And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.  

Hebrews 10:23-25

 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,25not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

It's been a while since I've written a post here. The summer time trips and events are heavy on me and we've suspended our small groups until fall. So as a result this passage hit me a little differently than it has in the past. It hit me fresh the reasons why meeting together and sharing what the Lord is teaching us is so important.

I'm so glad to have a father who desires my company and values the time I spend with others talking about Him. I live in a world that is judged by performance and works. It's impossible to keep all the rules and please everyone. When the end comes for me will people look at all I've accomplished for myself or will they understand that I've invested myself in them; in building relationships with the one who really matters? 

I am more and more convinced that as the enemy distracts us with the busy, and isolates us with critical judgement of one another we miss out on the power and solace that comes from having two or more gathered in the fellowship of shared love for someone who covers our sins and calls us his own. 

While we are distracted with the "busy" and criticizing one another into fear-tied isolation we forget that The Day is approaching.

Well, this is where my mind wandered this morning in my quiet time. Thanks for walking along with me.