#853 God’s Response to Spiritual Concerns – Neglecting Public Worship

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christians should have a deep desire to worship the Lord, and that desire should include a deep desire to worship the Lord with fellow believers.  We as Christians know that we are able to worship the Lord in many ways:  during our daily devotions, when we are watching a service on television or listening to a service on radio, when we spend time with the Lord when exploring His creation, etc.  These are all ways we can worship the Lord; however, none of them take the place of worshipping Him with fellow believers during a public worship service.  This is not to say this public worship service has to be in a church building as there are churches in homes in which the Lord is present just as surely as in a church building.  The key is the fellowship, love, support, and encouragement we gain from being with our fellow believers in worship as well as spending time praying with each other.  We may have lost the desire to attend public worship on a regular basis, but it is God’s response to not neglect public worship.

If you have the concern that you are neglecting public worship more and more, take God’s response (and command) seriously and begin again to worship and fellowship with fellow believers!

“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”   (Hebrews 10:24-25 – NKJV)

May God Richly Bless You Today

#573 Patience – Steadfastness Until the Lord’s Return

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Our diligence in being obedient in following the commands and instructions from God’s Word until and for the Lord’s return can only be accomplished if we stand fast in our faith.  Christ, in His letter to the Church in Philadelphia as found in the Book of Revelation, cautions them to hold fast on to what they already have until His return.  They had already been commended for their effort to obey His Word in spite of their lack of strength;[1] but it was necessary for them to be encouraged to hold tightly to whatever strength they had, persevering in their faith and utilizing their personal and corporate resources in the Lord’s work.  That goes for us today!  Although we are all different and have different abilities, spiritual maturity and strength levels, we as Christians are to never allow our faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ to waiver, exercising perseverance as well as patience until His return.  Tomorrow we examine our reward for faithfulness.

 

Do you have as part of your patience perseverance and steadfastness in your faith?

 

“Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”  (Revelation 3:11)

 

May God Richly Bless You Today                                                                       

 

 

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted. (Capitalization of pronouns for God added.)

Archives of At the Father’s Feet can be found at atthefathersfeet.wordpress.com

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[1] Revelation 3:8

#572 Patience – Comfort In the Lord’s Return

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The previous couple of devotionals have shown that we are to live patiently until and for the coming of the Lord, and in doing so we are being diligent in following the commands and instructions as given to us in God’s Word.  But there is an additional aspect of our obedience, that we will find comfort in the coming of the Lord, in the knowledge that His promise of returning for His saints is absolute and certain.  In His Word, God is giving the saints of all ages a consolation in their sorrows over lost loved ones who were of the faith.  Barnes Notes on the New Testament explains that there are three areas of consolation for the saints, “first, that those who had died in the faith would not always lie in the grave; second, that when they rose they would not occupy an inferior condition because they were cut off before the coming of the Lord; and third, that all Christians, living and dead, would be received to heaven and dwell forever with the Lord.”[1]  This is our blessed hope (certainty) and comfort that someday Christ is coming again, and we will be spending eternity in the presence of our Lord in heaven.  Praise the Lord!!

Are you rejoicing in the comfort that you have in knowing that you will be joining your Christian loved ones who have previously passed away when Christ returns and spending eternity with them before God in heaven?

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”  (I Thessalonians 4:18)

May God Richly Bless You Today

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[1]Albert Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament, Electronic Edition, STEP Files,Cedar Rapids,Iowa:  Parsons Technology, Inc. (1999).

#559 Church and State – Taking Life

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

A great moral injustice has developed along with the moral decay taking place in the nation, as well as the world, that of the practice of taking an unborn child’s life.  As moral decay has resulted in more unwed women becoming pregnant, the answer to the pregnancy is too often an abortion rather than keeping the baby or putting the baby up for adoption.  Courts have supported the right of women to have an abortion, as well as Federal funding being used, even though taking an unborn child’s life is equivalent to murder, an act that is distinctly against the law.  It is interesting that no law or court will condone the intentional taking of an infant’s life while not condoning the intentional taking of an unborn child’s life, someone just as alive.  We will continue tomorrow by looking at issues raised by pro-abortionist, aka “pro-choice” advocates.

Pray that there will be a renewed sense of appreciation for the sanctity of life in the world today!

“Thou shalt not kill.”  (Exodus 20:13)

May God Richly Bless You Today

#551 Failure to Obedience

Good Day Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Spiritual failure, which we thought about yesterday, can include many different aspects, such as failure morally, failure witnessing, and other failures against God.  One spiritual failure that can ruin our fellowship with the Lord is the failure to obey His commands.  Throughout Scripture we are given commands or instructions as to how to live the Christian walk and lives pleasing to the Lord.  Yet, many of us Christians attend church on Sunday morning, feeling that is adequate worship and training for our Christian walk; we read and study God’s Word, feeling that is adequate without applying the Word to our lives; and we pray for missions and the lost, feeling that is adequate without obeying Christ’s command to go and tell others about Christ.  We as Christians are expected to obey what God has commanded in His Word, including instructions that we may not be comfortable following, and the Holy Spirit is waiting to guide us from failure to obedience when we open our hearts to be receptive to what God expects of us.

As you read and study God’s Word, allow the Holy Spirit to speak to and guide you as you apply His commands to your Christian walk!

“We have received grace and apostleship through Him to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, on behalf of His name, including yourselves who are also Jesus Christ’s by calling.”  (Romans 1:5-6 – NASB)

May God Richly Bless You Today