Hebrews 10:24–25 (NKJV)
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 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.
January 3rd… check, January 10th… check, January 17th… check, January 24th… check, January 31st… check… a perfect month! That is what God wants, right? He wants us to check that magical attendance box and eternal life will be good! Where is that line set? Does a 60% attendance rate get you in? Does it cost you 75% of your Sunday’s? Do you have to make it to a quarter of the dreaded weekday services? Surely you do not need to attend small groups, right? I can assure you, God is looking for more than checks on your attendance ledger, I can also promise, it is worth it!
What’s My Heart Got To Do With It?
1 Samuel 16:7 warns us… (7) But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart”... Did you see attendance mentioned in that verse? Nope! He is not looking for your attendance record, He is looking for something we cannot alter, something we cannot manipulate, something we cannot hide, He searches our heart. What does the Lord find when He searches our heart each Sunday morning? Does He find the score of the Patriots game? Does He find the perfect lure to reel in that prized pickerel? Does He find the lyrics to that song that should be long erased from your memory?
Where’s The Love?
Matthew 22:37 (37) Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’... God wants us to love Him as unconditionally as He loves us! The God who created us, that has given us eternal life, the God that has sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sin, wants us to love Him! How easy should it be to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and all of our mind? Very easy indeed if you are asking me!
Know His Word
Deuteronomy 26:16 offers the following… (16) “This day the LORD your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul… We should know the expectations He has for us, and then be careful to observe them. He is not just expecting us to check boxes, He is expecting that we know His word, to experience His word, and to live by His word.
We Should Be Seeking Him
2 Chronicles 15:12 explains how we should be seeking God… (12) Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul… Can we truly be seeking Him by searching 60% of the time? Can we truly find Him by hunting 75% of the time? Of course not! We ought to be seeking Him all of the time! It is truly awesome that Matthew 7:7 promises… (7) “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Will He Find Us Praising Him?
The Psalmist shows his love for God in Psalm 86:12… (12) I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore… Praise Him with what? all my heart. Starting to see a pattern here? God is not looking for some of us, He is not looking for most of us, He does not want to force us to church, He does not want sympathy attendance, He wants all of us, all of our heart, all of our attention. When we truly want Him, we will glorify His name!
Believe
The Lord is willing to give all of Himself as long as we believe. Romans 10:9–10 offers us the following promise… (9) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation… No magical attendance percentage, no balance of wrong and right, no comparing us to His other children, all that is needed is confession with the mouth and belief in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and we will be saved! We will be His! He will be ours! Should we be attending church each Sunday? Absolutely! But, there is so much more that He is promising to us! Doing the minimum will get us through the door, let us be believers that are tearing that door down… for Christ!
Closing Thoughts:
Have you ever thought about home much it should take to get into heaven? It should certainly take more than we could ever provide. Our God is an awesome God! Praise be to Him!
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NKJV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
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