According to a recent newspaper report, only 8% of British men attend church regularly, though 53% identify themselves as Christians. And the situation is similar in other Western nations, with more than 40% of U.S. evangelicals not attending church weekly and more than 60% of American mainline Christians not attending weekly. In short, millions who consider themselves Christians limit their church attendance largely to holidays, weddings, and funerals.

If you’re among these millions, please give church another chance.  By getting involved, you’ll discover that what you once viewed as a chore is actually a blessing. Here are 10 reasons why:

1. Gathering with a church encourages believers to love others and do good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25).

2. A church is the main venue for using your spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:1-31). God has given you abilities and talents intended to help other Christians. If you’re not involved in a church, others are being deprived of what you have to offer.

3. A church helps keep you from abandoning the faith. According to the author of Hebrews, the antidote to developing an “unbelieving heart” that leads you “to fall away from the living God” is to “exhort one another” (Hebrews 3:12-13)—an activity that occurs most prominently in the church.

4. A church helps you defend Christianity against those who attack it. When Jude told the early Christians to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3), he directed his instruction toward a group of believers, not a scattering of lone-ranger Christians. Answering challenges from coworkers, friends, and family members is always easier when you can ask fellow church members for help and wisdom.

5. A church is a great venue for pooling resources to support missions and benevolent works (2 Corinthians 8:1-7; 3 John 5-8). Your money combined with that of fellow church members can do a lot for Christ.

6. A church helps its members maintain correct doctrine (1 Timothy 3:15). You might begin to adopt unbiblical ideas without realizing it yourself. But you probably won’t adopt unbiblical ideas without someone at your church realizing it, and they can help you get back to the truth.

7. After your family, a church is the best group of people to meet your physical needs in an emergency (1 John 3:16-17; 1 Timothy 5:3-16).

8. A church supports you when you face persecution (Acts 4:23-31; 12:12-17). You may not be imprisoned for your Christian beliefs like the apostles were, but a church family is still a great source of comfort when you face stinging words or unfair treatment.

9. A church is where you can be baptized and take part in the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Ephesians 4:4-6). These two ordinances are a vital part of any believer’s walk with Jesus.

10. A church provides the setting for corporate worship (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Though it’s a blessing to praise God alone, there is a unique joy that accompanies singing God’s praises with an entire congregation of Christ followers.

The list could go on, but you get the idea. It’s worth it to start attending church.

This post was written by David Roach.  the original post with comments can be found at:  http://www.biblemesh.com/blog/2013/01/21/10-reasons-to-be-involved-in-a-church/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

When Paul says we are to “walk in the Spirit” he is writing to a church community, not just to random individuals reading his letter in their private corners. Keeping in step with the Spirit of God is a community activity, something we do together. 

 During anti-porn week, we identified from secular research what viewing porn does to a person.   This week presents practical advice of how to stay away from the influence of porn.

In other words, we keep in step with the Spirit by keeping in step with one another. We must live lifestyles of encouragement and accountability. 

Nothing slays the power of sin like confession. James writes, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). In confessing our sins to God we are promised forgiveness. In confessing sin to others we are made whole. 

Sin must be habitually exposed to the light of confession. This is called accountability: being honest with another trusted believer about our temptations, sins, and the state of our heart. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, after eating of the forbidden fruit, our knee-jerk reaction is to hide—to hide from God and from one another. Accountability is the willingness to habitually and regularly allow others access to your heart, your motives, your secret desires, your dark thoughts, and, of course, your sinful actions. 

How does this relate to pornography? The late psychologist, Dr. Al Cooper, believed three main factors draw people into online sexual activity:

1. Accessibility (porn is accessible easily from any Internet connection) 

2. Affordability (millions of free or very cheap images are available online) 

3. Anonymity (home computers and Smartphones have made it very easy to be secretive) 

He dubbed this the “Triple-A Engine” of Internet porn. 

These three factors work like three legs on a stool: remove just one of the legs and the stool will fall (or at least make it awkward to sit on).

The easiest leg to remove is the leg of  anonymity, or secrecy. We do this by becoming accountable to others about the time we spend online, taking away the option to hide our Internet activity. 

One way to do this is through the use of Covenant Eyes Internet Accountability. This software program monitors your home computer, work computer, or smartphone and then sends a detailed report of your Internet activity to a trusted friend, spouse, or mentor. Covenant Eyes, which pioneered this concept, also rates websites for mature content, flagging specific web searches and sites. 

Confession of sin is not the only goal of Christian community. In the face of each other’s weaknesses, we need to encourage one another to fight sin. The author of Hebrews says, “let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Heb. 10:24-25). 

This can be called “responsive accountability.” When we give an account of our sins to someone else, in return, they should listen and then give an account of God’s gospel promises to us. 

In this text, God calls us to “stir up” one another—that is, to urge, to spur on, to provoke, to motivate each other—to love and good deeds. Each time we meet together we should be contemplating and praying, “God, show me how I can really motivate my friend to resist temptation and instead love You and others wholeheartedly.” We are to have a hardcore intentionality and thoughtfulness in our friendships. 

Like the embers of a red-hot fire, we stir up the fire not by adding heat to it, but rather by exposing the glowing embers to the air, helping to bring out of the embers the energy that is in them already. If the Spirit of God is in us, He has already planted His holy desires into our hearts. He has etched his law on our hearts (Jer. 31:33-34; Ez. 36:25-27). But He has also placed us in the family of the church, among trusted friends who are also filled with His Spirit, in order that we might stir up in each other what God has already put in us.

This post is taken from the booklet, YOUR BRAIN ON PORN by Luke Gilkerson.  The booklet can be found at:  http://www.covenanteyes.com/brain-ebook/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

We are seeing reports on the news for the past several weeks about the weather. If you live in the Midwest especially, the concept of rain is something you remember reading about in a textbook. At this point, many of us are longing for a catastrophic flood as described in the story of Noah. Lawns are drying out, swimming holes are being closed, and kids are staying inside due to the heat. It has been a very dry summer to say the least.

If we were to evaluate the spiritual condition of many Christians, summer seems to affect our souls in a similar way. The sun makes us somewhat lethargic and we feel as if God is temporarily on vacation. The dryness we see reflected in our local climate is mirrored within our hearts. It can be a discouraging time. Passion seems to be a memory.

In the 37th chapter of Ezekiel, a beautiful story is told about an intimate conversation between God and Ezekiel. Ezekiel was experiencing intense discouragement because of his lack of resources and feelings of inadequacy (in a nutshell). God, however, used this time as a teaching moment for all who may feel the same way.

In this story, God uses a valley of dry bones as an illustration about how only HE has the power to animate that which is lifeless. At the end of this depiction we see an energetic army ready to their next command….Every soldier brought up from dry bones. Imagine experiencing each tendon coming together, and each patch of flesh connecting….The awesome power would have been overwhelming.

In the times of our intense dryness, we must remember that God has the power to give us life and passion once again. We must also remember that God can use these dry times as teachable moments for not only us, but others we share our testimony with. I challenge you to find a way to reflect on God’s work during these times so that the process can be recorded. Later you will read the narrative as the story of God’s faithfulness and a reminder of His power.

The God that can create from nothing can bring you out of the dryness you are in. 

Trust Him.

This is reprint of a post by Rev. Landon DeCrastos.  You can find the original post with comments here:  http://otherwordsdotnet.wordpress.com/2012/07/17/dry/

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

"...I shall be anointed with fresh oil"   The word used for "anoint" in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament comes from the Greek word chrio.  This word originally denoted the smearing or rubbing of oil or perfume upon an individual.  For example, if a patient came to see a physician because of sore muscles, the physician would pour oil upon his own hands; then he would begin to deeply rub that oil into the sore muscles of that patient.  That penetrating application of oil would be denoted by the Greek work chrio.  So technically speaking, the word "anoint" has to do with the rubbing or smearing of oil upon someone else.

When you read the word "anoint" in the Bible, think not only of the oil, but of the hands of the Anointer.  Oil was very expensive in Bible times; therefore, rather than tip the bottle of oil downward and freely pour it upon the recipient, a person would first pour the oil onto his hands and then apply it to the other person.  

Let's consider this concept in the context of God anointing our lives.  God Himself -- the Great Anointer -- filled His hands with the essence of His Spirit and then laid His mighty hands upon our lives, pressing the Spirit's power and anointing ever deeper into us.  So when we speak of a person who is anointed, we are actually acknowledging the the hand of God is on that person. 

If you would like a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit upon your life, you come before the Great Anointer!  He alone can give you what you need.  Open your heart to God, and allow Him to lay His hands upon your life in a new way.

This post is taken from SPARKLING GEMS FROM THE GREEK (p. 363).

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.