Edifying & Thought Provoking Reads - 10/10/2014

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What to Do When You're Down
As a pastor and a friend, I will sometimes have people come to me who are discouraged or suffering to some degree a bout of depression. Sometimes they don't even know why they're feeling down. When we are feeling vibrant and things are going well for us, it can be easy to overlook those that are depressed. Be alert, perhaps God will use you to be an encouragement to someone. When we ourselves are down, there are things we can do and an attitude we can seek to have that will help our cheer. This is a great article about what to do when you're feeling discouraged.

The Scandal of the Semi-Churched
It is natural for the non-saved to not have a desire to wake up Sunday morning for church or to attend after work for the midweek service. That's to be expected. One thing that is alarming and doesn't really make sense is that many Christians now hold church to a lower esteem. If it's convenient and they're not busy doing something else then they might show up for church, as long as they're not already exhausted from their Saturday entertainment and activities. They like church, but other things commonly come before the Lord's church. They are the semi-churched. Why a born again believer wouldn't make coming to God's house a priority is mind boggling to me. Christians should be making church more of a priority today, not less.

Hebrews 10:24–25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

This trend of undervaluing the priority of church can be contagious. I've seen Christians lose their passion for the things of the Lord in part because their spouse first brushed aside the value and importance of being in church regularly. After all, it gets difficult coming to church by yourself when your family seems disinterested. So the whole family ends up becoming lethargic, lukewarm, and joyless Christians who are in desperate need of a strong dosage of revival. I recommend going to the link above on The Scandal of the Semi-Churched and giving it a read. Let's not become "as the manner of some is," let's not be "semi-churched." Let's grow in grace and be fully engaged in provoking others unto love, good works, and exhorting one another even more as we see the day of Christ's return draw closer.

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