Do Wednesdays Count?

A man went to heaven and heard moaning coming from inside the gates.
"Where am I?" he asked an angel.  "This is heaven.  Why?"  "Why is
there moaning inside the gate?"  The angel sighed, "Oh that. Those are
some Nazarenes who found out that Wednesday's don't count."
 
Another man finally came to church... to complain.  Angrily, he
protested to the Pastor. "Where was God when I needed Him?" The Pastor
responded, "Perhaps He was out taking care of His regular customers."
 
I tell these jokes to introduce the sad fact that church attendance is
not a big priority with many men these days.  Many of us have no idea
what the Psalmist meant when he said, "I rejoiced with those who said
to me, 'let us go to the house of the LORD'." [Psalms 122:1]
 
When asked why he doesn't come to church faithfully, a man might cite
the pious priorities of "God, family, church" claiming he needs
"quality family time" and Sunday seems to be the only time available.
The excuse sounds noble but too often rings hollow.  Avoiding church
deprives the family and is not a typical way of putting God first. By
bringing the family to church, we can unify our priorities.
 
Sunday morning also seems to have more grouches than the rest of the
week.  We struggle with mind over mattress (unless golf is involved)
because we stayed up too late on Saturday. Or perhaps the battle for
the bathroom makes being on time impossible.
 
I don't know what your reasons are for not going to church, but I want
to offer a few reasons why church is important.  Did you know that a
man's attendance has a demonstratively greater impact on the family?
When only one parent brings the children to church, a father's efforts
results in nearly twice as many children remaining in the church when
they become adults as a mother's same efforts.
 
Further, your own spiritual life depends on it.  You cannot have faith
without hearing the message (Romans 10:17) and without faith it is
impossible to please God (Hebrew 11:6). Faith will ebb and die without
your intent to nurture and develop it.
 
The fact is that no Christian ever develops into his potential without
the dimension of spiritual discipline.  It takes discipline to squelch
Sunday morning bickering, to get up early enough to make it to church
on time, and to actually prepare your heart before coming to church!
 
Jesus showed us that it "was his custom" to be in God's house. The
serious Christian develops good habits, such as participating in
corporate worship.
 
In Hebrews, it also says, "Let us not give up meeting together...but
let us encourage one another."  You can't earn brownie points with God
through your attendance, but attending corporate worship is an
essential part of the Christian life.  I encourage you to ask the Lord
about your spiritual habits.