And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

Last Sunday we discussed the importance of the first practice described in Hebrews 10:24. This practice was all about spurring one another on to love and good deeds through paroxusmon (a Greek word meaning excited!). You can read all about it here.

Today we are going to take a closer look at the second practice- meeting together.

Christians were not meeting together as they should. The author of Hebrews acknowledged the problem, perhaps knowing it would be an issue now, nearly 2000 years later. {Tweet This}

When I went off to college I made the mistake of not spending regular time with fellow Christians. In my teenage years, I regularly went to church and was involved in a Christian youth group. I consistently saw my parents and church members modeling godly behavior, praying, and reading God’s Word.

Then I became a young adult, moved 40 miles away to attend college, and did not rejoin meeting with other Christians the next four years. Most of those I was around were Christians, but we did not engage in conversations, fellowship, or worship that put God as the focus. In those years my spiritual life plummeted. I rarely read God’s Word and prayed only when I needed something. Looking back, my lack of meeting with other believers regularly, affected me greatly. I made good grades, had two steady jobs, and enjoyed my new-found freedom, but God wanted so much more for me.  I missed out on the opportunity to rely more heavily on Him as the stresses of rigorous academic classes often wore me down. Friendships that were lost and broken during those years might have been saved had I looked to Him for guidance. Those I met, who did not have the blessing of growing up in a Christian home and church as I did, could have been lead to Christ had I modeled better Christ-like attributes.

The author of Hebrews knew believers need to meet together for fellowship and worship. I wish I heeded this advice in my college years. I grew distant from God. I did not do my part to nurture my relationship with Him. Thankfully, my parents and a few friends held me accountable. They watered and tended the seeds planted in my heart years earlier when I was teen, meeting with other believers. Through their diligence and the Holy Spirit, the seeds planted in my youth sprouted, and I returned to God.

Now that I am back in a close relationship with God, I understand the importance of being in the habit of meeting! Yet, there are times the habit still proves to be difficult. We find hindrances such as:

• Busy schedules that do not allow time for gathering with other Christians (Matthew 11:28-30)
• Exhaustion, often brought about by the busy schedules (Philippians 4:13)
• Fear of not fitting in with others (John 14:27)
• Feeling distant from God (Psalm 145:18)
• Poor choices that draw us from Him (1 Corinthians 10:13)

The verses cited in parenthesis are scriptures to combat the barriers. Friend, I know what it is like to be busy, tired, fearful, a poor choice maker, and manipulated by Satan. The Enemy uses all the things of this world to keep Christians from uniting. Why? Because when Christians are united they are:

• Full of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13)
• Good and pleasant (Psalm 133:1)
• Made complete (1 John 4:12)
• At peace (Ephesians 2:14)
• Growing (Ephesians 4:16)
• Never alone (1 Corinthians 12:14)
• Encouraged (Hebrews 10:25)
• Spurred to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24)

I have experienced the negative results of not meeting with other Christians, but I now reap the benefits of being with them since discovering the power of unity with God. No wonder Satan does not want us meeting together! Do not let the enemy rob you of the blessings gained from being in the presence of other believers! {Tweet This}

Overcome the barriers Satan ensnares you with by going to God’s Word, then regularly meeting with other believers through a Sunday school class, Bible study, worship service, outing, etc. It is not important how or where we come together as long as we are meeting with other Christians to maintain our closeness with one another and God.

For more information about the difficulties young Christians face in college read Top 10 Challenges Christians Face In College, by Dr. Bill Brown.

This post edited by the wonderful Jennifer Hacker, who is continually helping me become a better writer. She is the founder of The Center for Help and Hope. Check it out!