I was talking with one of our church members recently, and he said that the best place to be if you are backslidden is in church. I couldn't agree more! You know, we all get backslidden now and then. At any given time we could be "backslidden," which simply means that we are not doing right like we ought. Technically, to be backslidden is to be "out of fellowship" with the Lord. When you go to church in a backslidden condition, it is like going to visit your daddy when you know you all aren't getting along. You do it because you love him, and he wants to see you. It can be uncomfortable, but it reminds you that you are still related, and that you should be getting along iwth each other. In the case of God, we know He is right, and we are the ones who are in the wrong. But it still does you good to come to His house every week. If you don't then you get "out of touch" with Him, and it's harder to come around His house. The family begins to talk, and so do the neighbors. They wonder why "so and so's" boy or girl don't come around to the house much these days. In God's family, the same holds true. The answer is, of course, that the Christian who doesn't come around the Father's house is out of fellowship with God, and this leads to him or her being out of fellowship with fellow believers. The backslidden Christian sometimes says that he can worship God at home just as well as at church, but that would be like saying that you can pay your respects to your Dad by not ever going around to see him at his house. Strange isn't it, how being backslidden can warp your thinking, especially when you are trying to make excuses. The thing to do is quit making excuses, and own up to your backslidden condition, and then get back to regular visits to your heavenly Father's house. which is the local church you belong to. Just like you need to visit the family you belong to on earth, you need to make frequent stops into God's house on earth. So, if you are backslidden, whatever you do, DON'T quit church. The worst thing you can do is to stay away from your spiritual family. Think about this: every day or week you miss church, you are that much more farther from God. Regular attendance keeps you closer to God, reminds you of your responsibilities, and feeds your spiritual man. So I recommend that you do what I do whenever I am backslidden ---- just keep reading your Bible, keep praying, and stay in fellowship with your Christian family by staying faithful to church. Better to be backslidden and in church, than backslidden and out of church, I say.
Bro. Martin
Bro. Martin