Staying connected ….

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:22-25 NKJV)

There is nothing much more important – next to having a God - than being connected to a community of people, if you are a person created to live on this wild and lonely earth. People used to send enveloped mails and post cards, call by telephone, meet in one place and get together – fulfilling some needs of the human desire being connected to each other. Until the electronic age came where meetings and gatherings are slowly being replaced by impersonal emails, online conferences, social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, MySpace, and many others. People sit more often in front of the computer screen, than spending time with other people personally. Yet still, this only shows that getting connected is another important missing piece in the life of an individual.

In the life of a Christian, it is a command to gather together as body of believers in Christ … as we see the Day approaching, referring to Christ’s eminent return. Not only because we wanted to see each other, but more importantly to help and encourage each other in the Word, after all, the power of encouragement comes from the Word of God. We notice that there are three collective phrases from verses 22 to 24, “let us ...” which include you and other believers getting together. I personally tried to get alone myself and study and meditate on God’s Word. Somehow it worked for few weeks, until I still have that longing to be in a body of believers. It could be that the Holy Spirit is putting that desire in my heart to fellowship with other believers whenever I go into the Word. If that’s what it is, then God’s Word is worth believing that staying connected is a must. Verse 25 says, not to forsake assembling of ourselves together. It’s not just getting together but assembling together – which means everyone has a function to perform in the body of believers, like assembling a piece of puzzle, assembling an engine block, or whatever thing that needs to work together in unity to fulfill a purpose. Everyone has a purpose whether we do highlights or lowest job in the body – God is the one who rewards and elevates everyone in the body, so we still need to get together and do what God wanted us to perform in the body.

In our daily walk as Christians, we need to remember the “let us” commands. I would like to share this paraphrased version in The Message: “So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.”

Let’s get connected to God and with other believers more often. Either by going to church regularly or attending Christian fellowships where the Bible is preached and Christ is glorified and magnified.