We live in a day and age of the “cut back.” Businesses are cutting back employees to increase an ever-elusive profit margin. Local governments are cutting back services to try to balance their budgets. I wish the federal government would cut back on their funded programs and cut back on my taxes. According to my doctor, I should be cutting back on my carb intake. Maybe when the government cuts back I will too.

Cut backs have even extended to the church. Members have cut back on their attendance for several reasons. In response to declining attendance, churches have cut back the number of worship services they hold, many eliminating the poorly attended Sunday Evening service.

The Bible addresses the gathering of believers quite clearly in Hebrews 10:24-25:

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

That phrase in the last part of the passage really stands out: all the more. “The Day” to which the passage refers is the day that the Lord Jesus returns. Much of Biblical prophecy concerning the “end times” seems to indicate that we are living in the last days. Given that scenario, we need to be together all the more.

Working in a God-hating culture, we need the encouragement of fellow believers. Living in a sin-polluted culture we need the accountability of fellow believers. Enduring the faith-challenging circumstances in these last days, we need the collective strength of fellow believers. Now, more than ever, we need each other all the more.

As your life gets busier and you are forced to cut back some things from your schedule, please don’t cut back your church attendance. You and your family need what the church gathered provides. You can’t get it anywhere else, and all of us need it all the more.