Forsake What?

When I hear the phrase “not to forsake” something, I usually think of this verse.

Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

You may think of other things to forsake or not forsake, but I usually think about church attendance. Recently, however, the Lord laid a different thought on my mind. If I am not to forsake church attendance then there are things in my life I may need to forsake in order to obey his command.

First, let’s look at the definition of forsake so we are all on the same thought.

FORSAKE – Webster’s 1828

1. To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from. Friends and flatterers forsake us in adversity.
2. To abandon; to renounce; to reject.

It is fairly simple. Forsake means to leave something. So, Hebrews 10:25 is telling us to “not forsake” church attendance. Not to leave it. Not to forget it. Not to ignore it. Not to abandon your church.

My new thought was this, “If we are to ‘not forsake’ church attendance, then there are things we might need to forsake in order to obey God’s command in Hebrews.”

I thought it best to keep it simple and make a list of some of the things we might need to forsake so we don’t forsake going to church.

1. Forsake sitting up late on Saturday night. Abandon those late night movies or other activities that have you getting in bed so late, you can’t get up for church on Sunday.
2. Forsake physically over doing it on Saturdays so you can’t get out of the bed on Sunday. For example, don’t spend 8 hours gardening on Saturday; maybe only spend 2-3 hours in the garden and sometime relaxing.
3. Forsake the job that has you working on Sundays. Now this might be a big step of faith for some; but if a job constantly keeps you out of church, then you may need to forsake it and trust God to give you another job so you can obey his command in Hebrews. Stepping out on Faith is another blog post. You might wish to see “Where is Faith?” http://sonbeamsandshadows.com/index.php/2021/01/16/where-is-your-faith/
4. Forsake the extra day of vacation. Yes, you read that right. Come home a day early, so you can make it to church.
5. Forsake letting children of any age, toddlers or teens, dictate the house rules. Be a parent of principles. Set the example. Take the children to church even if their clothes don’t match, their hair needs combing, or if they look grumpy and tired. Get them to church.
   Things to do to help Sunday morning go better: lay out clothes the night before, get baths done the night before, and you get up earlier so you can get the children together on Sunday morning. Make sure everyone rests on Sunday afternoon so Sunday evening services can be attended. Plan leftovers or simple meals on Wednesday so the family can make it to mid-week service. It takes a lot of effort to get the whole family to church, but it is worth it when you see your children making Godly choices as adults.

Hint: Anything we do to raise our children takes a lot of hard work, but it is worth the effort.

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go:  and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

6. Forsake staying home for a sniffle. Now with Covid you might need to stay home for a sniffle. If your body aches or there are other health issues that are not contagious – get up and go to church. If your body is just achy from doing too much the day before – go to church. Your body can ache the same at church as it does at home. Most of the time my achy body feels better after I get it to church. I’ve been amazed how sometimes my body aches go away by the end of church service. Now there have been times I’ve had to miss or leave early because of health, I’m not super spiritual – but go if at all possible. You don’t want to miss out on a blessing.

I heard a preacher’s wife years ago talk about a time when she went through chemo and radiation for cancer. She was so weak physically, she needed help getting dressed for church. She didn’t want to ask her husband for help; because he was quite busy as the pastor, so she asked a few ladies in the church if they’d come and help her get ready for church. Of course, they came and helped and she was able to attend church. Both her and the other ladies got a wonderful blessing of time together.

On the flip side of things, I’ve known a lady to have knee surgery. Ladies in the church offered to help her in any way possible. They offered to get something so she could prop her leg up during services and help her with anything she needed. She refused to go to church until she was 100% able to take care of herself. She didn’t want help from no one. She eventually fell out of church and today I don’t believe she is serving the Lord anywhere.

Forsake staying home when you aren’t feeling well. Go to church and enjoy the blessings God has for you.

In summary, there are just a few things we should consider forsaking if we are to obey Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…”

1. Forsake sitting up late on Saturday night.
2. Forsake over doing it physically on Saturdays.
3. Forsake the job that has you working on Sundays.
4. Forsake the extra day of vacation.
5. Forsake letting children of any age, toddlers or teens, dictate the house rules.
6. Forsake staying home for a sniffle.

Now, when the word “forsake” is heard, let’s not only think about Hebrews 10:25, let’s think about the things we should forsake so we can obey Hebrews 10:25.

Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”