Regular Attendance

People ask me sometimes, "Why is it so hard to get members to attend more regularly?", and I tell them that it's Satan's fault.

That, and the member not being practiced enough in resisting Satan's tricks!

See, Satan is the one who gives those who are new, or those who still studying, or those who are having doubts, all the good reasons to not attend church!

And of course the reasons for not attending are good ones - why would Satan tempt you with bad reasons?  If he gave you bad reasons not to go, you'd quick enough ignore those!

No, the reasons he provides are always good reasons.  Sick child.  Flat tire.  Late night.  Feeling poorly. Too cold out.  Too hot out.  Too rainy.  Sun is in your eyes!

Of course, some might say, "Hey!  Some of those reasons are okay, I'd stay home if my kid was sick!"

And if you've been attending all along, week after week, month after month, that is fine.  Stay home! It's when you've no consistent record of attendance at all that it's a problem!  Staying home when you out of the blue feel bad is one thing - staying home when you feel bad every day anyway is another! The thing about exceptions are - they're supposed to be "exceptions"!

Besides, regular attendance means regularly renewing your commitment to Christ!  And that affords you a certain immunity from Satan's depredations when you do on some rare occasion have to miss a Sabbath!  Me, I could miss a Sabbath.  I'd not like it, I'd be feeling a bit out of sorts by Tuesday, but I could.

But when you've been missing all along already, then an excuse that would be okay for some is NOT okay for you!  In the case of the poor attender, the real trick is to start attending, period, come what may, sink or swim, rise or fall, come heck or high water!

Then you can build up that immunity!

And all those good reasons for missing church will start to diminish and then disappear, after you start attending regularly.  That's because when Satan sees that you're resolved to go no matter what, he'll stop bothering you so much and move on to others, where he thinks his time and effort will be better spent!

Start practicing then consistent Sabbath worship, and you'll find that your attitude has overcome all the accidents and abnormalities that had been plaguing you each Sabbath!