Dive Deep: Day 1

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:1-10 KJV)

Would you go skydiving without a parachute? Would you bungee jump without a bungee? Would you go on a roller coaster ride without pulling the shoulder harness down? Would you scuba dive with no air in the tanks? Could I convince you to eat a rotten egg with a dead goldfish in it, just for the fun of it? The answer to all these questions is a definite "NO!!!" That stuff isn't smart. It's not tempting. It's a no brainer! Why? Because participating in any of those activities would lead to pain for sure, and probably to death! Wanna know something crazy? Most teenagers take those kinds of chances every day. They may not be performing daredevil stunts or eating raw food, but they take the chance of living life on their own. God designed us in His image, as relational beings. He created us to be in a relationship with him and with other believers (1 John 1:3). In the Bible, Christians are never divided into those who go to church and those who don't. In the New Testament, wherever Christians were within range of each other, they met. In the book of Acts, every time the apostle Paul went to towns where there were new Christians, he immediately helped them meet with each other, and together they became a little church.

Pray that God would give you a heart for his people and that he would help you make the choice to meet consistently with other Christians.