Church attendance is literally a mandate from the Bible, therefore rendering any debate as to the necessity of a Christian to attend, mute. However, a recent Harvard researcher dispelled the commonly accepted statistic that the divorce rate in the church is the same as that of the world (well, when it hit the mark they were the same) 50%.... Key word "in the church"... Not all who claim to be 'Christians" are "in the church" .. According to the Harvard researcher, the divorce rate among "church attenders" is 15-20%....

The devil will always attack your desire to go to church. He will always attack the church because the savior died for it. It must be very valuable and precious to the Lord. 

When you are feeling like not sticking in there, not going today, sleepin in , staying out.  Go, attend out of obedience to God. You'll find you obey him in other areas too.. even just out of habit. The rewards are out of this world!

Hope Heals /Real Hope for Real Life

Science is all the time confirming the Bible's principles. Many of these principles were written thousands of years before there was an inkling of evidence to prove the validity of their claims. My favorite by far, is the evidence that 'hope heals DNA;' more specifically, the end-caps of DNA; the segment of the DNA that 'keeps it all together.

DNA appears as X's and Y's, Each line on an x and a y is comprised of double helix's (basically two separate strands of information are twisted together to form a single strand, like a rope. Then joined or formed into either a Y or an X.) The end-caps keep the strands from unraveling. These caps are called telemeres.

Telemeres erode with age. By the time time a telemere has eroded completely, the double helix's unravel. When the DNA, the double helix, is unraveled or 'un-done,' the life of the person is over.

Forensic scientists can determine an unidentified corpses age by the amount of wear on the telemeres.

Recent studies have concluded that extreme stress ages a person's DNA beyond their years.

That could confuse results. But, here's the kicker! The damage is reversible!

Documenting the advanced erosion of telomeres in caregivers who gave round the clock care to their 100% handicapped offspring, scientists discovered  the presence of another  bio-chemical which the body naturally produces.  This hormone's primary function is the to regulate healthy cell growth. When given the right set of circumstances, the evidence suggests this hormone shows up and  heals what stress has damaged. It's as miniscule as the telemere themselves, it's called  telemorase. Telomorase heals telomeres but it only makes it's appearance under the right circumstances.

Telemorase occurs naturally when a person feels like someone shares their load.

The person experiencing the stress hormone that erodes the DNA's telomeres is who feels oppressed, under a load too heavy to bear, yet continues to try to bear it with no hope of relief. No help or recognition from a superior; no sharing of the load by a peer. In fact in the animal kingdom as well as in the high stress work place, the sicklies, the ones producing the stress hormone telomerase, felt picked on and unprotected and trapped in the group or job.

The overwhelming evidence that "stress kills," was documented in case studies of people who feel picked on, are frequently and mercilessly bullied, are unable to defend themselves and are worried, anxious and often withdrawn. They have four times the sick days off from work and suffer far more diseases and bodily malfunctions, i.e. bowel, gastrointestinal, stomach disorders, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke.. etc. than the portion of the population who feel confident and in control of their lives, work place, their places in family, social group, community and home lives.

The subjects who were the care takers I mentioned, were gathered together in a support group to meet regularly. They reported they no longer felt alone with such surmounting burdens. They felt that being able to talk about things they couldn't talk about with the general public for fear of someone laughing at or saying something negative about their loved one, was freeing and by far bonding.

In this group, stories, not unlike the one told by a mother of a thirty year old, cerebral palsy victim, throwing the spaghetti against the wall just before it was time to leave, was a horror they all could laugh at, lifting the load that leads to exhaustion and frustration.

In this group, the caregiver's found empathy and support and laughter. But, it was what the scientist discovered that dramatically altered what we know about the human bio-behavior model.

In light of this new "hope" the subjects were feeling, the body produced a new hormone which began healing the damaged telemeres. Aptly named telemorase. The leading bio- behavioral scientist documented: "hope" heals telemeres/

God, the designer and maker of us all, knew, knows the inward workings of our beings.. ("I knit you in your mothers womb)
Is there any wonder why he instructed us the simplest thing like the following and in our latest discoveries we see he knew, knows how we work, what we need to be healthy and whole. God gives us what we need and we fight him like it is a sacrifice to obey what is simply instructions for our highest and best uses.

Gal 6:2, "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ"
Heb 10:25 "Forsake not the gathering together as some are in the habit of doing and even more as you see that day approaching"
Acts 20:30 "...support the weak..."
1 Th 5:14 "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men."

He warns that fear/stress is a killer
" For mens hearts will fail them for fear"

If stress is killing you, ailing you, getting your down, consider joining a support group specific to your needs, to your issues, your challenges...

Science confirms the Bible...

Find a good group for those who are in similar situations as yours, such as: divorce, single parenting or with others who maybe share a heavy load like sole caregivering of severely handicapped loved ones if this is your plight. But, one thing for sure; give God's instructions a chance to set your body in order.

Obedience begets action, actions effect changes on the molecular level. God knew this long before a bio scientist from Harvard and a behavioral scientist from the UK discovered it.

Hope heals DNA.