Don't Let the Fire Go Out...

Have you ever heard this story by Dr. John MacArthur?

The Lonely Ember

A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.

After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.

As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail."

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

I've seen it before, but I ran across this again over the weekend & I still love it. Such a simple illustration of what happens when you stop meeting together with other believers in God's house. Let's be real, it doesn't matter whether you love the music. It doesn't matter whether you love the sermons. It doesn't matter whether you like the building, the location, the choir or the coffee...what matters is that you are THERE and you are THERE to WORSHIP. God doesn't care whether we meet in a building a tent or an open field, but He doesn't want us to forsake meeting together with fellow Christians because together we are stronger! Together we are held accountable, we are encouraged, we are prayed for, we are renewed. There's an old Scottish saying that I've used in my blog before and it says, "Ye cannae (cannot) break a stick in a bundle." It's one of my favorites and it can definitely be applied in this case. Together, we are stronger! In order to make it out in the world; in order to be able to be a light in the darkness, an example to the ones that don't know Him, we MUST be recharged. We must have a time to come together with our sisters and brothers in Christ to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit, with God's Word, with God's unconditional LOVE! Let's face it...no excuse you can give it good enough...period. 

Can you be a Christian and not go to church? Absolutely! You can also be a member of the Gym and never step foot inside. Will having that gym membership make you stronger and healthier if you never go workout? Nope. Will having that church membership make you stronger in your faith, ready to face the challenges the world throws at you each day if you never attend? NO.

So here's my challenge to you today...If you have stopped going to church...

As I said before...Let's be real....stop and think for just a minute about what God would think about your reasons. I mean, He gave up His one and only, beloved Son; allowed Him to be beaten mercilessly and nailed to a cross to die are horrific death....to save YOU. Now, what was that reason you can't come to church again? In the light of what has been given for you, does it really matter that so-and-so offended you? Does it really matter that you didn't like the songs we sang last time? Does it really matter that you didn't enjoy the sermon? Does it really matter that someone sat in your favorite pew? Do any of the excuses really matter???

Listen to this song...I love it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eTOcrWu8mQ


Today's Verse: Hebrews 10:25 (see pic)

Today's Prayer Requests:

• My white blood cell count is low. The part of it that's low is the part that protects me from bacterial infections. Please pray for protection from any infections & for my white blood cell count to come back up to normal. This is a side effect of everything I have been through in the past year.
• Still having issues with swelling in my arm and both my feet & ankles. Got some things starting that will hopefully help. Please pray this does the trick.
• I'm still going to PT for my shoulder/arm. Please pray this helps.
• Praise - all check-ups thus far have been good! I am feeling better every day.
• I do sometimes have bad days where I just feel exhausted & yucky. Please pray those would be few and far between.