The Truth As
Far As I Can Tell…
Hebrews 10:25 says, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as
some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day
of his coming back again is drawing near.”
Attending church regularly is important. A wise pastor once preached a sermon on the
subject without saying a word. I’d like
to share that message with you today as I once heard it shared with me.
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."
Attending church regularly is important. I challenge you to miss no more than 5
Sundays this year. You will be
blessed. The fire of your faith will
burn brighter. Of course, I’m no expert
and I certainly don’t claim to know everything, but that’s the Truth as far as
I can tell…
Remember, God loves you and
so do I!
