Monday, January 27, 2014

The Quiet Sermon

"But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin".  (I John 1:7)

Hey Gang:  I have had the following story in my archives for years. For some reason I never felt it was important to send it along to you.  But I recently talked with a man who said he searched for a church for years where praise and worship was important, molded in with pure Bible Study; but he failed to find it and now he has chosen to be his own church.  After hearing his story I returned home and got out the worn and torn endorphin file and dug out this story:

"It seems that 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, setting before a blazing fire.  Guessing the reason for this Pastors visit, the man welcome him, let him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited.

The Pastor made himself at home but said nothing.  In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance 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 contemplation.  As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead.

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.  The Pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave.  He slowly stood up, 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, the host said with a tear running down his cheek "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon.  I shall be back in church next Sunday."
There is nothing in this world that amazes me more than folks who are suffering from some addiction and who continue to feed that addiction.   I love the old adage-type/parable stories that give us such wisdom in short form.  Like the Cherokee who told has grandson about a battle that rages inside of people. He said:

The grandson thought for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?  The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Sooooo, my friends, how do these two short stories go together.  My personal experience taught me that the dogs within me are in constant battle and it is what I put into my armory/mind that will determine the outcome of the battles.  Home Bible study and prayer are essential to keeping our keel deep in the water, but the fellowship of believers keeps the coals burning in our heart and souls.

Blessings,


Gramps 

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