April 10, 2021
There is a story I heard years ago. It is called “The Burning Ember”. You may have heard it before but I think it is a good story and it relates to the topic of this blog post. I’m not sure who authored this or if it is even true. Either way, this is a great story that reminds us of the importance of the Church gathering:
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 the ember was cold and dead. 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.”
Throughout the scriptures we see the importance of God’s children gathering together. We are not meant to be isolated physically, mentally, or spiritually. God created the Church through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus is the Head and we are His body. In 1 Corinthians 12:12 we read, “For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.” We read in the book of Acts when the Church was born. The early Church made gathering together a priority. In fact, they not only gathered on Sunday, but they gathered together daily! (Acts 2:41-47)
In Hebrews 10:24-25 we read, “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” We are to consider one another. In the Bible concordance, the original definition of the word consider is to behold, discover, perceive, to see. This act of consider, that we are being instructed here to do, is something that can only be done in-person. We are told to provoke each other unto love and good works, to come alongside and stir one another. God clearly tells us in Hebrews 10:25 that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. In the original Greek, forsake means to leave behind or desert. We also read in this verse “as the manner of some is”. From this phrase we can only rightly discern that the writer of Hebrews was aware of some who had already ceased assembling together!
Please do not take this the wrong way, I understand that some people have underlying health conditions and need to be cautious about gathering with people. But from my observation, COVID-19 has made the transgression of “forsaking the assembling” more acceptable. When this virus hit our country, we were not fully aware of the seriousness. The media, per usual, jumped on the news and ran. There has been no consistency in the scientific understanding of the virus except for the constant streaming of fear. After a few months, most realize that the science has become political and we see this virus being used by governments to control its citizenry. Because of the uncertainty over the dangers and out of respect for our governing authorities, most Church gatherings stopped for a time. Were the lockdowns and quarantines necessary? – That is up for debate. But we do know that in the Bible, God teaches us to quarantine the sick NOT the healthy. (Leviticus 13, Numbers 5, Numbers 31, Deuteronomy 23, 2 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 26)
As I previously stated, God also tells us not to forsake our gathering. Sickness is a clause in this that we must wisely discern. But, may we not forget that the God we serve is omnipotent. He is sovereign and He is in control. He is able to protect His Church for His purposes. God’s plans are far above ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 11:33) I believe that instead of listening to the media and following their advice, we should be seeking the Lord for wisdom and understanding. After all, we are to obey God rather than man. (Acts 5:29)
The latter part of Hebrews 10:25 says, “so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”. It is of greater importance to gather as we see the day getting closer. What day is being referred to here? In the original Greek it refers to an infinite age of judgment. The day is coming for all of us to enter eternity. That day is our final day. God is telling us that the closer we get to that day, the greater need there is to our gathering together as the Church. In 1 Thessalonians chapters 4-5, we learn of the return of Jesus Christ and how the Church is to prepare. In 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” God wants us to be together. There is nothing more important than the Kingdom of God! (Matthew 6:33)
I’m attaching a video interview of a pastor in Canada who was in jail for having church services during the COVID-19 lockdown. After 35 days, they released him, but then this week their local health department and government officials erected a fence around their church building to prevent the Church from going inside. I encourage you to pray for this church family and their leaders as they navigate their way through this. From his interview, I can already see God using this church’s platform to spread the Gospel. Praise the Lord! No one can fence in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! At the 8:20 time stamp, you can hear him present the glorious Gospel.
I also want to encourage you to pray for the Church in America. Pray the Lord prepares and strengthens us in the days ahead. Already the government’s overreach on our right to exercise religion has affected some American churches. We as the Church need to be steadfast in the faith and gather together because Church is essential!
Scripture For Further Study
Psalm 133:1, Proverbs 27:17, Matthew 16:18-19, Matthew 28:18-20, John 21:15-19, Acts 20:27-32, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Galatians 6:1-10, Ephesians 1:19-23, Ephesians 2:19-22, Ephesians 3:14-21, Ephesians 4:11-16, Colossians 3:12-24, 1 Timothy 3:14-15, James 5:14-16, 1 Peter 5:1-11, 1 John 1:7, Revelation 1-3
In Times Like These 