Weekly Devotion
"The Charcoal Effect"
Hi Faith Family!
I pray you are happy and healthy today,
Can you believe we are nearly to the unofficial start of Summer? Wow! Memorial Day already!
What are your plans? Travel plans for some may be changed due to the high gas prices. Perhaps a picnic is on your holiday menu. For millions, this coming weekend will be a great opportunity to fire up the grill! This Sunday, we'll fire up the grill again to celebrate Minh Thu and her son's birthdays. To help your mouth to start watering, take a look at our grill from last time we grilled out!
I am hungry all the sudden! How about you? Shall we throw another shrimp on the barbie for ya'? Well, all you gas grill people will have to indulge me for a moment. I was raised to be a charcoal grill man, as my father before me. This is significant to illustrate what I call "the charcoal effect." If you take one piece of burning charcoal and set it off to the side, the fire will go out.
Of course, charcoal fires burn strong, hot, well, and long when the various pieces of charcoal are placed together. This effect is the way I think about Hebrews 10:25:
"Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
God himself inspired these words to remind us that all alone, the fire can so quickly can grow cold. God hasn't designed us to be stand-alone Christians. The encouragement of other believers provides mutual benefits which create a faith incubator. The warmth of Christian love reflects and supports the love of the Spirit.
Stoke the fire of your faith by getting the most of your Christian relationships. One lesson I have learned is that one feels fulfilled in their faith family when they are first willing to give. When one encourages, they themselves recieve encouragement. In loving others, do we find that we are ourselves loved. Fulfillment for ourselves flows first from a servant-like loving commitment to others.
It is then that love's light burns brightest, when God's people truly care for others and are willing to serve each other in love.
In our e-mail, fenced off, entertainment center in the living room world, we too easily and quickly give up on the charcoal concept. We rush out of church because we have things to do. We don't make it to church events; or if we do, we do the bare minimum. We agree to love others, as long as it doesn't cost us too much of our time.
God forgive us for our selfishness and shallow and cheap view of our family--our church FAMILY. He has. Jesus has, in effect and truth, taken such sin and the sinfulness from which it stems upon himself. Jesus has removed it from you--that sin is gone.
He has set you free in forgiveness to get more fulfillment from your church family. Even if you are satisfied with your level of involvement, you can challenge yourself to give and recieve more. What are some new ways you can serve others, show your care and use your gifts to benefit others? Why not give it some prayerful thought? God bless you as you reach for even more, with God's strength and direction.
Prayer idea: Pray for opportunities to maximize the charcoal effect in your church family. Ask for strength and direction to serve others as you fan into flame the gifts God has given to you.
Blessings on your week!