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Miracles Happen Every Sunday

One of our members gave me this article recently. I thought you might appreciate it, too.

Attendance at church last Sunday was mighty poor. I guess I shouldn't grumble, because I had a bunch of sick members, and when you add to all that my shut-ins, we don't have many 'pew fillers.' But, I went ahead and preached to those who came. Only thing was, the echo in the near emptychurch hurt my ears. My wife said I needed to get out and ride awhile and let the fresh air clean my head.... and so we set out for a drive around our little town. It did the trick! Our little ride not only cleared my head, it made me feel so good inside. What I saw made me rejoice; I saw miracle after miracle!

Old Brother Ben, who was deathly sick that very morning, had roused up from the sick-bed, and was walking down the path to the lake with his fishing poles over his shoulders. Nothing but a miracle could have rescued Old Ben from the jaws of death in such a short time.

Now there's Charlie's brother, George. Charlie told me Sunday morning that his brother's back was in foul shape and they were afraid an operation was going to be necessary. We remembered him in our prayers, and lo and behold, at 2:00 that afternoon, there he stood at our local driving range, hitting golf ball after golf ball. If that wasn't a quick recovery, I don't know what is!

All told, about 20 of my sick folks had roused up and were talking nourishment in one restaurant after another. But what really made me happy was to to see so many of my shut-ins out riding around, enjoying the world. Ben's father, who doesn't attend church because he can't stand crowds, was headed for the drag races. Sister Nell's mother, who was to weak to get out of the house, was just coming out of local Wal-Mart with several shopping bags in her arms. Mellie Brown's sister, who can't come on account of her kidneys, stood in line two hours to get into the movie theatre. It was a new, updated version of an old movie called 'The Miracle Worker.' I thought it was very apporpriate, seeing how a miracle had happened to her.

Yes sir, it thrilled my heart to see what I saw. I should have packed house next Sunday with all my sick folks being healed and shut-ins set free. I just hope they don't overdo themselves before next Sunday and have a relapse.

I've got to go now and play with my grandson. He is going to be a farmer and i'm going to be his goat. Tin cans, weeds, and other assorted 'things' will be easy to eat after what I've swallowed!

This is, of course, tongue-in-cheek. But it does lift up some of the excuses people use to justify their absences from attending worship.

Is there anything more important, anywhere more important to be, that worshiping God together with our brothers and sisters in Christ as the family of God on the Lord's Day? There are Sundays when we honestly are unable to be present because of legitimate reasons. Other times, in all honesty, we just would rather not go to the effort.

Even if the sermon is a little boring or the hymns are a little draggy at times, worship isn't just about what we get out of it, it is really what we bring to it: praise and thanksgiving to God for all God has given to us. A time to refuel spiratually, and opportunity to dine at the banquet table of the lord.
See you in church Sunday.

In Christ,
Ashley

Pastor's Ponderings