the lonely mug
The lonely mug!
I’m seeing a lot more people going online to get their spiritual fill. In fact, you are sitting there right now reading my weekly devotion blog. It is so easy to sit in the comfort of your home or office with a cup of coffee and read a spiritual book online, or a devotion, or even listen to a sermon online. While there is nothing wrong with doing this from time to time, we still need to gather together. We need to talk to one another. We need to listen to each other. We need to reach out to one another. This can only be done when we're physically with one another.
In the state of Vermont, they have an old train station turned into a luncheonette. This luncheonette is different than most. On one of the walls is an arrangement of coffee mug pegs. Anyone in the town can bring his/her own coffee mug for daily coffee breaks and then hang it on the right peg for the next time. As the people gather, it is a time of community, of sharing, of being concerned for one another. While they're there, they will also notice if a coffee mug hasn’t been used for a while. If one of the mugs hasn’t been used in some time, friends will email, text, or call to see if that person is ok. Just like the folks in this luncheonette, we need time together. We need to notice when others have been absent and go to them. We need to be together. We need to be able to look each other in the eye and ask, “How are you really doing?” We need to reach out and touch someone's hand or give someone a hug…..but the trick is you can only do this when you are physically with others. Take advantage of all the conveniences of our online world, but don’t let this become your only time of spiritual fill. It won’t satisfy you in the long run. It is so important to be together. This is why I am challenging each of you to be in church on September 21st: “National Back to Church Sunday.”
Scripture: Hebrews 10:25: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Prayer: Lord, help me to get back into the habit of being in your house each week. Amen
Pastor John
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