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 it was cold and “dead as a door nail.”

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.”

Fellowship is an important aspect of the faith because together we are the body of Christ. None of the members of our bodies works in isolation. Fellowship is so important that Jesus though he is God, surrounded himself with 12 men when he walked the face of this earth. One of the lies that the enemy is using to bring down believers is to make them think that they are self sufficient and they don’t need anybody else, especially because everybody else is so messed up.

When the church was birthed in the book of Acts, the believers did certain things that are the key to a thriving and fruitful church. The bible says they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the FELLOWSHIP, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. We are the body of Christ and to thrive we must stick together and work together.

It is in the atmosphere of fellowship that God uses the gifts he has given to each one of us to minister to others.

The New Testament has over 30 verses instructing us to do certain things for one another. Love one another, forgive one another, spur one another to good works, be at peace with one another, accept one another, encourage one another and so on. How then do we fulfil these scriptures if we are not part of a fellowship? How do we do this if we are lone rangers?

I need you as much as you need me and God designed us to work as a body and never alone. Do not allow the enemy to cheat you into isolation in 2024 because soon enough you will be like the log that the pastor pulled out of the fire that soon went out cold.

What fellowship would you say you are a part of and how well do they know you?

What in your opinion are the benefits of being part of a fellowship?

If you are not part of a small group find one today it will keep you accountable and help you keep the fires burning 1n 2024.