You don’t see them as much anymore, but I still remember the little rides outside of stores for kids that you put a quarter in, and it just moves back and forth or up and down as though you were soaring in a rocket or riding a horse.  Small children would beg their parents to let them ride and then be joyful when they got to.

I also remember renting a small merry-go-round mounted on a trailer we would set up on October 31st when doing a Helloween outreach.  The kids loved getting on that simple little ride.   They enjoyed it and would ride over and over again.

Oh, how precious it is to see kids enjoy simple things without growing tired of them.  I’m like that about something.

I have known Jesus now for over 36 years, and before I came to know Him, I lived for Friday and Saturday nights.

My whole work week was mainly to get to Friday night so I could party and live it up with my paycheck.  I wasted many paychecks in that period of my history, too.

After coming to Jesus, my thoughts about a weekend changed dramatically.  Instead of wanting Friday to hurry up and get here, I couldn’t wait till Sunday!

To this day, I get excited about Sundays.  I was excited about Sundays when going to church meant listening to someone else preach and serving the needs of others behind the scenes in practical ways.

This love of Sunday was not about me preaching, even though I have preached for many years.  I was excited for years about Sundays before I ever preached for the first time in a church.

There’s just something about being together with other believers who also desire to worship Jesus and be washed by the word as it is spoken by a vessel for the Lord.  Being in His presence among the saints is a wonderful privilege I never wish to take for granted.  Seeing the Holy Spirit move through the believers as His gifts are on display and being encouraged by the ministry of those gifts is something of great value to me.

Now that we are in the last days and experiencing such confusion and ever-increasing hardships, trials, and persecutions, this kind of privilege is even more special and precious to me.  For me, it makes the passage in Hebrews ring truer and feel much more pertinent.

Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

I trust you have a fellowship you are a part of that you love because of the people who make it up and the presence of God that is active within it. If you do not have that, I encourage you to find one and begin to make it a part of your practice of privilege.