He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
Every morning my husband fills a quart jar with bird seed, and sprinkles it along our drive way. When he comes back into the house, we watch as turtle doves swoop down from the trees, where they have been watching to eat the seeds he has scattered about. Pretty soon chickadees, barn swallows, starlings, and doves follow suit. They are all intent on what is before them, hopping from one spot to another.
From out of nowhere a jay bird flies into the midst of them, causing them to scatter and fly away. The jay bird pecks around for a short time, and then flies away. If the ones that were scattered come back, the scene is repeated again and again.
As I watched this morning, I was reminded of how we a Christians will gather to feed on the Word of God, and if we do not take care, the evil one swoops into our midst, and causes us to scatter just like the birds did today. He too will stay around to see if any come back.
We must always when we gather with others to feed upon the Word, be in prayer and praise, so that the evil one does not cause us to scatter.