The Need for a Standard

In ancient days there was a small town near the water that relied on fishing as both a trade and a source of food. Because it was prosperous it was regularly the target of thieves that would come in during the night and plunder the town’s businesses and its residents. The town’s leaders gathered to find a solution for the constant danger they faced from the marauding hoards.

“Let’s build a wall around the city with only one gate of passage. Once the gate is closed for the day it will remain closed until morning. No exceptions.” Those that once plundered the town ceased because they could not get passed the wall and its gate. The people flourished once again in this safe and secure environment.

One day a fisherman was late getting home and missed curfew; the gate was closed and he could not enter. He decided to make the most of the evening and went back to fish. That night He caught some of the most amazing fish he had ever seen.

The man’s home was positioned right next to the wall. He had an idea. In one of the back rooms of the house that faced the wall he decided to dig a small hole just large enough for him to slip out and back in. It was easily concealed. That night he slipped out to go fishing. He caught some amazing fish. His business grew and he gained wealth.

One day he was entertaining some friends and they were grilling fish, enjoying life. His friends inquired about his newfound success and asked him to share his secret. He decided it was not fair to keep this secret to himself so he showed them the hole he dug and explained the wonderful bounty he discovered in fishing at night. He implored them to not tell a soul.

Some of them decided they would do this as well and they, too, enjoyed the benefit of the night fishing and all of its benefits. As you could imagine it did not take long before many of the town’s people had holes in the wall because they also deserved the right to enjoy the prosperity that night fishing would bring. The once protective wall looked like Swiss cheese with all of the holes.

News of this spread beyond the town and reached the ears of some of the thieves. They returned and found easy access to the town through all of the holes and once again plunder the town and stole their treasure.

What is the meaning of this simple story? You cannot have exceptions. Once there is an exception to the rule, regardless of the benefits received by one or a few, you must not allow them for the sake of all.

I’m not a Calvinist but I agree with the first of the “points” of Calvinism: “the total depravity of man.” There are no exceptions to this. Every person born of man has within them a sin nature. Regardless of how one is born it is depravity. Only in Christ can we find salvation and the life that He can bring to us. “Being born this way” should never be a defense for wrong behavior. It is simply an attempt to justify our sin nature.

Faith At Any Cost

Can you imagine how much courage it took for Martin Luther to stand up against the established religious practice of the day, the tradition for over a thousand years, to state what he believed to be true about God and His character? I’m sure it cost Luther his job, his status, maybe even his friends and family. He held his convictions so strongly that he faced public ridicule to bring attention to the differences between what the Bible teaches and what was being practiced by the established church.

I’m sure John the Baptist went through the same thing. The son of a priest, a relative of Jesus Christ, he began to speak about the coming Messiah. It seems this should have been welcomed news to the Jewish people. The Messiah was their whole focus. They knew God was sending Someone to redeem them, to restore them, yet they refused to hear John’s message when he proclaimed the Messiah had come.

Noah faced similar circumstances. A flood was prophesied; total destruction would result. He gave people an opportunity to escape certain death, but they did not hear him.

When Saul (now known as Paul) was converted on the Damascus road he changed from being a killer of Christians to one of the strongest proponents for the cause of Christ. People were skeptical, thinking it was perhaps a ruse to entrap them. Now we use Paul’s writings to learn how to live the Christian life.

I’m sure as you read those short paragraphs that things came to your mind. Some immediately applied these thoughts to the current political turmoil in the United States and the need to overthrow the “other party”. Others had ministers or ministries come to mind whose belief systems are clearly not scripturally based and should be brought down. Others thought of “the rapture” so you could escape all the madness in the earth. For me, this shows a tendency in human behavior to allow things to drift from the original intent of things to a place of apostasy and turmoil, but also the faithfulness of God to bring individuals who will do His bidding, to speak truth regardless of the consequence.

It cost Noah 100 years of his life, but he saved mankind. It cost John the Baptist his life to hold to his convictions, but he gave himself to introduce mankind to their Savior. Paul gave up his prestige and position in order to represent Christ to his world. Luther opened himself up to public ridicule and shame in order to stand for what he believed was right. What has your faith cost you?

Dance Like Nobody's Watching

This is my first blog post in quite a while. When you get out of the habit of writing it is difficult to get going again. I guess that is true with most things.

The past few decades gave us a couple of songs that came to mind this morning. As I drove home yesterday I noticed in my rearview mirror the young lady in the car behind me. She was singing with whatever music was playing in her car. I love music. I love to sing. It always seems to dampen the enthusiasm when we realize someone is watching.

Lee Ann Womack had a hit back in 2000 called “I Hope You Dance”. It starts out:

            I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

            You get your fill to eat, but always keep your hunger

            May you never take one single breath for granted

            God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

The hook of the song comes with this line: And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance … I hope you dance, I hope you dance!!

Apparently the young lady behind me yesterday had heard the song “Dance Like Nobody’s Watching.” The lyrics of the song have unclear origin and attributed to many. That doesn’t diminish their impact. It goes something like this:

            Dance like nobody’s watching

            Love like you’ve never been hurt

            Sing like nobody’s listening

            Live like it’s heaven on earth

Children do this all the time. I believe that’s one of the things Jesus implied when He said, “Anyone who will not receive the Kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Little children are curious. They trust completely. They love fully. They play with nothing held back. Oh, if we could only find that place again. I do not believe these are the “childish things” that Paul intended to be “put away” when we mature in Christ.

The prime example of this is given in the story of the woman of Bethany that came to the home of Simon the Leper while Jesus was there. She was described as a “sinful woman.” Footnote here: We all are sinful! She was not an invited guest but she had an unquenchable desire to see Jesus. She brought with her a box, or bottle, of expensive perfume. When she saw Jesus, she broke the container open and poured the fragrance on Him. This was her worship!

She did not care that she was a “sinner”, or uninvited. She only knew one thing: if she could get to Jesus she would bless Him the best way she knew how. She gave the most precious thing she had. For her, this was “living like it’s heaven on earth.” I don’t know if she knew that it literally was heaven come to earth, but she was drawn to Jesus because He embodied everything that she desired: unqualified love, complete forgiveness, and total acceptance.

That’s really what all of us want, but we know others are watching or listening. We have been hurt. Until we can find a way to let God heal the hurt we will never find the freedom to worship Him with abandon. Oh, how I wish we could.

Better Than I Deserve

A radio talk show host has made famous a phrase now used by many. When asked, “How are you?”, they respond with, “Better than I deserve.” On the surface this sound rather noble and altruistic. The reality is, for the Christian, it is part of what is keeping the Church hamstrung and off mission.

Here is the truth. You deserve to die. Therefore anything short of death is better than you deserve. The reason Jesus came and gave His life in exchange for yours is so you can have His life. Scripture calls it abundant life. The Greek word is “zoe”, which means, “life and plenty of it.” That is much better than you deserveD (capital D for emphasis), but because of Jesus (for the Christian) you now deserve the life of a child of God. That life is full of joy, peace, longsuffering, healing, provision, strength, passion, and this list goes on and on.

If you are still living at the doorway into the Kingdom (where many Christians live) then you keep the mindset of “better than I deserve.” That is not humility at all. It is actually pride disguised as humility. You are actually boasting about the fact that God is not faithful to His promise to give you the abundant life that He promised.

Look at few folks in the Bible that knew a thing or two about the God they served. Adam named all the animals that God created. Noah built a boat before rain was invented, in a desert, in order to preserve the human race. Abraham believed what God said before it was a thing. It’s called faith. David learned the ways of God as a shepherd, then led armies against the enemies of Israel and united the kingdom under his reign. Moses went before pharaoh to free the nation of Israel from captivity. The prophets spoke forth that which they heard from an invisible God and brought things into sight for all to see.

John the Baptist declared he was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, preparing the path for the Anointed One that would come after him. Paul forsook everything he knew about God to embrace that which he had only encountered briefly on the Damascus road. John wrote a vision after being banished to an island to die.

All of these, and many, many more, knew who they were. What if any one of them had said, “I’m better off than I deserve.” Thank God, they didn’t. If you are a Christian, wake up and realize that “you are much more than you have become.” (Lion King) You don’t have to settle for scraps at the threshold of the Kingdom. Step inside and learn about the life that has been provided for you through the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Psalm 1 – a poem

Psalm 1 – a poem

Where can I find a place to call home?

My feet always wanting to roam

Down a path that takes me to strange places.

Who can I look to for peace, for hope?

My mind always tugging the rope

Pulled on by people with plans of their own

The only hope of home I can find

My heart holds to One of a kind

He leads me to where the fresh water flows

The good, the bad, I don’t know which one

Both vie for their place in the sun

I must choose to die so that He may live

Buried in the rich soil of His grace

I find there is no better place

For I live as one dead to my own will

Though dead, still living by Grace alone

So His fruit can be born in me

More alive after dying than ever

By Dudley M. Harris

© 2017 Kurios Publishing