Lulled Into Carelessness

“Steve Green, who sang six years with Bill and Gloria Gaither, tells about getting to know some of the work crews in the large auditoriums where their concerts were held. The Gaithers prefer concerts-in-the-round, which means extra work for the "riggers," who walk the four-inch rafter beams--often a hundred feet above the concrete floor--to hang sound speakers and spotlights. For such work, understandably, they are very well paid. "The fellows I talked to weren't bothered by the sight of looking down a hundred feet," says Green. "What they didn't like, they said, were jobs in buildings that had false ceilings--acoustical tile slung just a couple of feet below the rafters. They were still high in the air, and if they slipped, their weight would smash right through the flimsy tile. But their minds seemed to play tricks on them, lulling them into carelessness”” (sermonillustrations.com).

While some spiritual attacks are all-out, in-your-face affairs, it seems that most often they are more subtle.  The very first temptation in the Scriptures was like that.  The serpent was crafty and deceitful as he interacted with Eve.  He asked questions to plant seeds of doubt before expressly contradicting the word of God.  By the time that the dust settled from that fateful encounter, the pristine relationship between God and His creation had been shattered.

“Satan's business is not so much in scaring us to death as in persuading us that the danger of a spiritual fall is minimal.”  Like the acoustical tiles below the concert riggers, the devil expertly lulls us into a false sense of security.  The extent of the spiritual danger is often hidden or downplayed.  The apostle Paul warned of some who were “...false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.”  These men were just following the example of Satan, their leader, who “...disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).

Be careful of being lulled to sleep spiritually.  The fall is farther than you might think.

 

God loves you!

Mike 

Trust The Compass

“An old sailor repeatedly got lost at sea, so his friends gave him a compass and urged him to use it. The next time he went out in his boat, he followed their advice and took the compass with him. But as usual he became hopelessly confused and was unable to find land. Finally he was rescued by his friends.  Disgusted and impatient with him, they asked, "Why didn't you use that compass we gave you? You could have saved us a lot of trouble!" The sailor responded, "I didn't dare to! I wanted to go north, but as hard as I tried to make the needle aim in that direction, it just kept on pointing southeast."  The old sailor was so certain he knew which way was north that he stubbornly tried to force his own personal persuasion on his compass. Unable to do so, he tossed it aside as worthless and failed to benefit from the guidance it offered” (sermonillustrations.com).

This story sounds a whole lot like how some approach finding their way spiritually.  God has graciously provided a spiritual compass to guide us.  His Word can be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105).  We can keep our way pure by guarding it according to God’s Word (Psalm 119:9).  The Scriptures provide all we need for the wisdom that leads to salvation and equips us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17).  The Word of God is unparalleled as a spiritual compass for life.

But if we are not careful, we can find ourselves bending the needle of the compass to point where we want to go or, even worse, ignoring it all together.  We decide that we know best.  We twist the words of Scripture to line up with what we want.  And before you know it, we’ve lost our way.

Trust the compass!  God knows best.  He doesn't want anyone to be lost (2 Peter 3:9).  If we can swallow our pride and willfulness, He can lead us home.

 

God loves you!

Mike 

Can I Quote You On That?

“You can't quote the Bible indiscriminately. I remember the story of two lawyers during a trial. One thought he would make a great impression on the jury by quoting from the Bible. So he said concerning his opponent's client, "We have it on the highest authority that it has been said, “All that a man has will he give for his life." But the other lawyer knew the Bible better. He said, "I am very much impressed by the fact that my distinguished colleague here regards as the highest authority the one who said, “All that a man has will he give for his life.” You will find that this saying comes from the Book of Job and the one who utters it is the devil. And that is whom he regards as the highest authority!" (Ray Stedman).

Please read and quote the Bible carefully.  Not everything recorded on its pages  is on equal footing or carries equal authority.  The statements of Satan in the book of Job are not the only examples from that ancient writing.  Large sections of the same Old Testament book are devoted to the speeches of Job’s so-called “friends.”  Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar wax eloquent in their rebukes of their suffering friend.  Some of it seems to be very quote-worthy material.  But remember God’s assessment near the end of Job: “It came about after the LORD had spoken these words to Job, that the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is right as My servant Job has.  Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him so that I may not do with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has” (Job 42:7-8).

Take care in quoting the Bible!

 

God loves you!

Mike 

"But I Have My Rights!"

“Pastor Don Baker relates a story of Rev. Tom Erickson: The public Library has a system called "Dial-A-Tale." Anytime a young child wants to hear a fairy tale, he can call the number and a voice comes on reading a short fairy tale to the listening young ear. However, the number is only one digit different from Rev. Tom Erickson. Because the small fingers often make a mistake, Tom gets frequent calls from a child listening for a fairy tale. After several unsuccessful attempts to explain a wrong number to the small child, Tom felt he had only one alternative. He obtained a copy of Three Little Pigs, and set it by the phone. Now, whenever a child calls, he simply reads them the tale. A beautiful illustration of yielding personal rights. He didn't, as you might have thought, change his telephone number to avoid the "invasion of his privacy”” (sermonillustrations.com).

As citizens of the United States, it almost seems like we come hard-wired to value and protect our personal rights.  Among the founding documents of our nations is the “Bill of Rights,” which are 10 amendments to the Constitution that add “...specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and explicit declarations that all powers not specifically granted to the federal government by the Constitution are reserved to the states or the people” (en.wikipedia.org).  We like our rights!

But the Scriptures reveal that there are times when it is best to surrender our rights.  To Christians in the church at Corinth who were filing lawsuits against each other, Paul said: “...Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?” (1 Corinthians 6:7).  Later, as he defends his apostleship in chapter 9, he speaks of his right to be supported for preaching the gospel.  But then he says he “...did not use this right” so as to not hinder the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:12).

Apparently, it's not always right to demand our rights.

 

God loves you!

Mike 

"Hey, You're Doing It Wrong..."

“A young boy complained to his father that most of the church hymns were boring to him, too far behind the times, tiresome tunes and meaningless words. His father put an end to his son's complaints by saying, "If you think you can write better hymns, then why don't you?" The boy went to his room and wrote his first hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross." The year was 1690, the teenager was Isaac Watts” (sermonsearch.com).

It’s so easy to criticize, isn’t it? Being critical doesn’t involve getting our hands dirty or shouldering any responsibility.  We don’t want to be held accountable for getting the job done but we sure can point out the flaws of those who are doing something.  This reminds me of something Jesus said about the hypocritical religious leaders of His day: “...therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger” (Matthew 23:3–4).

Be a doer instead of a critic.  Instead of standing back and pointing out all the flaws in someone’s else’s efforts, it would be better to roll up our sleeves and offer to help out.  Chances are the ones already doing the job know that they are not perfect and that their efforts could be improved upon.  It’s so discouraging to take on a task only to be taken to task by those who weren’t willing to do anything about it in the first place.

“Two taxidermists stopped before a window in which an owl was on display. They immediately began to criticize the way it was mounted. Its eyes were not natural; its wings were not in proportion with its head; its feathers were not neatly arranged; and its feet could be improved. When they had finished with their criticism, the old owl turned his head ... and winked at them” (sermonsearch.com).

God loves you!

Mike