I Know

~
"I know, I know
that my Redeemer lives
I know, I know
eternal life He gives
I know...I know...
that my Redeemer lives"
~

We sang this song at church on Sunday. I knew we would. It was Easter, after all. You have to sing that song. That or "Up From the Grave He Arose." It's just one of those things you do.

Many of the songs we sing, especially the hymns, are musical renditions of Scripture passages. I often don't realize it until I come across a verse and think, "Hey! I know that song!" Most of the time it's a psalm. Not so with this song. This song, this lively, enthusiastic, resurrection song...is from the book of Job.

Yes. That Job. The Job who was righteous in God's sight. The Job that God gave Satan permission to test and torment. The Job whose children were killed, whose livelihood was stolen, whose very body was torn with sores. The Job whose friends, shall we say, lacked the spiritual gift of encouragement. That Job.

That was a shockingly beautiful revelation to me.

You see, we sing this song on Easter. Easter. The season of life. Everything is alive. It's spring. The trees are alive. The flowers are alive. The baby bunnies and chicks are alive. And, of course, Jesus is alive. We stand in a church amidst treasured friends, singing our hearts out in celebration of the resurrection, and we feel alive, too. In moments like that, it's easy to sing.

~
"I know, I know
that my Redeemer lives
I know, I know
eternal life He gives
I know...I know...
that my Redeemer lives"
~

But when these words were spoken for the first time, life was not the dominant theme. In fact, there was no life to be found. Everything dear to Job was dead. His wife told him to curse God and die. He himself lamented the day of his birth. His friends were spending hours telling him about the demise of the wicked and how God was punishing him and he had only misery and death to look forward to. Job is surrounded by death, yet he speaks confidently about the certainty of life. I want to be like that.

See, the Lord told us that there would be seasons in life. Seasons of birth...and death. Seasons of planting...and uprooting. Seasons of healing...and killing. Seasons of building...and tearing down. Seasons of laughing...and weeping. Seasons of dancing...and mourning. Seasons of gathering...and scattering. Seasons of embracing...and refraining. Seasons of searching...and giving up. Seasons of keeping...and throwing away. Seasons of mending...and tearing. Seasons of speaking...and silence. Seasons of love...and hate. Seasons of peace...and war.

It's easy to speak of life during half of those seasons. The birth, the planting, the healing, the building, the laughing, etc. We sing it, we live it, we shout it from the mountain tops.

"I know that my Redeemer lives!!!"

But what about the other half? The death, the uprooting, the killing, the tearing down, the weeping, etc. That's the true test. Do we believe it even then? Maybe we can't sing it. Maybe it's hard to live it. Maybe we don't have the strength (or the desire) to shout it from a mountain top. Maybe all we can do is whisper it, curled up in a ball of tears in the dark of night.

"I know that my Redeemer lives."

The point isn't how loud or confident the words sound. The point is the One in whom those words declare faith. Those words say, "I see my circumstances. I bear the weight of my surroundings. I'm aware of the hopelessness. I breathe the despair. I feel the desperation. I live in the pain. But that doesn't change what I know.

I. Know. That. My. Redeemer. Lives."

Going 50 in a 65 World

The speed limit on my most-traveled highway is 65 mph.

Except in this one spot.

See, there's a bridge that crosses over the highway and they're doing some construction work on it. So naturally, there are cones and trucks and workers on the highway underneath the bridge. Thus, per construction zone code, the speed limit has been significantly decreased. (Because somebody thought it would be a good idea to not run over workers. Genius.)

So the speed limit drops to 55 mph...

...and then to 50.

Now if you've ever been in a construction zone on a highway, you know how hard it is to slow down to the new speed limit. When you lose 15 mph, all of a sudden it feels like you're crawling, regardless of the fact that you're still a good 10-15 mph faster than the average city street.

I was driving through that construction zone the other day when I realized that since they started the construction work, I hadn't ever actually slowed down to the new speed limit. I felt slightly torn as to what to do. I knew I ought to slow down. It's the law. It's what's right. But no one else was. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE else was still going 65.

Do you know how hard it is to go 50 when everyone else is going 65?!?!

Not only do you feel like you're traveling at a snail's pace, but people swerve around you and glare at you as they pass and make it abundantly clear that they're quite annoyed with your rule-following.

Some people stay behind you at first. They sit back, and who knows what they're thinking. Maybe they're hoping you'll speed up. Maybe they're feeling guilty for not following the speed limit themselves. Whatever the reason, they hang back behind you for a ways. But eventually they get impatient and they too jerk into the next lane and put the pedal to the metal.

Our culture has a "speed limit" at which people are used to traveling. It's a way of life to which we've all become accustomed.

But the Lord's "speed limit" is different. Way more than a 15 mph difference.

Isaiah 55:8-9,
"'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

The world says, "Have what you want, and have it now!"

The Lord says, "'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." (Lamentations 3:24-26)

The world says, "My life is about me!"

The Lord says, "It's not all about you. It's about Christ." (Rough paraphrase of Philippians 2:1-11)

The world says, "Spend your life and your money accumulating stuff to make yourself happy!"

The Lord says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven." (Matthew 6:19-20)

The world says, "Make yourself comfortable!"

The Lord says, "Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Me." (Paraphrase, Luke 9:23)

That all sounds great when you're sitting in church on Sunday singing and smiling and shaking hands with people who agree with you. But what happens when the rubber meets the road? What happens when following Christ means doing something different from the world? Worse, what happens when following Christ means doing something different from the church?

Do you know how hard it is to go 50 when everyone else is going 65?!?!

It's hard. Really hard. Especially when you love the people who are going 65.

And it gets harder. Because people fly past you, making sure you know how annoyed they are that you're going 50. Some of them really do think it's dumb. Others are trying to bury their guilt because deep down, they know they ought to be going 50, too.

It's hard to stick to the speed limit under all that pressure. It's hard to follow Christ when it means going against the flow. And the more cars that fly by, the more tempting it becomes to speed up. Don't.

Galatians 6:8-9,
"The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

I think the Message version of that probably says something like, "If you speed, you're gonna crash. If you go the speed limit, you'll get there safely. Keep going the speed limit, even when everyone else is speeding. It'll be worth it when you get there."

So, if you're going 50...awesome job! I admire you! Be uplifted and don't give up!

If you're going 65...slow down! The Lord's speed is so much better! Be convicted and hit the brakes!

If your speedometer bounces between 50 and 65...welcome to the club! The Lord isn't finished with us! Be encouraged and keep slowing down!

Lord, teach me to go 50 in a 65 world...

Do You See?

I heard a lesson once that I liked a lot. I can't remember now who was speaking or I would give him credit for it, but instead I'll just give credit to God, which is where it belongs anyway.

The preacher read a story out of Luke 7 about a Pharisee and a sinner (have you noticed how many stories in the gospels have that theme??). To paraphrase, a Pharisee by the name of Simon invites Jesus to dinner. While He's at the Pharisee's house, a woman comes to Him who "had lived a sinful life" or "was a sinner", depending on your translation. That's all we know about her. She was a sinner. Which, as far as I can tell, translates into nothing more than, "She's just like us!"

So the woman comes to Jesus, washes His feet with her tears, dries them with her hair, kisses them, and pours perfume on them. Simon freaks out. In verse 39, he says to himself, "If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner." In the following verse, Jesus answers Him.

(Side note: In verse 39 it says Simon said it "to himself", which if I'm not mistaken, and I certainly could be, basically translates to mean he said it in his mind. So, Simon thought to himself, and Jesus answered. The definition of that word "answered" in the Greek is: "to give an answer to a question proposed, or to answer, but always where something has preceded (either said or done) to which the remarks refer." Jesus is very clearly answering Simon's unspoken comments. I love it when He does things like that. To other people. ;-) )

Okay, so Simon is throwing an internal fit. This woman is totally screwing up his dinner party. Not only that, she's probably humiliating him simply by being present in his home. Jesus answers him and tells him a parable about love and forgiveness. Then He asks Simon a question:

"Do you see this woman?"

....huh?!?! Doesn't that seem like a stupid question? Of course he sees her! Everyone sees her! She's making a scene. She's making Simon mad. Yes, we know he sees the woman.

But Jesus doesn't ask stupid questions, so let's look deeper. I don't think Jesus was asking if Simon's optic nerves were registering the light bouncing off the woman and sending the signals to his brain which created the image of the woman in the process we call seeing. I think Jesus' question was much more. I think He was asking:

"Do you SEE this WOMAN?"

Simon saw her sins. He saw her reputation. He saw the disturbance she was causing him. He saw the inconvenience she was. But he didn't see HER. He didn't see her as a person. He didn't see her like Jesus saw her: as a person He loved enough to die.

This is the point the preacher made in the lesson I heard.

We must be very careful what our next thoughts are. Because it would be easy to sit back and nod at our computers and say, "Oh, that preacher made a good point! In typical Pharisee fashion, Simon is seeing the sin and not the sinner. I'm so glad the Lord has helped me past that judgmental place in my life."

But you see, sinners aren't the only ones we don't see.

Have you ever seen a homeless person? No, read it right. Have you ever SEEN a homeless PERSON?

Or have you just seen the cardboard sign? Have you seen only the holey jacket? Seen nothing but the dirt? Nothing but a pitiable state in which to live?

We see the homeless. They're sprinkled all over our cities on street corners, under bridges, and down at the Salvation Army. But do we see them like Jesus sees them? Do we see them as people He loved enough to die?

What about the children? Do you see the children? Do you SEE the CHILDREN? For example, the children who have been removed from their families because they're not being taken care of and are now in the custody of the state. Do you see them?

Or do you see victims? Headlines? Misbehavior looking for a place to happen? Inconvenience? The risk of sacrifice? Do you just see numbers?

We see the children. They're sprinkled all over our cities in shelters that have three times as many children as they're supposed to and foster homes that are overfilled with children because there's nowhere else to put them. But are they just numbers, or do we see them like Jesus sees them? Do we see them as people He loved enough to die?

~~~~~

I don't expect this post to make a life-altering difference in the thoughts and actions of your life. If I had to guess, I'd say you'll probably post a comment or hit the "like" button and move on. At the most. Or maybe you'll just nod in agreement and move on. Or maybe you'll shut your computer down fuming in disagreement and move on. But could I make a request? Before you move on, take just a moment and say a prayer. Ask Jesus to help you see. Ask Him to help you see them like He sees them, as people He loved enough to die. It would only take 10 seconds or so. If 10 seconds is all you have, then skip the comment or the like or the nod or the fuming shutdown and pray instead.

Because what if we all saw as Jesus did? What if we all loved them? Enough to die? Jesus died to Himself because of what He saw. What do YOU see?

When Did You Fall in Love with Me?

I am a Chris Rice fan. He's got some hilarious lyrics (for example, "smell the color nine"), and his music just has a certain groove that I kinda like. But that's beside the point.

One of his songs is a love song called "When Did You Fall". (If you're wondering about the direction of this post, don't worry. It's still about Jesus. ;-) Seeing as how I have no "significant other" in my life at this point, whenever I hear a love song, I just sort of naturally think of it in terms of Christ, the only Love of my life at present. This particular song is about a guy who is rather slow and has just realized for the first time that his girl is in love with him, and he's asking her when it was that she fell for him.

"When did you fall in love with me?
Was it out of the blue?
'Cause I swear I never knew it.
When did you let your heart run free?
Have you been waiting long?
When did you fall in love with me?"

So I started thinking, "Lord, when did You fall in love with me?"

Later in the song, he starts trying to guess when it happened.

"Was it at the coffee shop?
Or was it that morning at the bus stop,
When you almost slipped and I caught your hand?
Or the time we built the snowman?
The day at the beach, sandy and warm?
Or the night with the scary thunderstorm?"

See, this guy assumes that, whenever it was that she fell in love with him, it was at one of their favorite moments, one of their best memories, one of the good times. And he's probably right.

But when I asked my Jesus when He fell in love with me, His answer was very different.

Romans 5:8,
"But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

It wasn't one of our favorite moments. It wasn't during one of those mountain-top experiences. It wasn't at an intimate time of worship. It wasn't one of the good times. It was when I was wretched and vile and covered in sin. Of all times, He fell in love with me THEN. In my worst moment. In my dirtiest condition. In my hopeless, miserable, unlovable state. THAT'S when He fell in love with me.

Why? So that I would know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that He didn't love me because of anything that I had done. My deeds did not earn His love by their goodness, nor can they hinder it by their depravity. He loves me because He chooses to love me. Period.

How do I know? Because when I look back, I realize He's been showing me all along.

In the song, after the guy has realized she loves him, he says,

"Make your way over here, sit down by this fool, and let's rewind.
Come on, let's go back and replay all our scenes.
You can point out the hints, the clues, the twists, and the smiles this time,
All the ones that slipped by me.
...'Cause, baby, I missed it then, but I can surely see you now,
Right here before my eyes, you're my beautiful surprise."

He hadn't realized that she'd been hinting and cluing and smiling, trying to tell him how she felt. And I do the same thing with God.

Romans 1:19-20,
"...since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

From the creation of the world He's been showing me He loves me!! But it's only after I've realized His love that I can sit down with Him and smile at the "beautiful surprise" as He points back to all the ways that He's been demonstrating His love for me before I even knew it.

Which brings me to my response to this magnificent love, for which I have another Bible verse and another Chris Rice song:

1 John 4:19,
"We love because He first loved us."

"I just want to be with You!
I just want this waiting to be over.
I just want to be with You,
And it helps to know the day is getting closer.
Every minute takes an hour,
Every inch feels like a mile,
'Til I won't have to imagine
And I finally get to see You smile."

When did He fall in love with me? Just like any perfect Prince Charming: at exactly the right moment, way before I deserved it. When did I fall in love with Him? Just like any lovestruck damsel in distress: over and over and over...

Leave the Washer Empty

In our house, everyone who is old enough does their own laundry on their assigned day. This makes it pretty easy to keep it organized and get everyone's laundry done at least once a week. However, forgetfulness is one of the generational gifts that has been passed down through my family for countless generations, so laundry often gets left in the washer and dryer overnight and into the the next person's laundry day.

Usually, when someone comes downstairs with their overflowing laundry basket to find the washer still occupied with wet clothes needing to be moved, they obligingly switch their forgetful family member's laundry so they can start their own. The family member will later retrieve their laundry from the dryer and thank the one who moved it for them. This is a fairly typical, almost daily, occurrence.

Today, however, something different happened. It's happened before, but for some reason it made me stop and think.

I started my laundry early this morning, then left the house and was gone most of the day. When I returned in the late afternoon and remembered my laundry, I sighed, figuring it had nearly dried on its own in the washer by that time. However, when I opened the dryer to get it ready for my clothes, there they were--dry and ready to fold (which I still haven't done, but that's beside the point). I smiled, grateful to whoever had switched my laundry in my absence. I opened the washer to see which kind soul had dried my clothes to make room for their own in the washer and to return the favor by drying theirs. The washer was empty. Why is that significant? Because it meant someone did me a favor, not because it benefited them in any way, but simply because it was a blessing to me. They didn't dry my clothes because they needed the washer; they did it so I wouldn't have to.

That got me thinking: how often do we live like that? We bless only when the blessing will be returned to us. We serve only when it makes us feel good. We give only when we see the benefit. Why?

Because it's hard to give when you get nothing back. It's hard to serve when it hurts. It's hard to bless someone who isn't going to bless (or might even curse) you in return. It's hard to sacrifice. But it's what we're called to.

Luke 6:32-36,
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

So try it this week. And not just with your "enemies". Try it with your family, your friends, your coworkers, the guy on the street, or that one person who really just gets on your nerves. Bless someone. Love someone. Sacrifice for someone. Without expecting anything in return.

Switch the laundry...and leave the washer empty.

The Real State of the Union

I have an extreme dislike for politics. Okay, let’s just be honest, I hate politics. For as long as I can remember, politics have frustrated me: the attitude, the arrogance, the overall air that drops like a bomb in nearly any setting whenever anything political is brought up. That being the case, this is not a political post. I repeat, THIS IS NOT A POLITICAL POST. So if you’re looking for a topic about which to debate or an opponent with whom to argue, skip right along to another blog with a donkey or an elephant adorning the banner and titles that include all your favorite political issues. I have neither the desire nor sufficient knowledge to provide a competent forum for such discussion. I freely admit: I am altogether ignorant about the current state of politics in this country. Sure, I know a few buzz words, but that’s the extent of it. I could no more have a competent discussion about American politics than I could spell the names of all the individuals listed in the genealogy of Christ. However, I did listen to the State of the Union Address given by our President last month, and it brought to the forefront of my mind a concern that has been growing steadily in my subconscious for some time.

The following are quotes from several States of the Union Addresses given by a few of our most recent Presidents, Republican and Democrat alike: (I have not identified the quotes with the Presidents to whom they belong because that is not the point of this post. If you want to know who said what, there are these new things called, “Copy,” “Paste,” and “Google”……)

“America will always win.”

“The strength — the secret of our strength, the miracle of America, is that our greatness lies not in our government, but in the spirit and determination of our people.”

“Because when we act together, there is nothing the United States of America can't achieve.”

“My fellow Americans, the state of our Union is the strongest it has ever been. As always, the credit belongs to the American people.”

“Each time I look at that flag, I'm reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those fifty stars and those thirteen stripes. No one built this country on their own. This Nation is great because we built it together. This Nation is great because we worked as a team. This Nation is great because we get each other's backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we're joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.”

These statements reflect two core beliefs that you will find resounding in the heart of nearly every American, regardless of partisan association:

1. America is great.
2. Americans get credit for it.

My friends, it is not the economy that is going to destroy this nation. It is not our financial deficit. It is not our foreign relations. It is not our wars. It is not our educational system or our taxes or our energy supply. What will destroy this nation is our belief in the two statements above. The one thing upon which most Americans agree, the one moment during the State of the Union Address when everyone applauds, the one belief we all share…is a lie.

Because here’s the truth:

We. Are. Not. Great.

Yes, America. Read it and weep. But it’s true. We’re not. How do I know? Because the One, the ONLY One, who is great said so.

Psalm 62:9,

“Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath.”

Isaiah 40:17,

“Before Him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by Him as worthless and less than nothing.”

Daniel 4:35,

“All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: ‘What have You done?’”

I could continue, but I think you get it. We are men. Men are nothing. Yes, even the strong and influential and intelligent and oh-so-important Americans that we are (pointing out the sarcasm in those adjectives, in case you missed it), we are nothing. And it’s high time we remembered it. If you want to know why, go take a stroll through the Old Testament. Say hello to the Babylonians and the Assyrians and the Persians and the Egyptians, and definitely have a chat with the Israelites! Ask them what happens to nations who think they’re “all that”. Ask them what happens when you strut your stuff and call yourself great and flaunt your achievements and conquests as if you’re king of the world. Ask them what happens when you take credit for something in which you had absolutely no hand. Ask them how God responds when you try to lift yourself up to His level. They’ll tell you: He puts you in your place. As well He should. Because we’re not great, but He is.

Deuteronomy 10:17,

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome.”

1 Chronicles 16:25,

“For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods.”

1 Chronicles 29:11-12,

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things. In Your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.”

Psalm 47:2,

“How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!”

Psalm 145:3,

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”

Do you get it? Do you get who He is? Do you get who we’re not? If America is anything, ANYTHING AT ALL, it is for only one reason: because God chose to make us that way. The “the secret of our strength” doesn’t lie “in the spirit and determination of our people.” The “credit” doesn’t belong “to the American people.” We are not great “because we worked as a team.” We are not great “because we get each other's backs.” And like it or not, the state of our Union will not “always be strong” and America won’t “always win.” We could not have made ourselves into anything. And we cannot maintain ourselves as anything. Only God Most High has the power to do that.

Psalm 75:6-7,

“No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, He exalts another.”

So where do we belong? We’re not great. God is great. Where do we belong? We belong with Isaiah and Ezekiel, on our faces before Him in tears.

Isaiah 6:5,

“’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’”

Ezekiel 1:28,

“This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown.”

We belong in the humble, prostrate position of a beggar and a servant at the feet of the Master. Because everything that we are as a nation is only because He chose for it to be that way. And as soon as He chooses otherwise, we will find ourselves right next to the Babylonians and Assyrians: on our faces in the dirt, the rug ripped out from under us, thinking, “Wait—I thought we were great???”

We Christian Americans like to quote this verse: Psalm 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Unfortunately, I think the majority of us have forgotten what that verse really says. Here’s what it doesn’t say:

It doesn’t say, “Blessed is the nation that calls itself ‘Christian’.”

It doesn’t say, “Blessed is the nation that stands bull-headedly firm on the conservative side of issues.”

It doesn’t say, “Blessed is the nation that elects a President who goes to church.”

It doesn’t say, “Blessed is the nation that boasts religious tolerance and political correctness.”

It doesn’t say, “Blessed is the nation that votes pro-life.”

It doesn’t say, “Blessed is the nation that asks for it.”

How many times a day do we say or hear or read, “God Bless America”? If we want Him to bless America, maybe we should quit asking for it and start making Him Lord. Because that’s what it says.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

So what’s the state of our Union? It’s exactly the same as the state of every human heart within it.

John 3:30,

“He must become greater; [we] must become less.”

Swallowing Flies

Raise your hand if you've ever read (or had read to you) the book "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly".
...okay, put your hands down. I can't see them anyway.
For those of you who have read it, doesn't your life feel gloriously enriched because of that experience?
For those of you who haven't, you have been cruelly deprived of a truly inspiring piece of American literature, which I will now attempt to summarize for you...

In short, there's an old lady.
She swallows a fly.
No one knows why.
But for some reason, we all begin to assume that, "Perhaps she'll die."
Next she swallows a spider to catch the fly.
Then a bird to catch the spider.
Then a cat to catch the bird.
Then a dog to catch the cat.
Then a cow to catch the dog.
Then a horse to catch the cow.
And when she swallows the horse..."She died, of course."
And after you've read the whole story, if you turn to the very last page, this is what you'll find:

"Moral: Never swallow a horse."

Now, from the time I was able to read that book on my own I knew that wasn't quite right. (If you haven't caught up to that logic yet, I rescind my offer for you to graduate to www.terryrush.blogspot.com.) Because even my elementary reasoning skills said, "If you hadn't swallowed the fly, there wouldn't have been a problem! Forget about the horse--never swallow a fly!" Common sense tells us that if you don't want to end up swallowing a horse, don't start by swallowing a fly. Any sane person could understand that and would therefore make the wise decision to avoid flies.

...right?

Maybe not. You see, we swallow flies all the time. The TV shows and movies we watch that are full of foul language and immorality, the music we listen to that carries an unholy message, the thoughts we entertain that are a far cry from glorifying to God, every distraction we permit to invade our minds and draw us away from Him...these are our flies. And we swallow them daily, usually washing them down with rationalizing statements. "Just because I watch that/listen to that doesn't mean I'm going to talk/act/live like that." "Just because I thought about that doesn't mean I'm actually going to do it. Come on!" We might as well be saying, "Just because I swallowed one silly little fly doesn't mean I'm going to swallow a horse and die!" Oh yeah? Tell that to the old lady.

The Bible makes it clear how God feels about flies.

Ephesians 4:31,
"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice."

Ephesians 5:3,
"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people."

Ephesians 4:29,
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

He even goes so far as to say that if you swallow a fly, you might as well have swallowed a horse.

Matthew 5:21:22,
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment."

He also says that when you swallow flies, you throw up horses.

Luke 6:45,
"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

If we keep storing it up, it's gonna start coming out. Because if we keep inching closer to the line just to see how close we can get without crossing it, all of a sudden we're going to look back and see that the line is way behind us. Because you didn't plan on swallowing the horse when you downed the fly...and the spider......and the bird.......etc., but you did. Once you got there, you just couldn't help it.

So how do we stop it? We quit inching toward the line and start running away from it. We quit swallowing flies.

Philippians 4:8,
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Leviticus 19:2,
"Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy."

Romans 12:2,
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

We don't want to be a horse-swallowing, dying people. So let's quit swallowing flies.

Anybody have a flyswatter?