Tattered Home

By Paul Leaman

Back an old dirt road, the weeds standing high,

down beyond a standing oak, did an old house lie;

It was in a frightful state, neglected many a year,

That, no one lived in this old house, was very, very clear.

The roof had large holes here and there, and sagging somewhat too,

Just how long the old house stood, I'm sure no one knew;

If it had ever been painted, there was no way of knowing today,

The outside, I tell you, was completely in disarray.

All the shutters were gone but two,

I think they were once painted blue;

The windows were all broken but one,

The casing and woodwork, every where undone.

Having no front door, I went up and looking inside,

I saw an old dirty table, two chairs cast aside;

The floor was covered with filth and debris,

It was in a sad shape, I'm sure you would agree.

Then walking through one room to the next,

There, in dim light, seeing some objects;

I walked over, and there on the floor,

Bones, just what it was, you couldn't tell anymore.

It may have been a squirrel, but I was not sure,

So I went on through the house, taking my little tour;

There was not really much to see but neglect and decay,

Here once stood a proud new home, but it sure wasn't today.

What about your spiritual house, Oh my Christian friend?

Is it in a state of spiritual decay, fearful of its' end?

Have you kept your house clean and pure?

Do you know that you are truly saved, or, are you unsure?

If your life is filled with the filth of sin, confess your sin today,

Christ will come in and cleanse you anew, if you have gone astray.

So set your house in order, throw out all the trash my friend,

And be determined to live for Christ, and love Him to the end.

Glow for it!

VERSE: You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Mt 5:14-16 (New King James Version)

Jesus says that believers are the ‘light of the world’. After this, He goes on to say that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden. When one becomes a Christian, he or she starts taking stands or making decisions that may not always be popular with others. Or he or she may do things that most other people may not care about or things that people may find strange. In any case, it’s hard for a committed Christian to always be ‘low-profile’. Things in his life will make him stand out. According to Jesus, that’s the idea of being a Christian.

One may try to underplay these differences for fear of offending people or inviting mockery. It’s not always easy to make ‘that difference’ in one’s Christian walk. But placing a lamp below a basket defeats the very purpose of its existence. ‘For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to GIVE the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ (2 Cor. 4:6) Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that we may be called children of God. This knowledge is not just like a paragraph in a text book but it is a ‘light’ that takes people from the darkness of sin into the life of freedom, hope and purpose in Christ. Like the verse says, Christians are here so this ‘light’ can be GIVEN.

God has made the way to eternal joy through Jesus. Believers have found this way. But we are in a world so darkened by sin; many people can never find this way. The believer’s challenge is to show people in word and deed that Jesus and His saving grace makes the difference in life, so that God’s name can be glorified.

God has made the way. Glow for it!

THOUGHT: We as Christians are the light of the world. How bright are we shining?

Security 'Issues'

VERSE: All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. Jeremiah 51:17-18

The Word gives us very clear signals of what can become idols in our lives. The things that we have idolized in our lives can be in the form of quick-money making schemes, bad relationships, and bad habits. These verses give you a clear indicator of the presence of an idol in our lives. Firstly, they seem to bring us a promise of good but it turns out to be false. Secondly, it is not long-lasting (i.e. no breath in them) but in turn it poisons our lives. Thirdly, they don’t bring any return and finally, it turns out to be a work of mockery.

These idols in our lives are displeasing to God. They are shameful and they will finally rot and decay in our lives. The verse clearly starts off by saying that we are foolish to trust something that will disappear soon. We always find it easier to find security in things we can see and touch but find it very difficult to find our security in the Lord!

THOUGHT: Are we finding security in things we see and touch and making them idols in our lives or are we finding security in Our Eternal God?

All verses have been quoted from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright (c) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved.

Bring them here to Me…

VERSES: And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. When it was evening, His disciples came to Him saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me.” Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. So they ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children. (Mt. 14:14-21, New King James Version)

Many times in life, we are faced with tasks and responsibilities in the Lord for which may not have the necessary resources. Here in verse 16, Jesus tells his disciples to give ‘them’ something to eat. We all know that the ‘them’ in question is a group of 5000 men, besides women and children. So the logical question is: How on earth did Jesus expect His 12 disciples to come up with enough food to feed a crowd that huge?

Well the truth is, that’s not what He expected….

The disciples would have been understandably perplexed. But even then, instead of arguing like most of us would do: “Lord, how do you think we’re going to do that?” or “You can’t expect us to come up with that much food in such short notice!” They said, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” Their surrender of the little they had led to probably the biggest (unprepared!) feast in history…

From this we can understand what God really expects of us. We do not have infinite time, skill, talent or even energy. But are we ready to give up the limited resources we have when Jesus says, “Bring them here to Me..”?

THOUGHT: Is serving God about how much we’ve got from God? Or is it more about how much we are willing to give to God?