Sneaker-Tying Christians

Verse:  Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. 1 Kings 19:18, KJV

(Elijah has just told God that he knows of no one left in Israel who still worships Him.  This is God's response.)



Do you remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, the three friends in Daniel 3 who refused to bow down to any so-called-gods?  They were 100% devoted to God (who, at the time, hadn't died for their sins or blessed them beyond measure or walked in the fire with them before). 

Picture it: King Nebuchadnezzar had just made an image of gold and commanded everyone to bow to worship it once the instruments were played.  People everywhere are gathered around, crowding the public areas.  Right in the middle are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  Let's watch...

Cymbals crash, flutes play, trumpets blast.  The Nebuchadnezzar faithful bow in obedient worship.  Not the three friends.  They unabashedly, proudly stand tall.  Whispering arises.  Townspeople begin to point.  Surely the three misunderstood.  The King himself gathers Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego unto him.  "Don't you know?  When the music starts you must bow down!  If you don't, I'll throw you in a pit of fire!"  I'll save the end of the story for another time, but just know that the boys didn't bow and God saved them.

Let's pause here and bring this to modern day: 

Jill Christian (could be you, could be me) is standing in this group.  The pressure is mounting to bow and the trumpets will sound any moment.  Jill thinks...

Wait!  There they are!  I hear them! 

I believe in God.  I am a Christian!  I can't bow! 

But, the fire is hot. 

Oh, wait.  Is my shoe untied? 

I'd better bow down, er, I mean bend over and tie that...

The music stops.  Everyone stands back, waiting for the next blast of the horns, which happens...right...now:

No!  Not again!  Everyone is bowing except me!

The fire - I'll be thrown in!

Wait a second... did I double knot that? 

I'd better retie that shoe to make certain.

Let me bow down, er, I mean bend over and tie that...

Wow.  This hits home for me.  How many times have I tried to blend in just so I wouldn't stand out?  Is that what God's called me to do?  Proverbs tells us many times that our ways may seem pure to us, to others - but God knows our heart. 

Lord, let me never be a sneaker-tying Christian.  Forgive me for trying to blend in.  You've called me to be a peculiar person.  You've set me apart, sanctified me as I prayed you would.  Please do so again.  Let me stand, boldly, for you.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

ExerSaucers and Swords

At a baby shower for my soon-to-be-born son, we received an ExerSaucer. It's one of those "walkers" that doesn't actually move anywhere, but instead has tons of little toys and gadgets all around it where a child can sit in its colorful cloth seat and spin from toy to toy. Just picture a baby walker on steroids.

Anyway, if you were to ask me if I had one, I'd have to say yes. But, it just sat in the box for several months. So, yes we had one, but no, we didn't use it.

I put off opening the box, knowing full well that thousands of tiny screws and bolts would fall out. My husband, too, never found the time. So, good ol' Grandpa came over. He tore into the brightly colored box and, sure enough, all these attachable toys in wrappers, plastic screws, and red and yellow cloth spilled out.

Yes, we had an ExerSaucer. But it seemed a little overwhelming and, if it had been me, I think I would have just put all the little pieces back in the box and headed to the WalMart return desk.

After what seemed like hours (for all those involved and uninvolved), the ExerSaucer was complete - shiny, noisy, bouncy, and colorful.

See, we had an ExerSaucer the whole time. But, it wasn't used for its purpose. Baby Cole couldn't play with the bouncy clown on top or spin on the saucer disk. It wasn't until someone opened the box and dove into the un-understandable instructions that Cole could play with his "new" toy.

God has given us gifts to use. One of the best gifts is His word. He calls it the "sword of the spirit.” I find this interesting because, God wouldn't have given us a weapon if he planned to do all the fighting for us. He wouldn't have armed us for battle if he'd always cause the enemy to run way.

No, God gave us a weapon to use for battles he knew we’d face. And yes, the Bible does have other uses (correct, instruct, etc.), but His word specifically calls it a sword. What are we fighting? What comes against us?

• We have "divine power to demolish strongholds" 2 Corinthians 10:4
• "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God" 2 Corinthians 10:5
• We "war against the law of [our] mind" Romans 7:23
• "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Beth Moore has said (as I'm sure others have too) that Satan's already lost his war with us when Jesus died on the cross. So, he plays make believe. He tries to "make us believe" that our worries, guilt, shame, doubts, fears, past hurts, heartaches, enemies, and words that come against us are justified and real. God knew he'd try to do this, so he gave us the greatest weapon of all (it's never lost a battle!).

David (who was a man after God's own heart - with his share of pitfalls) writes in Psalms 119 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

His word - this weapon - is so important that we should know it, read it, use it. Like an ExerSaucer in a box, it does us no good sitting on a shelf. We must know it so fully that...

...when Satan comes against us we can say (or YELL at him), "The one in me is greater than you!" 1 John 4:4

...when we feel alone we can remind ourselves that He said, "I will never leave or forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

...when we dwell on old failures and mistakes, we can remember that He doesn't hold them against us and remembers them no more. Hebrews 8:12

Oh, there are so many more! So many ways we can use this wonderful weapon and win every time.

Do you feel like you're losing a battle? Do you need encouragement? Is life getting you down? Just pick up your sword!