A Worthwhile Fire
Are you satisfied that your life is what it should be before God? Is He satisfied with you, or should you make some changes?
Some years ago, I read about a Baptist church in Tennessee where all the members stood around a gasoline-soaked pile of valuable merchandise on a Sunday night on the church’s gravel driveway. “Amen,” said the pastor, as the flames leaped skyward. “Praise the Lord,” chanted the congregation, as T.V. sets, playing cards, dice, and over a hundred pairs of shorts and skin-tight jeans went up in smoke. “The preaching of the word convicted our people,” explained the pastor. “Our people began coming to make confessions.” A young person confessed that her music stimulated her to do things that dishonored God. Others renounced cards, dice, and suggestive clothing. The pastor quoted freely from Acts 19, where we read, in verses 17-20, and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came, and confessed, and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. The pastor said, “The more I thought about what was going on in our church, the more I thought, let’s follow God’s word in Acts. And, so, we did.”
I am sure some will agree that it would be a good thing if more of our churches could build a fire and burn the things that are distracting us from a close walk with the Lord. But before we have a fire on the driveway of our church, we need a fire in our hearts. We need to face up to our own failures. Too few of God’s people take the time they should to analyze the sins of their own heart. Since nobody else can see what’s going on within, we feel that we’re all right.
We read, in Genesis 16:13, Thou God seest me. And, in Psalm 44:21, He knoweth the secrets of the heart. We often excuse ourselves. “Well, I know I have sinned; but it’s only a minor thing, it doesn’t amount to much.” Do we realize that little sins become big sins before very long? God says, in Zechariah 4:10, Who hath despised the day of small things? God is concerned about small sins. We should be too. He says, in Galatians 5:9, A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. And, in Song of Solomon 2:15, It is the little foxes that spoil the vines. Usually, Christians do not grow cold in heart and drift from usefulness because of big sins in their lives, but rather, because of the accumulation of little ones. They have taken control of them and deterred them from Christ.
Someone tells of a tall oak tree with its unusual beauty. It seemed that nothing could kill that tree. The wind blew hard, but the tree only grew stronger. The sun beat down upon it and, though the leaves withered, they only came out more beautiful and green in the spring. In the wintertime, the ice and snow tried to cover the tree and make it split open, but the tree’s bark only grew rougher and more rugged. It seemed that nothing could kill this massive tree. Every year it grew stronger and stronger. One day, a little worm got into the heart of the tree and laid its eggs. When the eggs were hatched, there were many little worms. Each one ate its way into a different part of the tree, laying its eggs. Little by little, the heart of the tree was eaten up and there was nothing left but a hollow trunk. A worm in the heart of the tree had done what the wind, the sun, the ice, and the snow could not do. A tiny worm was responsible for killing that huge oak tree. A small sin can get into one’s heart and grow. It is so important that we deal with the little sins, so we can be holy and righteous before God.
Little acts of unkindness, jealousy, hatred, and many other evils must be dealt with through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Don’t allow your testimony to become marred by little sins. They will get a grip on you, cause you to become disinterested in the things of the Lord, or ruin your testimony for Christ. God says, in Psalm 97:10, Ye that love the LORD hate evil. In Romans 6:11 and 13, we read, Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead in deed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Christians are more willing to shrink from sinners than they are to shrink from sin. We love our sins. That’s why we don’t claim the available victory in Christ. But God tells us, in 1 Peter 4:17, the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? We are to pattern ourselves after Christ. He knew no sin, He did no sin, and in Him there was no sin.
The day will come when we will regret that we did not deal with our sins. When we see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face in all of His purity and holiness, how sorry we shall be that we did not break from sin and live for Him. Sin ought not to have a part in the believer’s life. For after all, who is a Christian? A Christian is not simply one who believes a creed or follows a certain code of ethics. Following a creed does not make one a Christian any more than wearing American clothes, eating American food, and living like an American makes one an American citizen. Being a Christian is not being Christ-like. A Christian is one who has the very person of the Lord Jesus Christ as the center of his being, who seeks at all times to live out the will of God, while glorifying Christ in all things and in all relationships.
One of Napoleon Bonaparte’s old soldiers was intensely loyal to his emperor and had followed him through many of his campaigns. When wounded by a bullet that lodged in his chest and was causing him great pain, he was carried to the hospital tent and laid upon the crude operating table. They had no anesthetic in those days and the surgeon began to probe the wound in order to find and extract the bullet. As he went deeper and deeper into the wound, the old soldier gasped out in his intense pain, “If you go much deeper, Sir, you will find the Emperor.” That French veteran’s heart was so deeply committed to his emperor, whom he had faithfully followed for so many years, that it seemed to him the emperor had almost taken up his residence in his heart. That is but a faint picture of what our relationship should be to the Lord Jesus Christ and of the place He should occupy in our hearts, thoughts, and interests. If He occupies this position, there will be no room for known sin. We shall confess it all unto Him and live victoriously through His power.
Is this the kind of life you are living? If not, acknowledge your sinfulness to Him while claiming the mighty power He gives to live in the light of His victory. And, if you have never trusted Him as your Savior and Lord, I urge you to do it right now. Tell Him that you want to come to Him by faith, and trust in Christ as your very own, and He will enter your life.
J. Allen Blair
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Celebrating 94 years!
Happy Birthday to Mrs. Elva Blair on her 94th Birthday.
Mrs. Blair was born April 2, 1913, the youngest daughter of seven children. Her given name is Elva, and that is one of the seven names, each of which begins with an “E.” Mrs. Blair has been involved with Glad Tidings as co-founder, office worker, volunteer co-ordinator, and Office Manager. Her years of service and contributions to the ministry are evident. One of her lasting projects is the annual Scripture Planner Calendar, still produced by Glad Tidings.
Cards of congratulations can be sent to: Mrs. Elva Blair, PO Box 18824, Charlotte, NC 28218.