I Stand By The Door

My uncle, brother, and friend sent me this poem. It's most excellent.

I stand by the door, I neither go too far in nor stay too far out.

The door is the most important door in the world.

It is the door through which men walk when they find God.

There is no use my going way inside and staying there when so many are still outside and they as much as I crave to know where the door is.

And all that so many find is only the wall where the door ought to be.

They creep along the wall like blind men with outstretched groping hands feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, yet they never find it.

So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world is for men to find that door, the door to God.

The most important thing that any man or woman can do is to take hold of one of those blind groping hands and put it on the latch, the latch that only clicks and opens to the man’s own touch.

Men die outside the door as starving beggars die on cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter, die for want of what is within their grasp.

They live on the other side of it, live because they’ve not found it.

Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it and open it and walk in and find Him.

So I stand by the door.

I admire the people that go way in but I wish they would not forget how it was before they got in.

Then they would be able to help the people who have not yet even found the door.

Or the people who want to run away again from God.

You can go in too deeply and stay in too long and forget the people outside the door.

As for me I shall take my old accustomed place, near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there but not so far from men as to hear them and remember that they are there too.

Where?

Outside the door.

Thousands of them, millions of them.

But more important for me, one of them, two of them, ten of them, whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.

So I shall stand by the door and wait for those who seek it.

I had rather be a door keeper.

So I stand by the door.

- Sam Schumaker

"I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture" - John 10:9

Grace and Peace

Speaking...Or Arguing...The Truth In Love?

Recently I have angered someone because I told them, in short, that they followed a false prophet and followed a different Jesus than written about in the Bible. I supposed I can see how that would make someone angry, but we still went back and forth a bit. Through some discussion that ended up hitting a brick wall in the end, as far as I can tell, I have been accused of the following:

- Hatred. In that my comments during discussion were a personal attack against the members of the church started by this particular person.

- Rudeness. In that my words were sharp and unloving.

- Pride. In that I came across like the Pharisees who were prideful and thought they were right with God and everyone else was purposed for stoking the fires of hell.

And some other things. I didn't keep a paper trail; I just happen to remember those, along with this:

- I shouldn't let beliefs come between relationships with family.

Dead wrong.

I'm not saying believers should be jerks, but they certainly shouldn't suppress the truth just to "be nice". When someone is in a fraudulent and flawed system we should just keep quiet to keep the peace? I don't think so.

Christ said this: "Do you think I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three." (Luke 12:51-52)

Should we not tell people following the world's religions about Jesus because we might offend? Should we not warn people about false teachings and false prophets because we might offend? Should we not approach brothers and sisters who are backsliding because we might offend?

That's what the world says to do. That's not what the Bible teaches. It's not what Christ said to do. It's not what Paul said to do. It's not what Peter said to do. It's not what John said to do. I'll take their instructions over those of the world's pluralistic, relative-truth, all-paths-lead-to-God opinion.

Despite what some may claim, truth is absolutely knowable through God's Word and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, false beliefs can be positively identified. Trying to show this to people in love is not rude, not prideful, and not hateful, whether or not someone put a "Jesus sticker" on their beliefs.

In short, having a "happy" relationship with someone is less important than that someone having a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ,

Having said that, I admit freely the following shortcomings of which I find myself guilty:

- I too often fail to speak up (or shut up depending on the situation) because I don't want to hurt relationships, because I fear possible ridicule, or because I'm worried about the repercussions and covering myself at work. For shame! God help me to be better in speaking the truth, preaching the gospel, and avoiding the appearance of agreeing with incorrect opinions and beliefs!

- I see that, with regarding to false teachers in particular, I have failed to heed the Word. Too often I get it into my head that I need to discuss, debate, or argue. What the Bible teaches is that we are to avoid false teachers. We are not to bless them or wish them well. We are not to give the impression that we think they have legitimate claims, doctrines, or opinions. John tells us that to do this is to share in their wicked work.

That last statement was a hard one for me, because I know that the rank and file member of some group is likely not intentionally trying to do anything "wicked". However, it follows that if they preach a false Jesus and/or a false gospel, they are spreading falsehoods and doing something wicked anyway, whether or not they mean to.

Too often already I have thought that this is where people are coming from and they need to see the light -- unfortunately, what I thought was an opportunity to speak the truth -- even if the person didn't want to hear it -- turned out to be nothing more than a distraction, keeping me from focusing on the things of God.

Thank you Lord, for using this latest altercation to open my eyes to my sin of getting sucked into that which is pointless and a clear failure to redeem the time!

Grace and Peace

Elderly Woman Witnesses To Robber

I just came across this and was amazed by it.

"A 92-year-old woman from Dyersburg, Tennessee recently turned an attempted robbery into an opportunity to minister to the would-be robber."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDmp967UMds