Word Worldwide

Date: 4/08/09

Private Religion

by Woody Woodson 

Years ago I was preaching in a church and encouraging people to tell others about Jesus. After the sermon, an older, distinguished lady came up to me and disapprovingly said, "Sonny, I think religion should be a private thing." I looked at her and responded, "If I had one like yours, it WOULD be." Our religion, or faith, is not something we are to keep all to ourselves. We are not to hide it or be ashamed of it. Jesus told His followers to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Matt. 28:18-20). He said, "If you are ashamed of Me before men, I will be ashamed of you before My Father" (Mark 8:38). "I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God to those who believe" (Rom. 1:16). When you are full of God, you cannot stop speaking what you have seen and heard (Acts 4:20).

 

I believe it is time for believers to have their feet shod with the gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15). This is not the hour in which the Church needs to do its religious thing in a corner. We need to rise and shine. The true message of Jesus is truly good news. The Bible says, "Beautiful are the feet of them that bring good news" (Is. 52:7). The Good News is that Jesus paid for all the world's sins -- past, present, and future -- on Calvary. Jesus became sin with our sin that we might become righteous with His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. The Good News is that by simply asking Jesus into our hearts, we can become children of God (John 1:12). Those who have received Christ have an obligation of love to spread the Good News. Remember, silence, many times, is NOT golden -- it is yellow. It is time to live unashamed. Every opportunity you get, tell others what Jesus has done for you.

 

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I was impressed by the Lord today about the importance of not giving up. It is so easy to quit when you encounter difficult situations. The human tendency is to have the attitude "What's the use anyway?" and to allow fear instead of faith to dictate your life. The Bible says, "FAITH is the victory that overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4).

 

Everywhere you look at Easter there are eggs. I thought it would be fitting then to tell a story about an egg, a dumb egg -- ME. When I was growing up, my family used to take summer vacations. One summer we took our cabin cruiser to Martha's Vineyard and Nantuckett. My Aunt Margy went on this vacation with us, as usual. I was 12 years old, and she was a fun-loving, adventurous 80-year-old. One day my brother and I were body-surfing at the beach. It was fun to catch the waves and ride them to the shore. While catching a huge wave, I got caught in an undertow and could not breathe. I thought I was going to die. When I finally managed to emerge from the ocean, I decided I was not meant for water ever again -- not even baths! I stayed on the beach after that, while others enjoyed being in the water. My Aunt Margy knew that I was going to miss out on life if I allowed one experience to rob me of a lifetime of fun. She stared at me and said, "You dumb egg! Get back in the water." I defiantly told her, "No." She determinedly rose from her beach blanket and said, "Then I will teach you to body surf!" She started running, as much as an 80-year-old lady could run, to the water. She actually was going to catch a wave and ride it to the shore. I I looked on in horror, as I was sure I was witnessing my Aunt Margy's last ride -- of ANY kind! Miraculously, she caught a large wave and rode it all the way to shore. She smiled and said, "That's the way it's done." I quickly rose and ran to catch a wave. I determined to enjoy life and live it to its fullest.

 

It is funny how an event can be so engraved in your mind. This memory comes to me every time I am tempted to quit in life. Jesus told fishermen who had fished all night and caught nothing to not give up but "launch out to the deep for a catch" (Luke 5:4). They launched out and got a great catch of fish. The Bible says, "Though I fall, I WILL RISE AGAIN" (Micah 7:8). This is not a time for quitting; get back in the game of life and play till you win. Don't be "a dumb egg" -- catch the next wave.

 

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On April 15, Tax Day, I attended my first protest: the Tulsa Tea Party. Approximately 2,500-3,000 were there. Hundreds of gatherings like this one took place around the nation, for Americans to peacefully voice our concern against the way the government is spending money it doesn't have and endangering the financial lives of our children and grandchildren. It is important as a minister and Christian to look at current events and policies and weight them against Biblical standards. I believe as the writer of the book of Hebrews did, that the Word of God helps us to discern between good and evil (Heb. 5:14).

 

Several scriptures have stood out to me during this financial crises. In Habakkuk 2:6-7, the prophet writes, "Woe to him who increases what is not his -- for how long -- and makes himself rich with loans. Will not your creditors rise up suddenly, and those who collect from you awaken? Indeed you will become plunder for them." WOE comes from excessive borrowing. It is God's will for our nation to be the head and not the tail, to be above and not beneath, and to lend to many nations and borrow from none. (See Deut. 28:1-14.) There is a danger when we are looking to nations around the world that don't even like us to buy our "treasures," as the Bible refers to them, and bail us out. America must not become enslaved to other nations because of excessive debt. Proverbs 22:7 states that, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave."

 

I challenge believers to use your faith and to budget to get personally free from the world's system. Aim at becoming debt free. It might mean sacrifice for a season, but it will give way to freedom for a lifetime. Govern your own households well; don't buy things you can't afford; and pay off your debts. If you look to God for help and listen to His voice to guide you, it IS possible for you to experience God's blessings in your finances. It's not that debt is a sin, but it is not God's best; it can be a heavy burden on you. God's Word to this nation and to individual believers is the same: Romans 13:8, which says, "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another."