DAY 169

SIGN ON

Nehemiah 10 & 11 and Acts 4:1-22

Yesterday’s post was a short one. I was “toast”, my brain just couldn’t develop very much the texts I was reading…and I knew it, and it was frustrating. I also knew that I just needed to let God do what He would do and not become overly focused on me and my efforts.

The texts almost develop themselves. Both Old and New are compact enough that they are easier for me than others have been. The shortness of Ezra and now Nehemiah are a welcome respite from the longer history books I have read. I am somewhat free of “who’s the king and which country are in we in?”

In Nehemiah the people make a written covenant with God, stating that they will keep the Law. The seriousness of this act is highlighted by the fact that the leaders who placed their seal upon the document, and all the leaders inside and outside of Jerusalem who agree are listed. I know the list is long, but the point is one of removing any doubt about who has signed on to follow the Lord. They did not do this in a vacuum. There were people around who were not pleased that the walls were rebuilt and that these folks were following God…it was not politically correct.

“Signing on:” it is pretty clear Peter and John have. Yesterday we read about the moment where they healed the lame man. Now, of course, they are getting in trouble for doing so with the religious of the day because they used Jesus’ name. The leaders of the council don’t know what to do because the “man who had been lame” is standing right next to them (smart move on their part). So after they get scolded by the leaders they are told to stop using Jesus’ name…they say NO!

Today people don’t want to know what you and I have “signed on” for; people today prefer political correctness and a politeness that waters down belief; they do not want us to use the Name of Jesus. At times I am asked to say an opening prayer for some sort of event. I have at times, before I pray, thanked people for inviting me to do so, and that I would be praying to God as I know Him – not to offend them, but to be true to how I understand God. Every time that has received a positive response.

Now I am not saying I am looking for “man’s approval.” I am merely suggesting there may be a way to actually let the Name of Jesus be offered and people actually hear and receive it. There is a sort of Christianity that can be so obnoxious that, in our public behavior we can drive people away, and then there is that sort of Christian witness that is so politically correct it is as if Jesus has been rendered irrelevant. At the end of the day we have all “signed on and signed up” for something – for some it is political correctness – for us, let it be for God, and let others come to know Him through His Son.