KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
Ashamed
THE LIBRARIAN OF an elementary school was instructed to remove Bibles from her shelves of learning (yes this actually happened)...
Accordingly, the word of God was escorted to an obscure spot in the back of the building. Overhearing a little boy's wish for a Bible, this same librarian gave him one of the copies she was forced to hide. Later, the Bible was returned by an adult and the librarian was severely reprimanded.
She could have displayed the Islamic Koran, the thoughts of Confucius, or Carl Sagan's Cosmos. But, the Bible? "God forbid." (Excuse me for mentioning God).
THOUGHTS: We live in a nation that is slowly outlawing Christianity and such is no wonder. People do not wish to be told what to do or how to do what they chose to do. With the Bible, we have the "word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15) but, far too many want the truth to be a subjective pipe cleaner they can twist and bend at will. With the Bible we have absolute truth ( John 17:17), but our post-modern world makes everything relative (truth is what they want it to be). With the Bible our lives are regulated by commands ( 1 John 5:3), but today's popular path demands free will. Restraint? No sir. "You have rights" (unless you're a believer in Christ). "I am not ashamed of the gospel," Paul said (Rom. 1:16) in a culture that was also anti-Christian. To the Romans, Jesus was a "criminal" ( Luke 23:32, 38), to the Greeks a "curio" ( Acts 17:18-21), and to the Jews "one cursed" (Gal. 3:13). But, to Paul, he was the dynamic by which God saves (1 Cor. 1:18; 2:1-2). So, like Paul, let's stand up for our faith, be unpopular--possibly hated ( Luke 6:22-23). This is still the "Land of the free"...at least for now. (Dan Winkler)
KneEmail: "I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly; indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You Yourself know" (Psm. 40:9; cf. Rom. 1:16).