Away With Christianity! Crucify It!

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: "He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him."'"¹

"In about 1930, Nikolai Bukharin journeyed from Moscow to Kiev. His mission was to address a huge assembly; his subject, atheism. For a solid hour, he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity, hurling every argument and ridicule he could think of. At last he was finished and viewed what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men's faith.

"'Are there any questions?' Bukharin demanded.

"A solitary man arose and asked permission to speak. He mounted the platform and moved close to the Bolshevik. The audience was breathlessly silent as the man surveyed them first to the right, then to the left.

"At last he shouted the ancient Orthodox greeting, 'CHRIST IS RISEN!'

"The vast assembly arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche, 'HE IS RISEN INDEED!'"²

Today here in America at least it isn't Communists who are screaming "Away with Christianity! Crucify it! Crucify it!" It is some of our radical fellow so-called progressive Americans. So let those of us who name the name of Christ—not just on Good Friday but every day of the year—by our life and testimony rise to the occasion and stand up as one to claim: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for your great love sacrifice to the world in giving your Son, Jesus, to die in my place on the cross to pay the penalty for all my sins so that you could grant me forgiveness and give to me the gift of eternal life. Because you died for me please give me the courage to live always for you in all ways regardless of the circumstances. Please make my life a living testimony and powerful witness for all you have done for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen.

Written by Dick Innes

The Shepherd's Voice

The Shepherd's Voice

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."1

I read about a shepherd from the Scottish highlands who, whenever he went out to take care of his sheep, would take his young daughter with him. The thing she enjoyed most of all was hearing her father call the sheep who always came to him. As the years passed she became a beautiful young woman and went to live in one of Scotland's great cities—Edinburg or Glasgow—to make a life of her own. At first she wrote home to her parents ever week, but in time her letters dropped off and soon she stopped writing.

Rumors filtered back that somehow she became involved with some unsavory characters. On one occasion when one of the boys from her hometown ran into her by accident, she totally ignored him. When her father heard this, he went to the city to look for her.

For days on end he looked for her. He looked in the slums, rows of houses, markets, taverns, and everywhere in between to no avail. After all of this searching he became very discouraged with the thought that he had lost his daughter to the evil city.

When leaving to return home, he remembered how his daughter always loved to hear the voice of the shepherd calling out to the sheep. "So he turned around and on this quest motivated by his sorrow and his love, he began to stalk the streets. His voice rang out the shepherds call. The citizens of the city all looked at him as if he had lost his wits. It wasn't too long as he walked the streets of one of the degraded neighborhoods that inside one of those houses, his daughter sitting among the vermin who had led her astray heard his voice. With great astonishment on her face, she heard that call of the voice of the shepherd, the voice of her father calling out to her. She leaped up and rushed out to the street and ran into the arms of that old shepherd, her father. It was then that he took her back home to the highlands of Scotland and brought her back to God and to decency and modesty."2

I wonder if any of our readers today can identify with this farm girl in that you have wandered away from God. If so, I urge you to stand still long enough to examine your life and listen with your heart to the call of Jesus, God's Shepherd Son, who is lovingly calling you to return home to him and again follow in his way.

1. John 10:27 (NKJV).
2. Adapted from a sermon by Philip Harrelson, "The Voice of the Shepherd." Cited on SermonCentral.

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Dick Innes

A Boy, a Brick, and a Doctor

A Boy, a Brick, and a Doctor

"Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you."¹

In "Character Counts" Michael Josephson writes, "Consider the parable of a doctor driving through a poor part of town. He was in a hurry, so he ignored a young boy who tried to flag him down. But, as he slowed for a traffic light, his car was hit by a brick. The man got out of the car and screamed, 'You'll go to jail for this!'

"The boy cried, 'Take me to jail, but first please call someone to help my mom. She's on the floor in our apartment and I think she's dying. We have no phone and I couldn't get anyone to stop—I didn't know what else to do.'

"Filled with shame, the doctor rushed to the woman's aid and saved her life with CPR. Of course, he didn't call the police, and he made sure the boy was taken care of as his mom was taken to the hospital.

"When the doctor got home and told his wife, she said, 'Well, that dent will cost you $1,000 to fix.'"

"'No, it won't,' he said. 'I'm not fixing the dent. I'm going to leave it as it is to remind me that not everyone in need has a brick.'"²

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to be sensitive to the needs of people with whom I come in contact every day. I am available, please make me usable, and use me today to be 'as Jesus' in some way to every life I touch. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."

1. James 1:27 (NLT).
2. Michael Josephson, Character Counts.

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By Dick Innes

The Bull in The Dog

Dogged Persistence

 

"It is God himself in his mercy, who has given us this wonderful work [of telling his Good News to others], and so we never give up."¹

I once read about a man who loved to hunt, and bought two topnotch bird dogs. He kept and trained them in his large back yard.

Down the street lived a vicious-looking bulldog who liked to crawl under the fence to attack the two setters. Day after day he would come, and the two setters would tear the bulldog apart, until he could take no more and slip away with his tail between his legs.

But, each day, for weeks, he kept returning. And each day would go home whining in pain, licking his wounds.

After several weeks something interesting happened. The setters had only to hear the bulldog coming and quickly scurried into the basement of their owner's home. They had had enough, even though they had beaten the stuffing out of the pesky bulldog time and time and time again.

The bulldog's dogged persistence made him the winner. Determination, persistence, hanging in when others check out—that's what makes a winner a winner.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to give up on and let go of those things in my life that are not in harmony with your will, and to never give up on those things that are. And give me the wisdom to know the difference. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name."

1. 2 Corinthians 4:1 (TLB)(NLT).

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By Dick Innes