BBD 06.29.07 Ring that Bell
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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06.29.07
Ring that Bell!
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. - Revelation
12:11.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the
Greek. - Romans 1:16.
You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be
hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
in heaven. - Matthew 5:14-16.
A church in Avonhead, New Zealand has been told to be quiet, in effect to
shut up! At least their bell has to stop ringing and it has been doing its'
ringing for 50 years. As regular as clockwork the bell of St. Christopher's
Church has been ringing for 33 seconds at 7:45am, 9:00am, and 10:30am every
Sunday morning for years and years. A neighbor complained about the noise
and the Christchurch City Council environmental effects team investigated
and found that the bell did exceed the provisions for noise in the Resource
Management Act. Archdeacon Mike Hawke was shocked by the complaint and
responded by saying, "This church has been here for 50 years. When people
come to live here, they need to be aware of what is around them."
We will soon have a tornado siren system in our little town, which can also
be used if there is another type of civil emergency. After reading the story
about the church in New Zealand, I think that if we could test those sirens
every Sunday morning at about 7 or 8:00am that it might help more people
wake up in time for church.
There is a continual pressure from the non-Christian world to muzzle the
witness of the Christian world. The church bells may be a nuisance to some
but as the archdeacon pointed out the church has been there for 50 years.
The bells of the church are a witness, a reminder every Sunday of Christ
Jesus. Here in the USA there has been over the last couple of decades
increasing attacks on the symbols of Christianity from the Ten Commandments
to nativity scenes and even Christmas trees. There is a pressure exerted by
the non-Christian and nominal Christian world to silence or cover up any
openly Christian witness.
Sometimes the pressure against our Christian witness is very subtle and even
sneaky. I distribute free devotional booklets in several convenience stores
in the area. In one store, I have noticed that my rack holding the booklets
has been consigned to a less desirable position where it is frequently
covered in dust. Over the last few weeks, I have noticed that in addition
the rack is nearly always hidden by something placed over the top of it that
blocks the view of what is in it. Of course, the result is no one sees the
booklets and even if they did they probably would not want one that is
covered in dust and grime.
Have you ever gone into a club or bar/pub and attempted to hand out Gospel
tracts and talk to people about the Lord? I have visited some a few times
with an evangelist and you can usually feel the atmosphere becoming charged
with hostility. I actually thought we might be attacked in one bar but we
escaped before the situation got completely out of hand. In another bar the
atmosphere was similar, however, the owner allowed us to put up a poster
promoting the revival we were having at the time and seemed happy that we
had come.
We must not allow the vocal opposition from the enemy to make us be ashamed
of the Gospel. We must not allow the lawsuits to intimidate us into hiding
our Gospel light where no one can see it. We can only overcome the enemy by
continuing to let our light shine, and by courageously sharing the Gospel
and our testimony of the Lord even when all may appear to be against us. We
must stand up, and speak up for the Gospel of Jesus Christ no matter how
hard the enemy tries to make us stop. Let that light shine! Share that
testimony! Ring that bell!
Copyright © 2007. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Prayer Requests: Please pray for Malachi a young boy with cancer undergoing
chemo this week. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on
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