Scripture
About the same time, four men with leprosy were just outside the gate of Samaria. They said to each other, “Why should we sit here, waiting to die?
~2 Kings 7:4, CEV
Quote
Only those who risk going further find out how far one can go.
~T.S. Eliot
Benhadad of Syria has laid siege to Samaria, the capitol of Israel. The folks inside the wall of the city are starving. Things are so bad that a donkeys head was selling for $350 and the doves dung would bring 25$ for two ounces. It was so bad that mothers were killing their children and eating them. The four leprous men who sat outside the gate were starving also. They lived on the garbage that came over the wall but there was no garbage. One of them speaks up, “What are we doing? Are we just going to sit here and die? Why don’t we throw ourselves on the mercy of the Syrians? At worse, they will put us to death quickly and if we sit here, we are going to die slowly? Why don’t we take the risk? If they were Baptist, they had to vote on it but long story short they decided to take the risk and he paid off big time. The Syrians had gotten spooked and had abandon their camp. They left everything behind including their food supplies. These four starving souls stumbled into a camp filled with goodies.
I’m old but I still hate the ‘status quo,’ the same old, same old. The rut, the routine, the ritual with no life or enthusiasm. What are we doing? I read just a few days back that worship should be exuberant. I decided to look the word up just in case my definition was wrong. Exuberance is being filled with or characterized by a lively energy and excitement. Do you think our worship is exuberant? Humans are creatures of habit and we worship our comfort: we tend to get in ruts. A rut is a grave with the end knocked out. We sing songs but never think about the words. If we sing at all, it is with half a heart or less. I like to change things up just to make people think. We should not expect a different result when we continue to do the same old, same old. There are no guarantees in ministry: everything is a risk. To try something new and fail is better than trying nothing at all. Peter took a risk while the others clung to the comfort of the boat. Yes Peter got wet but he also got a miracle. As the black preacher said, “God can’t get you out if you don’t have the faith to get in.”
Texas lawmakers have passed a bill outlawing “adverse action” against anyone due to donations made to a religious organization. The legislation was nicknamed the “Save Chick-fil-A Bill.”
Texas state Rep. Matt Krause explained the newly passed bill during an interview on the Todd Starnes Radio Show. Click here to listen to the entire podcast.
“Religious liberty is in the free exercise of religion or bedrocks of not only this country but this state,” Krause said. “When we see governments starting to show hostility and infringe on those rights it’s definitely time to speak up.”
The legislation now heads to Governor Greg Abbott’s desk for signature, who has indicated he will sign the measure in a tweet Tuesday.