Frankly, scarlet.

I have been reading Charles Spurgeon again (Hey! Don't roll your eyes at me!). This book is titled Sermons on Women of the Bible. Self-explanatory.

The one I read today is about Rahab. As I read it I noticed many great points that Spurgeon made and thought I would simply share some of those. There is no marvelous, enlightening conclusion here, just some things that I felt like throwing your way. If it bores you, and it shouldn't 'cause it's about Jesus, just do like me and trust that it will meet someone at their need.

The sermon is titled, "Rahab: The Scarlet Line in the Window." Enjoy.

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She was told to tie the scarlet thread in the window, and she did it; there was exact obedience. It was not merely a thread, a line, but the scarlet line. She did not substitute a blue or a green or a white line. The order was this scarlet line, not another, and she took that particular one. Obedience to God will be very much seen is small matters. Love always delights to attend to the little things, and thereby makes the little things great. I have heard of a Puritan who was charged with being too precise, but his answer was excellent, "I serve a precise God."

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I am not sure that the spies meant by it that the scarlet thread should be the same to Rahab as the blood on the lintel and on the two side posts had been to Israel in Egypt, but it does strike me as being very probable. Those two men were so acquainted with the Passover, and the sprinkling of the blood, and the consequent preservation of all in this house, that it was very natural that they should give Rahab a sign akin to the token which God had ordained for His people Israel when His angel passed them by in the day of doom. Therefore, trifling as the color of the cord might seem, it had a deep significance; and even so, commands of God, which are little in themselves, are great in symbolic teaching. Great errors have come into the Christian church by the alteration of simple points in God's commands; and, therefore, since a little thing in the sign may involve a great thing in the substance, it becomes us to cultivate exact obedience.

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I believe that, when the house and the church pull together, things are right; but when religion is made to be a thing of the church, and not of the house, when the priests are looked to instead of the father, when men cease to be priests in their own houses, then the very sinews of vital godliness have been cut. If I had to give up all weekday services, and shut up every place of worship in Christendom from Sunday to Sunday, I would prefer to do that rather than lose the morning and evening gatherings of devout households worshiping God.

I wonder how many houses represented by you come up to Matthew Henry's third standard. He says, "Those who pray, do well. Those that read the Scriptures and pray, do better. Those that read the Scriptures and pray and sing, do best of all."

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I notice that there are other things besides family prayer which should be like the scarlet line in the house. For instance, there should be, in every Christian house, a scarlet line put up in the selecting of the company that is kept. The Christian should carefully select his friends and associates. He should say, "He that tells lies shall not tarry in my sight." As for the drunkard and the swearer and those who use unchaste language, let them be what they may, they shall not visit within our doors, we will not tolerate them. If we are masters of our household, we try to find our children friends whom we should like to be their companions in eternity. Some parents introduce their children to young men and women who happen to be "very respectable," as they say, but who are worldly and ungodly, and thus they do much to ruin them. It should not be so. Hang the scarlet line over the door, and if they do not love that scarlet line, religious conversation will before long make the place too hot for them.

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One thing I would like to observe is that from the time of Rahab, around 1400 B.C. (give or take), the color of scarlet has been associated with prostitution, sexual immorality, adultery, etc.; things like The Scarlet Letter, "Red Light" district and so on. But I like what Spurgeon wrote about its relation to the Passover. We think of scarlet as symbolic of sin, when maybe we should think of it as symbolic of salvation.

In His Steps

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps. --1 Peter 2:21

"What I am going to propose now is something which ought not to appear unusual or at all impossible of execution. Yet I am aware that it will be so regarded by a large number, perhaps, of the members of this church. But in order that we may have a thorough understanding of what we are considering, I will put my proposition very plainly, perhaps bluntly. I want volunteers from the First Church who will pledge themselves, earnestly and honestly for an entire year, not to do anything without first asking the question, 'What would Jesus do?' And after asking that question, each one will follow Jesus as exactly as he knows how, no matter what the result may be."

"Our motto will be, 'What would Jesus do?' Our aim will be to act just as He would if He was in our places, regardless of immediate results. In other words, we propose to follow Jesus' steps as closely and as literally as we believe He taught His disciples to do."

Rev. Henry Maxwell, from Charles M. Sheldon's In His Steps, 1896.

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In preparing for tonight's lesson about passionate humility, I thought alot about what Christ-like humility would look like if we really got it right in our lives. I remembered reading this book several years ago and almost laughing aloud when I learned that the "WWJD" phenomenon was recycled from over 100 years ago. So much for turning up our noses at the "old ways."

I think we over-complicate things. It isn't so much about wondering,"What would Jesus do?" I think it's more like, "What Jesus did do." I don't think there is any great mystery in determining how to best handle a situation the way Jesus wants us to handle it. The Bible and the Holy Spirit plainly communicate to us how we should behave (oh, behave!) as His children. The complicated part comes when we put ourselves in the way and try to make the situation work out the way we believe it should. That's where humility comes in handy.

Humility is such a visible attribute. You can literally see it on someone. And those are usually the people that are the most pleasant to be around. You can feel God's Spirit when you are in their presence, and you know that their words are backed up by the way the live. I think that's where we go wrong so often. We talk a good game of Christian living and we wear the masks well, but it stops there. Our real lives portray worldly desires and actions, filthy language and selfish motives, and hateful, prideful attitudes. As the old saying goes, "Actions speak louder." I doubt anyone will be introduced to Christ through a false witness. They have to see us living out our faith.

Jesus' examples of love and humility are the only things that will show the world that we are truly set apart, that we are different. I challenged the high school kids tonight with the same challenge that was set before me this past week during my lesson preparation. That is to put away the motives and self-seeking attitudes that our culture teaches and focus on Christ's way of doing things, allow God's brokenness to transform our hearts into something usable, and show Him to the world.

Have a great Monday.