I spent a couple of hours with my siblings on Saturday at an IHOP in Fountain, CO. This was the place my dad went to almost weekly after church on Sunday. The wait staff knew him well. We all went there as it has been a year since my dad entered into the presence of his Lord Jesus and heard the words, “Well done good and faithful servant.” The Lord even saw fit to give us one of the waitresses who used to serve dad and remembered him well. She expressed that she really misses him. We do as well.
My oldest daughter is posting a tribute to my dad on social media about how my dad, her grandpa, defied the KKK. As an overview, my mom and dad moved to Mississippi in the early 60s, during the “Mississippi Burning” days. There were race riots, drive-by shootings, etc. It was a rough time to be in the South, esp. for those moving there from the North. They moved there with my older sister, and this is where my older brother, myself, and my younger sister were born. As soon as my dad arrived, the KKK sent him a recruitment letter asking him to join their cause. My dad was not one to mince words, and he is a bit sarcastic on top of that. He wrote them back saying he wasn’t sure he had a sheet his size, and then went on to call them a bunch of cowards hiding behind masks, and that God would judge them. A short time after this, a burning cross was ablaze across the street from our house. The sheriff came and told my dad that it was for him, to which my dad replied, “I am honored that they would count me worthy of this gesture.” The sheriff said he would always have my dad’s back.
The KKK continued to threaten my dad and our family the whole time we were there, though I was too young to remember.
My daughter will be posting the whole story, as well as some other features of our family’s move to and time spent in the South, and how God orchestrated the whole thing. It also explains a bit of who I am and why I am the way I am as a son of my father. I loved him so, and as I read the post she wrote, it was hard to keep back the tears. I really miss him.
I was so grateful to be raised by such godly parents. They would not compromise on their firmly held biblical beliefs. And that brings me to what I am reading from Scripture this past week. I have finished Ezekiel, and just finished Daniel this morning, but I want to focus on some passages in Ezekiel. The 10 northern tribes of Israel have already gone into captivity, and the tribes in Judah were in the process of being taken. Their idolatry was rampant and horrendous. And in Ezekiel 10:4 it says that the glory of the Lord rose from the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple.
Don’t let that just slip by. The Priests and Levites were still going through the motions of worship, and it does not seem that they realized that the glory had moved. A short time later the glory moved from the threshold to above the east gate of the temple. It’s almost as if the Lord is saying, “I’m leaving. Does anyone see this? Does anyone care?” And apparently no one did. They all just kept going on as usual. I mean, who needs the glory of the Lord getting in the way? We have got this. We know how to worship.
And then at the end of Ezekiel 11, it says the glory went from within the city to the top of the mountain to the east. It’s almost as if the glory of the Lord was looking back and asking, “Does anyone realize I am leaving? I’m almost gone now.” And then He was gone. But the Priests and Levites continued on as if nothing had changed. That amazes me to some extent. How could any church not see when the glory of the Lord is gone? But then I watch some of the heresy and blasphemy of some of so called churches. If you want to check them out, go to YouTube and search the “Sparkle Creed.” Look up where there are churches who are saying that we didn’t need a sacrifice from Jesus (This comes from a church in Texas where a US Senate candidate goes). There are MANY examples of this today where “pastors” are denying the very Bible that they “preach from.” How did it get so bad?
It starts with compromise. It believes that our culture should interpret the Bible rather than the Bible interpret the culture. It is when we believe WE know better than God on how to run our lives. I mean, look at all those archaic rules God set up about the roles of men and women. It’s time to get with the times. We aren’t like that any more. We know better. But the thing is, and I know this is controversial, if you have a disagreement with what it says in the Bible, I’ll give you one guess as to who is wrong. And it isn’t the Bible.
As I read through it twice a year, it becomes more and more clear that I am a fallen creature in a fallen world who knows essentially nothing about who God is and what he expects. It is ONLY because He has revealed Himself to us that we can know anything about Him. And when we start to presume that we know anything, or worse, that we know better than God, that’s when we get into trouble. And when a whole church assembly has that attitude, that’s when the glory can depart and no one notice. It’s like a frog in the pot of water and the heat keeps getting turned up. The frog just stays there and ends up boiled.
I remember the “old days” when no one would ever even THINK about having sports practices on any other days but Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. That was a given. There’s no practice or games on Wednesday because that was church night, and most churches had a Wednesday night service. Saturday was family day when families had time to get together, work around the house, have conversations around the table. Many businesses closed early on Saturday for that reason. And there was absolutely NO games or practices on a Sunday. That was the Lord’s Day. In fact, only essential and emergency services were open on that day. There were what were called “Blue Laws” that made it illegal to do certain business on Sundays. This was not just for church either, but to have a day of rest for certain employees and businesses. Which sounds a lot like a biblical idea. Everyone went to the grocery store on Friday or Saturday because no one was open on Sunday. That was a day of rest.
But look at today. Youth games are mostly on Sundays. That’s when everyone has the most time, because, who goes to church anymore? The big question is, are we better off today without the Blue Laws? Has the glory of the Lord departed and no one cares? Something to think about anyway. Maybe getting back to some of that within our families would not be a bad idea. Try to limit your shopping and running around on Sundays, and focus on time with the Lord and your families. See if that makes any difference in your relationships. Just an idea. Maybe the good old days had some good stuff after all.
Amen
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