Looking Down The Barrel of a Shotgun

A story is told of a strange piece of art.  This art piece consisted of a shotgun fixed to a chair which was set to fire sometime within the next hundred years.  Strangely, people lined up to sit across from art piece and stare down the barrel of the loaded gun.  Even though the gun could go off at any moment, people were gambling that it wouldn’t fire on them.

While it is unclear if this specific event actually occurred or not, people most certainly gamble with their lives in very real and precarious situations, the most dangerous situation of all being sin.  People foolishly look down the shotgun barrel of sin and hope they will walk away unscathed.  The problem is that they either do not care about the consequences or have forgotten about those who sat in the same “chair” and ruined their lives, some even their eternities.

When we walk in sin (1 John 1:5-7), we are sitting in a chair and looking down sin’s smoking but loaded shotgun barrel.  We are gambling with our lives and our eternal destinations.  Scariest of all, life could end at any moment.  James 4:14 says, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”  Sitting in this chair across from sin is the most perilous chance we could ever take.

The reality is that we all struggle with sin, but maybe this illustration can help us to have a better perspective about the risk we take when we live in sin.  No sin is worth the gamble of eternal punishment.  We all want to go to heaven, so let’s stay out of the chair, away from sin, and walk with the Lord (1 John 1:7).

Picking The World’s Strongest Lock

In 1818, a man by the name of Jeremiah Chubb patented an extraordinary lock called the “Detector.”  Chubb’s “Detector” locks were considered to be the strongest in the world.  What made this lock so impregnable was a unique anti-picking lever that tripped the bolt if a thief lifted any of the lock’s six levers too high.  Many tried to defeat this lock and failed.  One notorious picklock was even offered a pardon if he could crack a “Detector” lock.  After trying and failing he testified that “these locks were the most secure he had ever met with, and did not think it possible for any man to pick or open them with any false instruments whatever” (Slate.com).  Not even the master locksmiths who made the locks were able to pick it. 

One day Charles Hobbs, an American locksmith, showed up and boldly promised that he could pick the lock.  Several were intrigued by the invitation and gathered into a small room containing a vault and a “Detector” lock.  Hobbs produced a few small tools and began working on the locked vault.  After twenty-five minutes, all in the room heard a click and the Chubb lock was opened.  A man asked Hobbs to do it again.  It only took seven minutes to repeat the task.  With this, the world’s strongest lock had been beaten for the first time.

No matter how advanced locks become, it always seems like there is someone who finds a way to break in.  There are some locks, however, that no person has ever been able to open.  These aren’t physical locks but ones kept deep inside ourselves.  These are the locks hidden away in our hearts that contain terrible sins and secrets.

Even though some sins will never be let out of people’s personal vaults, this doesn’t mean they will remain secret.  Our God is not ignorant of the sins we hide or commit in secret.  As Hebrews 4:13 clearly reveals, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”  Even more terrifying is the fact that all transgressions will one day be exposed.  Luke 8:17 says, “For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

A day is coming when no secrets will be locked up inside of us.  It would be incredibly wise of us to open up our sin vaults and get them cleaned out through repentance (2 Peter 3:9; Acts 2:38).  Certainly it’s better to clean out our secret vaults now than to have them opened up by God on the Judgment Day (Revelation 20:11-15; 1 Corinthians 4:5).

"And Matthew (The Tax Collector)"

Neal Pollard

It is interesting to me that Matthew, who lists himself eighth among the twelve apostles, adds a qualifier to his name different from any notation he makes about the others (10:1-4).  He identifies one as a traitor, gives an ethnic detail about another, tells us that there are two pairs of brothers chosen by our Lord, gives surnames, nicknames, and tells us James is the son of Alphaeus.  Yet, only after his own name does he specify occupation.  We know there are fishermen in the group.  At least one professional nationalist stood among the chosen.  Perhaps one was in the finance business.  Strangely, however, he mentions only his trade.

By Matthew's own account, tax collectors had no qualms hanging out with sinners (9:10-11).  Luke records at least one known for unscrupulous, unethical behavior in that occupation (19:1ff; cf. 3:13).  In fact, Matthew repeatedly lumps together tax collectors, prostitutes, and pagans (11:19; 18:17; etc.).  That is apparently how they were seen, especially by the scribes and Pharisees.  Yet, Matthew does not hide the kind of work he did before Jesus called him.  He openly lists it as the thing that distinguished him.

Did he do this to give hope to people who wrestled with the guilt of their own sins, who would know what he overcame to follow Jesus and see him as an example of Jesus' power?  Did he do this to show that even he, who picked to be an apostle and to write one of the four sacred records of Jesus' life, had a sinful past (cf. Rom. 3:23)?  Did he do this to show the unity possible in Christ?  How much interaction did he and Simon the zealot have in fulfilling Jesus' ministry?  Did they ever "door knock" together?  How far apart were they when reclining to eat together?  A Jewish nationalist would not have had deep, inherent appreciation for a guy collecting taxes to enrich the Roman coffers.  

What is clear is that Matthew tells everyone what he did and who he was.  Yet, what he became through Christ is what is most important.  He is still faithfully serving after Christ's resurrection and ascension (Acts 1:13).  He had a role in doing the initial preaching of the gospel of Christ (Acts 2:14).  

What about Joe the alcoholic?  Or Ted the foul-mouthed?  Or Susie the liar?  If they repent and obey Jesus, can they find a useful place in the kingdom, too?  We already know the answer.  The Lord wants us to believe it!  

Nightmare Vacation Cruise

4,200 people thought they were embarking on a luxurious cruise in the Gulf of Mexico.  Those high hopes came crashing down when a fuel leak led to a fire in the engine room.  Besides crippling the engines, the fire also disabled the ships power and support systems.  As a result, the freshwater systems and sewage systems were put out of action.  People soon had to deal with backed up plumbing, overflowing toilets, food shortages, and rooms without heat or air conditioning.  Some even had to sleep on sewage soaked carpets and ate meals consisting of candy and ketchup on buns (New York Times).  No one could wash themselves and people were starting to get sick.  Thankfully, some of the support systems were restored partially, but the boat was still left crippled, stranded, and drifting for five days.

Finally help arrived.  Several tugboats came to pull the ship back to port.  Unfortunately, one of the towlines snapped, causing further delays.  With high winds also working against them, it ended up taking four tugboats to bring the ship back to port.  The tragedy wasn’t quite over for some though.  Upon arriving on land, the passengers were provided with buses to shuttle them back to certain locations.  One of the buses heading to the New Orleans airport ended up breaking down on the highway.  Once they finally reached the airport, the flight they were scheduled to take was delayed because of an electrical failure (New York Daily News). This ended up being one of those trips were almost everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

It’s safe to say this vacation didn’t quite go as planned.  People had expected a fun and relaxing getaway, but ended up in a nightmare.  Whether it came about because of negligence or coincidence, all it took was one little leaky fuel line to cripple the “900-foot long, 101,509 gross ton” Triumph cruise ship (Wikipedia).

It’s ironic that a massive operation can come to a screeching halt because of one small problem. This can be seen in most parts of life, the most dangerous example being in our spiritual lives.  An alcoholic is born by just having a sip.  A drug addict gets hooked by just trying it once.  A habitual liar starts with a little white lie.  A family is quickly torn apart by adultery because a thought was at one time entertained.

We are warned in Scripture to never “give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:27).  We are reminded, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough” (Galatians 5:9).  Just a small amount of sin can grow to destroy individuals, families, and entire congregations.  It is vital that we destroy even the smallest sins that have a grasp on us.  Our salvation could depend on it.

A World Of Hurt

Neal Pollard

Typhoon Bopha is the latest example of a natural disaster striking a third-world nation.  Many countries in this world struggle in a subsistent lifestyle as it is, and the slightest adversities, much less major catastrophes, further undermine a people who live at the financial edge.  Most countries where I have traveled are such nations, filled with those who are literally concerned with having their "daily bread" (Lk. 11:3) or "food and covering" (1 Tim. 6:8).  The Middle East is riddled with violence and political uprising.  Nations like Mexico are impacted by anarchical drug lords.  But, despite the reality of earthquakes and storms, revolution, and political corruption, the billions of people on our planet are most threatened by the oldest problem of all--sin.  Famine-stricken children rightly pull at our heartstrings, as we look at bloated stomach and sunken eyes.  That is because their suffering is visible, observable by the naked eye.

The richest people in western nations like ours down to the poorest people in urban slums around the world are all besieged by an invisible plague.  That plague destroys souls. It leads to an eternity spent apart from God in a place words cannot adequately depict. Even if those in the world cannot feel it, the hurt is no less real.

The Red Cross and other international relief societies have nothing on their planes and trucks to remedy this ill, unless someone is carrying a Bible.  It reveals the "balm of Gilead" (cf. Jer. 8:22), the cure of the Great Physician (cf. Mk. 2:17), and the help of the spiritually sick (1 Cor. 11:30). It offers the Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35) and the Water of Life (Jn. 4:11; Rev. 7:17).  It offers the way to the Father's house (Jn. 14:2,6), a place where the security is unbeatable (Rev. 21:27).  God relies on us to get spiritual relief to the billions of sin-sick and those held captive by the devil (2 Tim. 2:26).  But it begins by our caring that the lost are lost.  Until that matters to us, we will remain oblivious to their need (and our own).