I Before E Except After C

God means every Christian to be effective, to make a difference in the actual records and results of Christian work. God put each of us here to be a power. There is not one of us but is an essential wheel of the machinery and can accomplish all that God calls us to.  A.B. Simpson

Do you remember the things they played on TV on Saturday’s when you were a kid?  These were little songs they used to help you learn grammar or the Constitution.  There was “Conjunction Junction, What’s Your Function?” and “I’m Just a Bill Up on Capitol Hill”.  They used these really cheesy cartoons to signify the bill climbing up the hill. 

When I was in school one of the things that stayed with me was something they used to help you remember when to use “i” before “e”.  There was the rule that you used “i” before “e” except after “c”. 

When I applied this little rule to our Christian life if goes something like this.  If I put “i” before “e” (eternal life), my life will not reflect what God wants to save us from.  It is only after ‘C” (Christ) that I can come to God redeemed.  What this does is it moves “I” to its proper place “last”.  If I don’t have Christ at the top of my schedule and daily life, what do I have to look forward to in the next life? 

This is the time of year for graduations.  I noticed there was this young man doing the commencement speech at his high school.  The school had banned religious prayer at school events and his speech had to be pre-approved by the administration.      

Upon taking the stage, the valedictorian explained to his fellow students that although he had a prepared speech which had been approved by the administration, he instead was choosing to say the Lord's Prayer as a message to his classmates.

"Those that we look up to, they have helped carve and mold us into the young adults that we are today," Costner told the crowd, adding "I'm so glad that both of my parents led me to the Lord at a young age."

"And I think most of you will understand when I say […]" Costner continued, pausing briefly before beginning the Lord's Prayer.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name," Costner recited, going on to say the Lord's Prayer in its entirety.

We have become a complacent society.  It has become less important that we as Christians show others “Whose” we are and instead we are becoming more politically correct.  If someone complains about “In God We Trust” being on the dollar bill will we submit to changing it to “In the world we Trust”?  Our world is in trouble when we can’t speak about Him in open assemblies or proclaim Him from the mountaintop. When will we say enough is enough and ignore the consequences of following God?  Those consequences being worldly ridicule.  When we lay aside the pursuit to be like the world we might just make a stand as this young man did for God’s Kingdom.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I admire the young man who stood up for You to an administration who wouldn’t.  I pray that I too will stand when others speak against You.  You are my Heavenly Father whom I adore.  Give me the strength to take a stand for You in a world that desperately needs a Saviour.  I praise Your Holy Name above all men. 
 
Scripture:  Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king.  Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”  Daniel 3:13-18