Jewels From JudySunday, November 23 2003
We Must Get Bibles Back In Schools! In November of 1997, I had a very disturbing dream that involved problems we were facing with the school system and reflected the true dilemma my family was facing in public schools at that time. What I remember about the dream was that everyone was blaming my child for having difficulty learning in a closed environment. It was one of those nondescript dreams where I knew there was a battle but I had no idea how exactly to fight. Most tactile learners face this challenge and instead of incorporating hands-on learning techniques, they strongly recommended drugging my young student. So it is no surprise that in this dream no one would help, they would only point their fingers and blame. This hostile dream stemmed from that very frustration. When I awoke from the dream I sat straight up in bed and in a loud voice proclaimed, "WE MUST GET BIBLES BACK IN SCHOOLS!" A voice spoke up and said, "That's impossible." Then I heard in my spirit, "What's impossible for man is possible with God." Over the years I had prayed to understand this dream. It had such an impact on me, yet I did not know what to do about it. I did not know if I were to start a ministry whose work was to get Bibles in school or what. I asked other Christians who worked in high schools or worked with youth how I could do this. None knew. I asked Christian speakers who are allowed in the schools for assemblies how this could be done. None knew. I asked other parents. None knew. I asked pastors. None knew. So it seemed this was one of those things that God was leaving as a mystery. Do you know that no matter how complicated your problem is - God's answer is always simple? Let me say that again just in case you quickly read over it. No matter how complicated your problem is - God's answer is always simple. One morning the answer came to me in an instant and I said out loud, "The answer is so simple!" It was crystal clear. I hadn't been able to come up with the solution because I was trying to solve a spiritual problem with a physical answer! If we are going to fight something in the spirit we have to use spiritual weapons. The Bible tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not natural, but that we have God's mighty power to demolish strongholds of the enemy. (2 Co 10:4, 5) The word also tells us in James 1:22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. I believe a big part of our problem is that we - the church at large - have forgotten who we are in Christ, and we have forgotten our mission in life! That or else we have never really known who we are and what our mission is. To find the answer as to how to get Bibles back into schools, we must look for the answer in the Word, and we must realize what our mission in life is. Without vision - the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18) It is imperative that we UNDERSTAND WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST in order for us to 'get Bibles' anywhere. Otherwise, it doesn't matter anyway! If we are all fractioned and divided then there is no battle. We have already lost! 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans (unbelievers) that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us. (Emphasis mine) This tells us that at one time we weren't a nation, but now we are a nation to God. Once, we didn't have mercy, but now we do. Then we are urged not to get tangled up in the sin that surrounds us in this world because we are not of it. What this actually means is that our actions will be very foreign to many because we are of another kingdom - the Kingdom of God. We are to reflect His love. People don't understand God's love. But we are to live in such a way in front of unbelievers that even if we are accused of doing wrong, that one day they'll see the truth and they'll give God glory! In the days of the early church, when Peter wrote this, people were defined by their race. There were the Hebrews, Romans, Egyptians, Asians, Ethiopians, Samarians, Greeks, and so on. But when peoples of all races came together as One Body with Christ being their Head - their Ruler - there was a dilemma. What were they to be called? They were many races under One King. So Peter reveals here that we are a HOLY NATION. We are a nationality. Dictionary defines NATIONALITY: "The status of belonging to a specific nation by origin, birth, or naturalization." (Are we not BORN AGAIN by God's Spirit?) "A people with a common origin, tradition, and often language." (Don't we often use terms and language we read in Scripture to talk to one another? The only way that we can 'fight' segregation and prejudice is by the perfect work of the Cross of Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul teaches: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (See Gal 3:28.) 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. I want you to see something very important here. We are called Christ's AMBASSADORS!!!!! Do you know what an honor that is - to be called an ambassador for Christ? An ambassador is an agent of the highest rank sent to represent a figurehead like a king, a president, or a ruler as its long-term representative. Our being an ambassador for God is a life-long mission and is a huge part of our identity in Christ Jesus! What is our mission as an ambassador of Christ? This Scripture is telling us that God has committed to us the word of reconciliation - to teach others about God's love and forgiveness on the Cross! How much good would it really do to have "The Good Book" sitting on the shelf in a school library collecting dust? If people have no reason to pick it up - if they don't see it working for you - then does it really matter if we have it in schools or not? Unfortunately, many Bibles are sitting in the homes of 'church-people' gathering dust there too!!! As you can clearly see, our problem is not a physical one - it is a spiritual one. We are each called to be such a spokesperson for GOD!!! Please, understand what I am saying here! It is about our being God's hands and feet on this earth carrying out His will here. We have to stop looking in the natural. We have to stop looking at our abilities! If we walk in our own strength, then we will fall flat on our face as an ambassador of Christ because we not representing Christ and His greatness when we walk on our own. We are NOT to REP-resent Jesus - but we are to RE-PRESENT JESUS. Present HIM, again and again, the glory and greatness of God. Present His ways. Present His word. Present His will - on this earth as it is in heaven! We are to present His unconditional love, His peace, His joy, His way. One day I was walking through my room and caught my reflection in the mirror. Suddenly, in an instant, I understood the answer to getting Bibles back in schools. This is the Scripture that came into my mind: 2 Cor 3:2, 3 You yourselves are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men. Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone (or paper) but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. Do you see the answer? We are the epistles being read. Everywhere we go we are being read. So how do we get Bibles back in schools - or anywhere for that matter? We become ambassadors for Christ and living epistles read of all men. That is how. We don't fight this in the natural. We FIRST ask the Father to receive Christ Jesus as our Lord - We have a personal relationship with Him and we get Him IN us by His Holy Spirit. If you have been a Christian for a while, let me ask you something - what do people read when they see you? Do read about the transformational power of the Living God? Do they see the love and mercy of Jesus? Do they see humility? Do they see peace being lived out in your life? Do they see Jesus? Do they see the Father? Do they read the Bible - the word made flesh when they read you? John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word (talking about Jesus here), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (My comment in parenthesis) How do we get Bibles in schools? We consume The Word'- Jesus - WE GET JESUS IN US - WE REVEAL JESUS TO OUR CHILDREN - AND THEN WHEREVER WE GO- wherever THEY go, THE WORD IS THERE!!! We are to be like Jesus and BE the WORD - MADE FLESH and take Jesus wherever we go! THAT is how we get Bibles into schools. Lord, right now show us what we need to do together and individually to be living epistles of Your love and Your light and Your way. Teach us to be ambassadors of Your love. Let us be carriers of Your passionate heart, Your passionate love for the lost, and for Your church. In Jesus' name. Amen Your fellow ambassador in the Lord, Judy A Bauman |
