Dear Friend,
I heard a reference to this quote on the radio the other day and I had to look it up:
Still today I am thinking of the implications of this simple statement:
The Word of God, the Bible, is our straight stick. We use it to determine what is straight or crooked in the world.
"You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2)
"This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)
"Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me'." (John 14:6)
"The very essence of Your words is truth; all Your just regulations will stand forever." (Psalm 119:160)
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas." (Hebrews 13:8-9a)
"Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? Who is able to advise the Spirit of the LORD? Who knows enough to give Him advice or teach Him? Has the LORD ever needed anyone's advice? Does He need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach Him what is right or show Him the path of justice?" (Isaiah 40:12-14)
We need to study and to meditate on God's Word so that it fills us and enables us to distinguish truth from error, straight from crooked.
"Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness." (1 Peter 2:2-3)
"Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him'." (John 11:9-10)
"No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. The eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body is also full of darkness. Then watch out that the light in you is not darkness. If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it will be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays." (Luke 11:33-36)
As we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we too will become a "straight stick".
"My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. I will teach you wisdom's ways and lead you in straight paths. When you walk, you won't be held back; when you run, you won't stumble. Take hold of my instructions; don't let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life." (Proverbs 4:10-13)
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7)
"The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Romans 13:12-14)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith." (Hebrews 12:1-2a)
Our lives should be the straight stick in our culture. We don't blend in, nor do we pronounce railing judgments. Rather, we live in such a way that the comparison becomes apparent, and unarguable.
"The guilty walk a crooked path; the innocent travel a straight road." (Proverbs 21:8)
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord." (2 Corinthians 6:14-17a)
"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." (John 3:19-21)
"Dear friends, I warn you as 'temporary residents and foreigners' to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbeliving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when He judges the world." (1 Peter 2:11-12)
- Why do believers read and study God's Word their entire lives, instead of reading the Word once and moving on?
- In what ways are believers countercultural? Why?
- Is it hard to distinguish truth from error? (Can you always recognize a crooked stick?)
Heavenly Father, We thank You for providing us with Your Word, that we might know the truth. Will You enable us to walk in Your way, despite our culture?
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