When he was a child, a friend of mine attended a country church. He said whenever someone joined the church on profession of faith a member, a little old lady, would literally dance down the aisle. I wish I could have been there.
Jesus said, "There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner which repents than in 99 just persons which need no repentance." The dear lady in the small church was reflecting the joy resounding in heaven. Joy in the Lord is not often expressed so exuberantly as in dancing but it is nothing new.
See 2Samuel 6:16, in part: "---Michal, Saul's daughter, watched from a window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord---") Michal was filled with contempt for David, not because he was leaping and dancing but because she did not share his love of God.
Personally, I have no objection if church members hang from the rafters, run, leap, dance, shout or do hand springs, if their actions are truly motivated by joy in the Lord. That's a big if. How would I evaluate? Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.
I've been present at a many joyful worship services in various places. They take place every Sunday in our contemporary service. Others have been in prisons where I was sometimes privileged to speak. Another was in a barn with 50 or so other believers, singing in the Spirit. Some were during lay-led weekend programs; others were in homes, halls, churches, hotel ballrooms, stadiums, etc. and not limited to Sunday. The setting doesn't matter either. "Where two or three are gathered in My name there I am in the midst of them."
B
In 2007 a pastor was invited to speak to a group of war veterans in an east coast city. During his sermon he noticed a man standing in the back of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. The attitude of his posture seemed to say, "Convince me if you think you can!"
After the service the pastor approached the man who said, "OK, preacher. You got me."
"What does that mean?" the pastor asked
"It means I'm tired of hating and I want Jesus in my life." Then the man said, "Hold out your hand."
The pastor did as he was requested and the man dropped a crudely-made bracelet in his hand. It appeared to be bits of ivory strung together. "What's this?"asked the pastor.
"Teeth," the man answered. "The teeth of men I killed in Vietnam. They killed my buddies and I killed them."
The Vietnam war had been over for nearly 40 years and for all that time this man had been carrying a burden of intense hatred. Now, under the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he was ready to surrender it to Jesus. He was finally convinced that there was only one cure for the corrosive effects of hate.
"Come to me all of you who labor and are carrying a heavy load of stuff and I'll give you rest."
Jesus is the garbage man. "Give me the garbage in your life in your life and I'll give you peace and rest for your soul."
P.S. From the sublime to the ridiculous:
In 1916, then President Howard Taft, et al, eased the income tax into law. Not to worry, soothed the Prez; the tax would be applied only to those who earned the stratospheric incomes of the Rich. At that, the tax would be only 1% for those earning $250,000 (sound familiar?) in today's dollars and topping out at 7% for the fortunate few making $6 million.
In 2006 there were 136 million tax returns. Out of that figure 43.4 million returns had no tax liability. Add to that 15 million households and individuals who did not file tax returns. None. Zip. Nada. So, 41%, or about 121 million, of U.S. citizens don't have to worry about taxes. That leaves 59% of us to pay the bills
This is not a rant against those who don't pay taxes. It's about the unreliability of government promises and leads to the question of how the programs proposed by Mr. Obama are going to be paid for. As resourceful as he may appear, he cannot repeal or override the laws of economics. His promise that there would be no new taxes is pure fairy dust.
One of these days our banker, China, may cash in all their chips (U.S. government bonds) and the American dollar will be worth less than toilet paper.
PPS I am indebted to Walter Williams column for the figures quoted above. He in turn credited a Washington firm: Tax Foundation
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