The following story helps us to understand what it means to call Christ our Savior. It is adapted from a story frequently told by Dr. R.G. Lee, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and long-time pastor of a large and influential church in Memphis, Tennessee.

A century ago in a backwater village deep in the mountains of Virginia, there was a community school consisting of a single room. Students of all grades attended the school, mostly the children of mining or logging families. The older boys, raised to survive the hardscrabble life of the mountains, were tough and mean-spirited. No teacher at the school had lasted more than two months – some only a few days – because these boys took great pride in their ability to run off every teacher daring or naïve enough to take the job.

Shortly after yet another teacher had left, a young man, fresh out of teachers college, applied for the job. The moment he
walked into the office for an interview, the director took pity on him. He did not want this young, green teacher to face impossible odds and end his first teaching assignment in discouragement.

“I frankly advise you not to take this job,” said the director. “You have no idea what you’ll be up against. We’ve never had a teacher last more than two months – not even the most experienced. You will likely take an awful beating because you are so young.”

“I do appreciate the warning, sir,” replied the teacher, “but I need the job and I’m willing to take the risk.”

The director sighed deeply and hired him.

The next morning, the young teacher sat at his desk watching the students as they came into the classroom. Several of the
boys gathered at the back before they took their seats. It was clear to the teacher that their leader was the biggest and obviously the oldest boy. “Big Tom” they called him – the bully of the class. The boys were talking in low tones among themselves, looking often toward the teacher. Finally, Big Tom said, deliberately loud enough for the teacher to overhear, “I don’t need no help on this one. When I get done with him, he won’t dare set foot in this classroom again.”

When All the students were seated, the teacher rose and said, “Good morning. I’m Mr. Wilson, your new teacher. I can’t teach without rules. So I want you to help me make the rules. Tell me what rules you think we ought to have and I will list them on the blackboard.”

The class had never been asked to participate in establishing order and Big Tom didn’t know what to make of it. He decided to wait and see how it all came out before he put the screws on the new teacher.

 

“No stealin’,” called out a student.

Mr. Wilson wrote the rule on the blackboard.

“No bein’ late,” cried another, “No lyin’,” rang out a third voice.

The students began to get into the swing of things and soon Mr. Wilson had ten rules on the board.

“This looks like a good set of rules,” he said. “They are your own rules, so do all of you agree to them?”

“Sure, we agree to them,” the class replied, snickering and looking slyly at one another.

“Okay,” continued Mr. Wilson. “Rules can’t be enforced without penalties for breaking them. What penalty should we impose if a rule is broken?”

Big Tom spoke up, “Whoever breaks a rule gets ten licks across his bare back.” Making a tough rule bolstered his pugnacious reputation.

Mr. Wilson thought the penalty was too severe. “Does everyone agree to this penalty?”, he asked. No one dared counter Big Tom and since the teacher had put the rule – making process into the students’ hands, he felt he had to let the penalty stand.  “Very will. Ten licks it will be.”

Big Tom’s involvement in the process made him feel big enough that he didn’t bother Mr. Wilson that day. Class resumed the next morning and went smoothly until the noon bell was about to ring. Big Tom’s voice boomed out, “Somebody stole my lunch!”

“Keep your seats class,” said the teacher. “No one eats until we find out who stole Tom’s lunch.” He questioned each member of the class, one by one, and all denied committing the theft. But finally, a little 10 year old boy wearing a worn-out coat wailed, “I done it! It was me. I was so hungry I couldn’t help myself. I am sorry!”

Mr. Wilson’s heart sank. “Jimmy, you know the rule. I have to give you 10 licks across your back. Take off your coat.”

“Oh teacher, please!”, Jimmy begged. “Do whatever you got to do, but don’t make me take off my coat.”

But the teacher was firm and the boy slowly began to unbutton his coat as tears streamed down his cheeks. He was wearing no shirt. There was nothing on his thin upper body but the suspenders holding up his pants.

Mr. Wilson faced a hard dilemma. How can I possibly whip this poor child, he thought. But, if I don’t, I will forever lose control of this class. He stalled and asked, “Jimmy, why didn’t you wear a shirt today?”

 

“It’s ‘cause mom’s been real poor since dad got killed in the mine. I only got one shirt. On wash day mom washes it and I have to wear my brother’s coat. I’ll get my shirt back tomorrow.”

It was all Mr. Wilson could do to make himself pickup the paddle. He turned Jimmy’s scrawny back to him, lifted the paddle and hesitated, trying to work up the courage to administer the punishment.

Suddenly Big Tom jumped up and cried, “Don’t do it Mr. Wilson. I wanna take Jimmy’s lickin’ for him.” He walked quickly to the front of the classroom, stripping off his shirt as he went.

The teacher nodded, handed Jimmy his coat and stood Big Tom in his place. As he administered the strokes, he realized that every child in the room was crying – little Jimmy most of all. Suddenly the boy ran to Big Tom, threw his thin arms around his neck and clung to him.

“Oh Tom,” Jimmy cried, “I’m so sorry I stole your lunch. I hate that I done this to you. But I want you to know that I’ll love you till my dyin’ day for takin’ the lickin’ I should’ve got.”

The hearts of those boys were broken forever. Big Tom had become little Jimmy’s savior.

This story is a picture of what it means to call Jesus our Savior. All of us have broken the rules and we deserve the prescribed punishment, which, in our case, is death. But Jesus looked on us frail, fallen creatures and could not stand to see us destroyed.

He loved us so much that He couldn’t bear the thought of spending eternity without us. So, He took off His coat, stretched His arms over the wooden bar of the cross and suffered the punishment of death that you and I deserve. He IS our Savior! 

Jesus died for You. Every drop of His blood was shed for you! Every step, every humiliation, every strike, every whip, every mocking, every piercing nail…you were always on His mind.

Dear Foundations Family,
While we have taken a short detour away from The Book of
Jeremiah, which we will be getting back to soon, the subject
of Well-Intentioned Dragons has been eye opening and an
excellent review. I know many have read Dr. Shelly’s book
previously or recently. Yet, there is always a need to go over
things related to how others see us and to cover subjects like
these more than once. Every time one reads something, rereads

something, goes over it together, even being taught
and retaught on a subject, we are reminded of principles and
learn more than we knew before. I for one have learned a
great deal more than I have in the past by taking the teaching,
including additional material from my studies and then putting
them into message form. Not only does it create a common
learning experience, it develops an collective awareness necessary

to disciple leadership qualities within the body of
Christ. It may even reveal areas of dragon-esq attitudes or
actions we were blind to in ourselves or behind the scenes we
did not recognize before.

Not that I think we have a lot of this kind of thing, but it sure
helps one to see what it is like ‘on the other side of me’. It
also helps us to not put the dragon label on every little thing,
after all – sometimes we need a mirror and proper reflection
to see things in a different light, so we don’t get to being too
nitpicky. That whole ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ thing –
Jesus meant it, Paul agreed and James reiterated it (Matthew
22:39, Mark 12:31, Romans 13:9, James 2:8). I do not know
anyone that likes to be picked at for to long. Song of Solomon
2:15 is pretty clear that ‘the little foxes ruin the vineyards’….

Maybe your asking – WHY? Why are we covering this?
WHAT? What are you thinking? Well, the Bible tells us the
following:

2Timothy 3:1-5 But understand this, that in the last days
there will come times of difficulty (through the idea of reducing
strength, perilous, dangerous, by implication furious) . For
people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
heartless, unappeasable (disagreeable, hostile, unpersuadable),

slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good,

treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure

rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness,

but denying its power. Avoid such people.
In simple terms, self-centeredness and unreasonableness
will rule the day…. Likewise, the Bible also states:

1Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later
times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves
to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity

of liars whose consciences are seared.

Again in simple terms, lying, deceitfulness and demonic spirits will

increase and cause a great amount of trouble in the
church.

When one couples the two passages together, dragon like
behavior (remember the devil is called the dragon in Scripture)

will be part and parcel even in congregations, both in
leaders and congregants. That means it is essential to be
able to discern the differences, recognize the sources, so as
to not be overcome or disheartened in the days ahead.

One thing I have learned, maybe you know this and maybe
you don’t, but whenever things in the dark are brought into
the light, it is as though the ‘demons’ aka ‘dragons’ come out
of the woodwork for a time. The hiding places are exposed,
and the attitudes are not concealable. It is like Paul what
Paul expressed when he learned about covetousness:

Romans 7:712 What then shall we say? That the law is sin?
By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not
have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet

if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an

opportunity through the commandment, produced in

me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies
dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment

came, sin came alive, and I died. The very commandment that promised

life proved to be death to me. For
sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me

and through it killed me. So, the law is holy, and
the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Did you catch that, even Paul, once he heard and learned
about coveting, it rose up in him and it was a war for the ages
inside of the man. I am sure all of us have had this fight internally in

our heads and hearts. Well, it is true when we are
confronted with something in teaching. It sometimes rears up
until it is seen for what it is. Then when it is seen, the work
begins, and the transformation starts…. But it is not always
instantaneous, it does not happen overnight, it does eventually happen.

What is the big take away from all this? Dragons exist. Anyone can exhibit

dragon-like characteristics. When knowledge
and truth are imparted, sometimes it riles things up for a bit.
Eventually, those who belong to the LORD come around and
are changed from the inside out…. However, it is a process
and as individuals we have to be honest with ourselves about
what we are learning, what the LORD is showing us, and let
the Holy Spirit lead us and transform our thinking process, our
attitudes and our actions.

Know You are Loved, Know You are Prayed for, Know that
the LORD will Bring You to Completion!

I came across this bible teaching in my bible reading and thought it was very good. I wanted to share it
with you all. I am copying it down word for word. None of this is my own. I hope you enjoy it, chew and
digest what is written here.
2 Corinthians 5:10 – “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
This is titled, “The Judgement Seat of Christ.”
“In Greek, the word for the amount of ground covered by one foot-bema, a single pace (Acts 7:5)-
ultimately referred to the step leading up to a raised platform and then the platform itself. Such platforms
were common in biblical times, just as they are in ours. It is simply convenient for the one who is speaking
to stand higher than those spoken to, as when Ezra the scribe mounted a raised platform to read the Law
to the assembled postexilic Israelites in Jerusalem.
By NT times, bema was also used to refer to a throne-a seat for royalty higher than one’s subjects
– as in the throne of Herod (Acts 12:21). But with royalty came royal pronouncements and judgements,
and bema became the word for “judgement seat.” That is how it occurs most frequently in the NT. Pontius Pilate sat on a “judgement seat” when judging Christ (Matt 27:19), and the apostle Paul stood before
various Roman officials in courts of judgement (Acts 18:12; 25:6).
When it came time for Paul to choose an image to represent Christ’s evaluation of His followers’
lives at the end of the age, bema was the obvious choice: “For we must all appear before the judgement
seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or
evil” (2 Cor 5:10; see also Rom. 14:10: “For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God”).
The phrase “good or evil” in 5:10 could lead one to think this judgement will be the basis of salvation – the “good” being saved, the “evil” unsaved. But salvation is not its purpose. Because “all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), no amount of good deeds can qualify a person for
salvation. The reality of our sin since the Fall means that no effort, no matter how virtuous, will earn us
merit toward salvation in God’s eyes. Rather, this judgement is a believer’s judgment, where Christ assesses their earthly works to determine rewards for faithfulness.
First Corinthians 3:11-15 is the clearest passage in the NT on Christ’s judgment of believers. While
Paul does not mention the judgement seat in this passage, it is certainly what he had in mind. Paul was
addressing division in the church at Corinth-cliques of believers were following different leaders. Each
leader is important, Paul writes, but God provides the results-“each will receive his wages according to his
labor” (1Cor 3:8). But the primary criterion for rewards is whether the work was done in the name of Jesus
for the building up of the local church.

When Christ evaluates what believers have “constructed” with their lives, it will survive the fire of
judgement if built with spiritual “gold, silver, [and] precious stones,” but it will be consumed if built of “wood,
hay, [or] straw” (1 Cor 3:12). Work done for Christ and His glory will be rewarded; that which is revealed to
have been not for Christ but for oneself will “suffer loss.” The Christian will be saved, but their work will be
destroyed along with the hope of rewards (1 Cor 3:14-15).
More than one kind of crown to be given to believers for their service is mentioned in the NT: an
“imperishable” crown (1 Cor 9:25), a “crown of righteousness” (2 Tim 4:8), a “crown of life” (James 1:12), and
a “crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4). Christ even issued a warning to the church in Philadelphia to remain strong in
the faith “so that no one may seize [their] crown” (Rev 3:11). There is reason to believe that those crowns will
ultimately be returned to Christ as a way of honoring His glory and power (Rev 4:10,11).
Just as there will be degrees of punishment for those who have rejected God (Luke 12:47, 48), so it
appears there will be degrees of reward for those who have served Christ faithfully (Luke 19:16-19). The most
important aspect of the doctrine of rewards is that what we do in this life will impact the life beyond: “Do
not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” ( Gal 6:7). The promise
of rewards tells us that ” in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Gal 6:9). “

Luke 6
24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry.
“Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26
“Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

In recent days, as you all are aware, and as I pointed out on Sunday, November 17th, 2024 during one of our Prophecy Point’s, it
is no secret that some things have crept into the church (as
whole, not our congregation in particular)… it is known as the
New Age Religion – though it is really the same Old Age Paganism. Today, not only is it known as New Age, it is also known as
Luciferian Belief. I plan to do a much more in-depth Prophecy
Point on it in the days ahead, but for now I have just four points
to make.

When I look at the Scriptures, specifically the passage above, I
noticed a trend that started centuries ago, when the Pharisees,
Sadducees and Essenes (all sects of Judaism) embraced false
prophets and false teachings. They were influenced not only by
Solomon, due to the influence of the women he married and had
as concubines, but also by Babylonian religious teachings and
the nations religions surrounding them. I mean, Jeremiah was
taking the false prophets and priests head on about these things,
as God commanded.

In that same vein, when Jesus was laying out the woes in the
passage above, and of course elsewhere in Scripture – false
teachings and prophets exploit others with the intentions of gain
to make this life rich.

Also, they use their eloquent speeches and find sounding arguments about being fulfilled – I can’t help but notice the idea of those who are full now will be hungry later…. The idea of a full
life, fulfilling the life we want easily is a figure of speech – those
full of their desires and full of themselves.

Note the laugh now – weep later statement Jesus makes. Interestingly – this echoes only listening to positive things, and I can’t help but think of those who always say “don’t listen to the
haters”…. I mean, what if God sent “the haters” in our
lives to humble us – like Paul had a hateful messenger of
Satan sent by the LORD to keep him from being prideful.

My final thought is of Jesus expressing the issue of everyone speaking well of a person – like the Ancient Israelites
did of the false prophets; while they spoke ill of and killed
the true prophets of God. How many times did God send
prophets with a message about sin, repentance, returning
to Him and then He would not bring the judgment they all
agreed to as part of the covenant. There is nothing wrong
with compliments, seeing a well love preacher or teacher
praised – but, if you’re preaching and teaching what God
says to, there is no way those who have itching ears will
be happy about it.

So – considering all this said, a practical and biblical summary becomes clear:

Watch out for teaching and teachers, preachers and
speakers that promise and proclaim all good and no bad,
the richest and most fulfilling life awaits you – and you can
have it now, surround yourself with only counsel that
props you up and never confronts you, and those messages and messengers (influencers) that seek to influence
and gain an audience that only praises and speaks well of
them.

Remember, Jesus said “See that no one leads you
astray”….

Prayerfully and Discerningly Submitted,

Pastor Daren Lee Barnett