Speaking in the Light — Pressure Points!

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “Saved by the Bell” came from? During the Renaissance era when folks were taken to be buried, the funeral workers weren’t always fully positive that the person was actually totally dead. One of the reasons for their uncertainty was because lead poisoning would offer symptoms that someone was dead when they were actually just deep within a coma.
Lead poisoning was common back then because individuals of that century used pewter for drinking cups and plates and when you add alcohol or anything citrus to this particular metal, the lead comes out. This is also why they had extended “Wakes” to see if the one they were paying respects to might wake up in the midst of the ceremony.
What those attending the alleged deceased would do was to install bells attached to a string that was placed down within the coffin at the grave site to give that individual one last grasp to ring that thing in case they were just asleep. Hence the term “Saved by the Bell” was coined otherwise he or she would be buried alive. Believe it or not, the term “Graveyard Shift” was coined here also because someone had to stay in the cemetery all night just in case the corpse got antsy. All in all, it was a procedure put into action to prevent people from being dismissed before their time.
Maybe somebody reading this today needs to wake up and ring that bell because it has been far too long since you have been fully alive to aggressively and courageously move forward. These 24-hour periods are far too precious for us to waste by sleepwalking through them. Don’t be singing funeral songs when what you might really need is revile.
I know there are seasons when life is so very hard but God’s presence doesn’t abandon us just because we are being tried and tested. Did your teacher make lots of noise when you used to take tests in school? They were there with us in the classroom and didn’t stop being our mentor even though they observed us sweating out the potential answers to the daily problems fixed before our eyes. Pressure is always going to be part of the equation. We might as well as learn how to not give up when we should be looking to clang that bell loud and proud and bold and strong.
Pressure is nothing new to this culture or this planet. James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote to Jewish Christians in the first century in the letter that bears his name. His audience was made up of those facing intense and even unjust pressure. These believers had been dispersed and spread out because of fatal persecution, and they faced the increasing temptation to settle and allow their faith to be nothing more than something ceremonial experienced only in their heads instead of being launched from their hearts and lived in their lives.
James rallied these first believers to learn how to use pressure to their advantage and to genuinely push them deeper in their journey with Jesus. Today, James still invites believers to open up their eyes and respond wholly and obediently to the truth of God’s Word and ask God to turn the pressure points coming at us from the outside into a renewed passion for the Lord being produced to heavenly perfection on the inside.
Beginning the weekend of Sept. 7 and 8 at The Lighthouse Church, I will be taking the church family through a verse by verse study of this incredible composition that we refer to as the Book of James. We will be dealing with the following topics as we exegete God’s word together during The Celebration Services. Fasten your seatbelts Christians as we are going to make sure and allow that bell to ring boldly so no one mistakes any of us for being dead yet.
I will tackle the following questions such as “Why do Christians have to suffer?” “Why is the lure of sin still so strong even though I love God?” “Is my faith more performance or it truly about pure passion for Jesus?” “How deadly is my tongue?” “Is my goal with others retaliation or relationship?” “What would I define as my main fight this side of heaven?” And I am sure that I will be raising lots more strategies to deal with life’s pressure points rather than waving the white flag and looking for a hole in the ground to hide in.
If you need more information you can check our website at www.tlccma.org or give The Lighthouse Church a call at 609-465-6690. Our Celebration Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9 and 10:45 a.m. Why not make this September a time to ring that bell and let others know that you are alive and well and ready to move forward as God continues to orchestrate us in this symphony entitled our life story? Good things happen when those bells ring. I’m ringing mine now.
Let Pastor Rudy know what you think by emailing him pastorrudytlc@comcast