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&In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths&

Barriers Broken Down"

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Let me begin by saying that the devil has fought me harder to keep me from writing this little article than any other article I have ever written, but the Lord has put this article upon my heart and I must write it.  His Word tells me, "What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops."  Matthew 10:27.  Now, I am sure that there are many who will read this little article and not agree with it, but please be assured that it is in no way intended to be a hurt to anyone, but a real and lasting blessing, and above all to the glory and honor and praise of God.

 In the past couple of weeks, I have noticed some things that have really been a burden to my heart and the Lord has shown me just how much we really need Him.  As I said, I have noticed these things in the past couple of weeks.  Well, I have really noticed them for a long time, but the Lord has really brought them home to me in the past two weeks. 

A couple of weeks ago, two men where I work were demoted from the jobs they had had for quite a long time.  Now, I don't know the reason or reasons behind this, but it happened.  Whether right or wrong, this was a hard blow to these men.  One of these men has had heart trouble and the pressure of this demotion got to him to the point of sending him to the hospital with more heart problems.  Also, a short time after this demotion, the other man witnessed a man get killed on a motorcycle near where we work.  The sight of this, coupled with the already present pressure of his job situation really affected this man and he too has been out of work ever since.  Friends, if you will really and truly think about this and try to put yourself in these men's situation, you will have to agree that this is truly a sad situation.  As sad as it really and truly is, I have seen something even more sad and tragic than that.  I have heard others where I work sitting around making jokes about what happened to these men.  Even sadder than that is the fact that one of the men I heard making jokes about this and even about someone in Chessnee who had recently hanged and killed himself, was a man I had recently saw sitting at a table with a New Testament in his hand talking to someone about him going to be a preacher. 

I think back to several years ago when I was working with a man and this man and I couldn't get along for anything.  I mean we really couldn't get along.  Well, that was a long time ago and with him and I working in different areas of the plant and different shifts, we hadn't seen each other in a long time.  A while back we again came in contact with each other and immediately we were as brothers.  What was the reason for this change?  It is simply because we are now brothers.  You see, in the time that we no longer saw each other, the Lord in His infinite mercy and grace saved both our wretched souls and adopted us into His family.  You see, his God is the same God as my God.  He is the only true and living God.  Where there was once a barrier between us now there is love.  Now, this love that I speak of is not the love that men have so profaned and made dirty which is not really love at all.  The love I speak of is the love of God and without God man can know no love.

It is so sad that there is so much heartache and hatred in this world today, but the reason for every bit of it is because we have forsaken God.  Now, this man that I just told of who had become my brother just happens to be a black man and I just happen to be a white man.  I don't believe for one minute that our color had anything whatsoever to do with our not being able to get along before, but that it had everything to do with the fact that we were both without Jesus Christ in our hearts and lives.  People talk about racial tension and it is so very true that there is a lot of tension between people of different color.  There is much tension between people of different everything.  The rich man doesn't like the poor man.  The so - called good man doesn't like the bad man.  The average baptist though they won't admit it doesn't like those of other denominations.  I could go on and on, but the point is that people don't get along not because of their differences, but the only reason for these barriers is the lack of Jesus Christ and His love in the hearts and lives of those people. 

 Some may say something like, "I know I'm saved, but a certain person won't let me love them because they are not saved and they don't do like they should."  Friend, I can't say that you are lost, but I can definitely say that you don't have the love of Jesus Christ controlling your heart and life.  God gave ten commandments signed with His finger in stone and when man could not keep those commandments, He loved His creation so much that He came down to this earth in the form of Jesus Christ with one purpose and that was to fulfill that law by taking the sin of the whole world upon Himself and to die upon a cross for those sins.  Friend, that was your sins and that was my sins.  Jesus Christ left but one commandment and He signed it upon that cross with His blood.  What was that commandment?  "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."  John 13:34.  Jesus Christ went on to say, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."  I bet you thought you were going to get by without scripture.  Jesus also said in John 15:12, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you."  Now, some may say that this is just an added commandment, but let's look in the book of Romans if you will.  I like Romans.  "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law."  Romans 13:8.  And Romans 13:10 says, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." 

 Now, the man I mentioned before that I could not previously get along with, I am sure that we don't agree upon everything, but we can get along now, because we can disagree without being disagreeable.  How can that be?  "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."  2 Timothy 1:7.  You see, from the moment this man and I were re-acquainted, our spirits witnessed one to another.

The people I mentioned who were making fun of the men who were troubled of heart over their circumstances may say that they love, but it is in word only and there are many a so-called Christians who are doing just that.  God's Word says, "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."  1 John 3:17-18. 

Friends, from the very first sin committed by Adam and Eve in the garden, we have always tried to blame it on something or someone else.  As I said before, there are many barriers up between people and we are to blame for them all.  Should I despise the black man because he is not as I am or should the black man despise me because I am not as he?  God forbid.  If I despise him it is for one reason only and that is the lack of the love of Jesus Christ.  What is the answer?  There is but one answer and that is Jesus Christ.  I cannot change the world, but God can and I pray that He will use me to set your heart to at least thinking about where you stand with Him.  As I close this little article with a feeling I should say more, let me leave you with one more scripture reference as I pray that the Lord will help me to shed His love abroad to many who may be needing that love.  "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."  Romans 5:5-6.  God bless you!