by Harold Dowdy
The following are reproduced from Bro. Harold Dowdy's "Shooting Creek Parables" which were written between 1996 and 1998. Bro. Dowdy wrote the material in Shooting Creek, North Carolina. Central's Evangelist, Colin Williamson provided this non-copyrighted material for posting on the website. Key "parables" will be added as time permits.
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The State Forest Service in Franklin sent a dozen or so men, three trucks and a bulldozer to rescue us when Opal came through last year. They were needed. There were 139 trees across Rainbow Springs Road and we had to have help.
When they showed up at our house, they jubilantly shouted, "We came to rescue you folks."
"Rescue" is one of the words used in the Bible for "salvation." Just as I was unable to cut my way out of the woods, just so one is unable by his own strength and goodness to get to heaven "not by boastful works."
However, those rangers did not throw me in their truck and forcibly take me out of the forest to Shooting Creek. They provided the way for my rescue. But when they showed up at the house, I still had to get in my truck and ride out. God has provided us with an escape too; but we must choose to accept the grace.
Just because one is saved by grace, it does not relieve one from making the proper response, which is called faith, a living faith.
God provided the open road (cross, grace), we must provide the faith. Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." (Mark 16:16). That's the kind of faith I must have. Not only to believe the road is open, but to get in the truck and ride out.
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Monroe Davenport is partial to Chevrolets. He says that if he had a wreck and all that was left of his truck was the steering wheel, he would save that and walk home before he would accept a ride in a Ford.
Not many folks are as loyal to their wives or husbands as that. Or as loyal to their jobs, or even to our Lord.
The Scriptures teach loyalty. "...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." Revelation 2:10.
That passage does not say simply to be faithful till you die. It means to be faithful (loyal) even if they kill you.
Christians were being killed because they were Christians. And here it is urged by Jesus Christ that they do not try to save their lives if one must desert Him to stay alive. Easy to say "be faithful" when we talk about the lives of Christians a along time ago. Easy to say when the sword is not at OUR throats today.
But a bit more difficult, when it is our wrecked truck and we have twenty miles to walk, and then a Ford comes by and offers a ride. Be careful. The devil will probably make you an offer today.
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Leon Moss is different from most folks I know. Chiggers and mosquitoes don't bite him. Poison vines and plants do him no harm. What a blessing; especially for a fellow who is often camping in the woods.
Most of us go through the woods getting bit by unkind remarks from enemies and even neighbors and friends. Some folks hardly notice these petty people or their words. Others break out in a rash or have huge welts everywhere.
Jesus had the remedy for this ugly behavior. First, He says you will be "judged by every word you speak." That means there should be no stinging, biting bugs out there.
Second, Jesus said we are to "overcome evil with good." So even when you are slighted, stop the sequence right there. Say something good about the fellow who wronged you. So if it gets started, you can stop it. Works as good a Black Flag.
Third, do not take offense at every little mosquito bite. Be tougher skinned than to be offended at every little slight. In the Bible, the Hebrews were told that they had not lost any blood yet in their fight with sin. They were dealing only with petty things as yet. They were reminded that Jesus was slandered even as He was dying on the cross and that they had suffered nothing like that.
Judas hurt Jesus by his betrayal. And a really deep wound may be in the future for you. But we can ignore the little chigger bites which will allow us to live a happier, more profitable life. You will be easier on your family and friends, and it will please Him who died for you.
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Morris Spivey's wife Barbara is by his own admission a harder worker than he is. No matter how tough the job is, Barb is always ahead of everyone and doing it better. The youngster who was reprimanded by his dad for allowing a mere girl to beat him in tennis had the perfect reply, "Girls ain't as mere as they used to be."
That's the way it is in nearly everything today. At the head of the class in school, cook better, sew better and often better in basketball and track, especially at Hayesville. Women are often at the top in ethics, and even though the Bible has limits on her in public participation when the whole church is together, they are ever in the front in spirituality . . . and prettier, too. But this is not a recent development. The same was true in Bible times. One has only to suggest Sarah, Lydia, Mary, and Dorcas to make the point.
It is happily evident that we men do not have to compete against women as far as accomplishments in the kingdom of God. In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, the talents are distributed according to each servant's own ability. That means I will be judged in accord with my opportunities and my potential. I am not to look at the five talent person and feel deprived, for that person has more to answer for than me with my lone talent.
And best of all, I don't have to outdo Barb and Celeste to get to heaven. I must live up to the capacity God has determined that is within me. And even then salvation can be found only according to His mercy and grace. But I must be going, for already this morning there are half a dozen ladies out ahead of me doing the Lord's work and I am just getting started out the door.
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Celeste gets lonely out on the Nantahala and says, "I want to see a human being." So I look in the Clay County Progress for food and entertainment. I find several places being advertised. Then I suddenly realize that I am looking at the Religious page rather than in the Entertainment section.
Three thousand years from now archaeologists may dig up the ruins of our modern churches and wonder what kind of god we worshipped with steam tables, barbeque grilles, fellowship halls, and gymnasiums.
Preachers would be surprised to find that the word "fellowship" was never used in Scripture for coffee and doughnuts, or spaghetti, or chicken dinners.
One of the saddest parts of this business is to lower the church of the Lord to the art of begging and selling to raise funds. In Bible times, the Christians were to finance the church themselves, not beg from the community. They were to do this by giving on the first day of the week, not by cake walks, chicken dinners, and pink tea.
Sure, Jesus fed as many as five thousand on one occasion, but He didn't do this to raise money. Nor did He authorize His church to do so. Besides, Jesus scolded them the next day for following Him to get the loaves and the fishes. If we try to attract the young people with hot dogs and Cokes, as soon as they get wheels and have money to buy their own, they will be gone. One should not grease the pocketbook with a chicken leg.
Everybody must be won to Jesus by the Gospel, not by entertainment.
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While out of town this past holiday season, I stopped in at a barber shop not really expecting that anyone would be at work. But sure enough this lady barber was sweeping up and as I walked in she invited me to take a seat. After a very short time along with interesting conversation, I walked out with a brand new haircut. When I later examined my hair I discovered that instead of a barber, it was the cleaning lady who had done the job. I trust it will grow out sometime soon so that Jack can repair the damage.
I have been to some churches like that too. For after an hour or two of the services, I walked out being sure that I had been to a country music show, or a midway carnival show trying to get my money, and a chicken restaurant. Upon getting outside, I looked back to make sure the sign on the building said "church." The experience is very much like getting a haircut from the cleaning lady.
What should one expect upon attending worship services anywhere in the country? Perhaps if there is no pattern in the Scriptures, one is free to invent anything that comes to mind. But upon reading the New Testament, one finds that God authorized a teaching part of the services and that the men rather than the women were to do the preaching. The prayers and singing were to be accompanied by the heart. On Lord's day, the Lord's supper was observed and only on the first day of the week was there any collection taken; and if the Christians were hungry, they were to go home to eat. It is little wonder a person visiting a modern day church would feel out of place if he were accustomed to reading only the Bible. I strongly urge that we follow the Scriptures rather than the janitor in the pulpit.
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There is this old Shooting Creek story of a local fellow who wanted to join the church. The requirement for membership was for a candidate to give an acceptable story of an experience of grace which indicated he was saved.
Well, our hero had no such experience to tell, even though he sincerely wanted to join the church. So he invented a tale of seeing an angel while walking in the woods. No such thing had happened, but he told the story to the congregation and they voted him into fellowship.
A few weeks later this fellow's conscience began to bother him for telling an untrue story. So he went back to the church and told them that he had never seen an angel. The church voted again, and he was dismissed.
The church had voted him in for telling a lie and voted him out for telling the truth.
Salvation does not rest on the flimsy evidence of an unusual experience or feeling. Salvation rests on the foundation of God's word. When one hears the gospel, believes and obeys it, God has promised to save him. To put one's confidence of going to heaven on the sound of a squeaking door at night, or the wind that sounds like a voice, or the feeling in the stomach or chest is to build on the sand. Jesus said that the wise man was the one who hears His word and does it.
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My closest neighbor, a forest ranger, lives five miles away. He and his children raised a tiny deer until it was grown. The deer stayed in the yard, slept with the dog, and grazed with the wild deer in the area. When you drove up, Bambi met you looking for a hand-out of cookies or nuts. He would insist that you pet him and would even try to get in your car. He loved kids.
But that was before hunting season. When the hunters came in to the area, Bambi went to meet them. One of the fellows petted him, then stepped back, shot and killed him. That much prime hamburger would probably cost $25 at Ingles. The children were devastated.
As far as I know, there was nothing illegal about the killing. It was tragic because death is so final. I predicted in an earlier parable that this might happen, now I wish I had said nothing.
Pets get killed. Drunken drivers kill children. Drugs kill lots of folks. Those who should be punished often get off Scott free. Finally, life is not fair. Lots of things are heart breaking, but God will at last make all things right.
Preachers should be accountable when they lead unwary folks astray too. Seems some TV preacher swindled poor folks out of their savings in South Carolina while claiming to perform miracles. Others had prostitutes as dates, etc. "Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
That's every bit as sad as killing a pet deer. It might even be offensive to God. But we can count on Him making all this right as well.
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George Brooker answered the invitation call and came down the aisle and asked me if he was my brother. Then he told me his story. He had been raised in a small community in South Georgia where the only church there practiced sprinkling for baptism. Through years of Bible study, George came to the conclusion that baptism was immersion. So he asked his preacher to baptize him. The preacher refused because he had never immersed anyone. So George went into the town nearby and asked the city preacher if he would baptize him. He also refused - - same reason.
George had a close childhood friend who was a popular preacher and political leader in the community and he asked him if he would baptize him for the remission of sins since he wanted to be simply a Christian. His friend, Stetson, told him he would be a member of his denomination if he baptized him. So now it was George's turn to refuse saying, "I just want to be a Christian." Later, while attending a revival in a tent sponsored by a traveling preacher, he asked him if he would baptize him for the remission of sins. "Well, it's against my principles, but I'.. do it." So he obeyed the gospel, confessing that he believes Jesus to be the Christ.
Now George asked me, "Am I your brother?" "You certainly are, and I am proud of you" was my reply. Actually, simply obeying the gospel without any denominational or creedal additions was the way people were made Christians throughout the Scriptures. Wonder why it is not practiced today. Sure would make things a lot simpler and wonderfully scriptural. It is a challenge to read the Book of Acts and compare the conversions found there with your own. If there is a difference, remember that the Bible has it right.
It's nice to see from the response to the Parables that someone is reading this column now and then. I have raised the questions, 1) "Is the entertainment that is offered by area churches authorized by the Scriptures?" That's a touchy point.
I have also suggested that 2) a monetary collection for the church is authorized only on the first day of the week. "Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store as he may prosper . . ." Who authorizes the collection at nearly every service at the church where you attend? Neither Jesus nor His apostles made the church a beggar. 3) And it is to be noted that in the Bible those Christians who came to services being hungry were told to go home to eat (1 Cor 11:34).
I like country bands. But where is its authorization in the church? I like chocolate cake. But do I have the right to add cake to the communion because I'm a nice guy?
Psalm 150 tells us about worshipping God with the dance, stringed instruments and the trumpet. Fine. Psalm66:13 says, "I will come into thy house with burnt offerings, I will pay thee my vows which my lips uttered, and my mouth spake, when I was in distress. I will offer unto thee burnt offerings of fatlings, with the incense of rams, I will offer bullocks with goats." Does this authorize burning a goat in worship?
Neither this Psm 15 nor Psm 66 authorize anything in the church. These passages are from the Old Testament regulating Jewish activity, all of which has been nailed to the cross, Colossians 2:14. If the Old Testament is your law today you can't eat bacon, pork chops or shrimp, according to Leviticus chapter 11. You also must worship on Saturday if this is your law, Exodus 20:10. Galatians 5:4 says you are fallen from grace if you would be justified by the Old Law. It is not a matter of anyone being offended with a country band in church worship or a church "fellowship hall for entertainment." It is a matter of disobeying God's will.