A fellow in Haiti wanted to sell his house for $2,000. He found a buyer, but the man could scrape together only half the asking price. So, the owner agreed to sell for that amount but with one reservation: he would continue to own one nail above the front door.<\/p>\n
A couple of years later, the first guy decided he wanted to repurchase the house. The new owner declined, saying, \u201cI like this house; I don\u2019t want to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n
The previous owner found the carcass of a dead dog on the street and hung it from the nail he still owned above the front door. Soon the stench became so strong no one could go in or out of the house, and the family had to leave. They sold the house to the former owner.<\/p>\n
A Haitian pastor told that story and then said, \u201cIf we leave the devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making our lives unfit for Christ\u2019s habitation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, you and I think that was a cute little story, but surely it has no application to our lives. Right?<\/p>\n
<\/span>–I sure am enjoying my new life in Christ. Bible study is great, my new friends at church are wonderful, and I\u2019m loving the new relationships. I wish I\u2019d done this years ago. Some nights I\u2019m down at the church til 10 o\u2019clock with my friends there. Sometimes we are praying, studying the Bible, or working on various projects. I hope no one finds out what I\u2019m watching on the internet at home. I know it\u2019s called pornography, but it\u2019s such a little thing and as long as no one knows, what can be wrong with it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n –My wife and I have this wonderful relationship. After 20 years of marriage, we know each other completely and have learned to work together as a team. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do without her. She\u2019s so good with our kids, and I\u2019m always proud of her when we go out in public. I don\u2019t want her to find out about the harmless little flirtation I\u2019m having with this girl at the office, though. She wouldn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n –The owner of this company has been so good to me. In the bad economy our country is experiencing right now, I\u2019m blessed to work for such a good man doing what I love. I worry that he might find out about the little money I make on the side from a few of the customers. He\u2019d call it a kickback, but I think I deserve it.<\/p>\n –The life of a pastor is the best of all possible worlds. We get paid to do the things we love doing best\u2013study the Word, help people, preach. The community gives us a lot of respect, people look to us for leadership, we can make a big difference in people\u2019s lives. That\u2019s why I can\u2019t let them find out about the little thing I have going on the side with this woman who came to me for counseling. It\u2019s not worth making a big issue over. God understands, even if no one else would.<\/p>\n –When the plane crashed, federal investigators spent a full year assembling the wreckage and combing through it. Eventually, they reported that every mechanical part of that plane had been working beautifully except for one thing: the cargo door was unlatched. In flight, it blew open and caused the plane to go out of control.<\/p>\n –They shut down a nuclear power plant in Alabama because an employee had dropped a glove into the works.<\/p>\n –In 1986 the space shuttle Challenger crashed because the temperature at Cape Canaveral was just a little too cold, causing the gaskets to freeze up and become brittle.<\/p>\n \u201cThe little foxes that spoil the vines\u201d is how the Song of Solomon puts it in 2:15. Modern translations change \u201cvines\u201d to \u201cvineyards,\u201d otherwise it\u2019s the same.<\/p>\n It\u2019s just a little thing. <\/strong><\/p>\n That sensual novel you are reading, the embarrassing television show you are watching, the illicit relationship you are toying with, the money you are embezzling, the corners you are cutting.<\/p>\n Just a little peg above the door, that\u2019s all.<\/p>\n Jesus is Lord over all the areas of my life, except for that one nail above the front door.<\/p>\n Our Lord Jesus put it like this: He who is faithful in that which is little is faithful also in much.<\/em><\/p>\n Lest anyone fail to get the point, He added, And whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much <\/em>(Luke 16:10).<\/p>\n \u201cDear Lord,<\/p>\n Forgive my rationalizations and alibis.<\/p>\n Search my heart and call to my attention all the harmful things I am doing that<\/p>\n Bring shame to Thee, pain to those I love, and compromise to my testimony.<\/p>\n Rule over all my life, every area, Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n You are Lord of all, Master of every aspect of my life.<\/p>\n And Lord, do whatever it takes to put an end to my compromising ways.<\/p>\n I would be found faithful, Father.\u00a0 For Jesus’ sake.<\/p>\n Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A fellow in Haiti wanted to sell his house for $2,000. He found a buyer, but the man could scrape together only half the asking price. So, the owner agreed to sell for that amount but with one reservation: he … Continue reading