DON’T CAGE MY SONG

 

Sunday, February 22, 2026

 

DON’T CAGE MY SONG

 

Acts 22:27-28

27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea.

28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.

 

Under the Roman law the "freeman" (ingenuus) was one born free; the "freedman" (libertinus) was a emancipated slave and did not have equal rights with the freeman. (from Easton's Bible Dictionary.)

 

The Texas Mockingbird is a slender-bodied gray bird. They pour all their color into their personalities. They sing almost endlessly, sometimes even at night. They go on learning new sounds throughout their lives. The song is a long series of phrases, with each phrase repeated 2-6 times before shifting to a new sound; the songs can go on for 20 seconds or more. These are the joyful sounds of freedom!

 

   Archibald Rutledge tells the story that as a young boy he was always catching and caging wild things. He particularly loved the sound of the mockingbird, so he decided to catch one and keep it so he could hear it sing any time.

 

   He found a very young mockingbird and placed it in a cage outside his home. On the second day he saw a mother bird fly to the cage and feed the young bird through the bars. This pleased young Archibald. But then the following morning he found the little bird was dead.

 

   Later young Arch was talking to the renowned ornithologist Arthur Wayne, who told him, "A mother mockingbird, finding her young in a cage, will sometimes take it poisonous berries. She evidently thinks it better for one she loves to die rather than live in captivity."  --James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 225.

 

          We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. (The Declaration of Independence)

 

Dear Lord, having been set free from the cage of sin by thy mercy, let me sing my song long into the night. AMEN

 

STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS!

 

Saturday, February 21, 2026

 

STRANGERS AND PILGRIMS!

 

Heb 11:13

13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

 

1 Peter 2:11

11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

 

           Is is time to call the Mother Ship to come and pick us up! The world has gotten strange, and we are strangers.

 

          Only twice do we see the word “pilgrim” in the New Testament. In Hebrews the Greek is parepidemos which means “‎an alien alongside, i.e. a resident foreigner.” In First Peter the word “stranger” is paroikos which, in the Greek, means “having a home nearby; a by-dweller. Think of one who lives just across the border! He is an alien.

 

          The message is clear to me! If the world seems strange to me, it means that I am an alien in a foreign place. My citizenship is in heaven (See Philippians 3:20). I should not expect to feel at home here. I am a “by-dweller.” My true home is across the border in a land so far yet so close at hand. One day the Father-ship will come to pick me up.

 

Heb 11:16

16 But now they [we] desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

 

Dear Lord, it seems the world is becoming increasingly strange to me. I anxiously await your return to take me home. AMEN

 

RELIGION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH!

 

Friday, February 20, 2026

 

RELIGION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH!

 

Matt 25:1-10

25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

 

          A Parable is a simple story told to illustrate a moral truth. An analogy is a likeness in one or more ways between things otherwise unlike. (Merriam-Webster) Parables and analogies are problematic because they hint at the problem without thoroughly explaining it. In the parable of the ten virgins, five were wise and five were foolish. All ten are presented as being the same except for one important detail. Five had brought oil for their lamps and five had not.

 

          The lamps represent religion and though they may be ornate and beautiful in their form they are useless as guides without the oil of the Holy Spirit. Religion may be carefully attended to which is illustrated by the fact that all ten “trimmed their lamps,” but there was no power in half of them. When “tried by fire” half of the lamps failed without oil.

 

          There is a danger of mistaking religious formalities for true faith. There is a danger of mistaking human emotion for true faith. I’m afraid that some of our modern worship methodology promotes the possibility of a counterfeit religion. Like the Pharisees of old, they wear the robes and carefully follow the minutia of rules and regulations, but they had no heart. They stand singing with hands raised to heaven swaying to the music but there is no oil in their lamps. When all is said and done the oil is essential.

 

          The lamp alone does not point out the stumbling places along the way. It does not reveal the blemishes that need attention. Only when the lamp of religion is lit with the oil can we see clearly. To put it plainly, religion alone does nothing to transform the life and guide the way. Many are stumbling in the darkness while carrying beautiful lamps unlit.

 

Ezek 33:30-32

30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.

31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.

32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.

 

Dear Lord, may the oil of thy Holy Spirit be strong within us and upon us today that we might have light. AMEN