Summary: a 20th Century Poem that gave me insight.

Get Up And Bar The Door

Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

When the devil comes knocking on your door, you have to learn to say “NO!” and shut the door. Give him 1 minute of your time and you’ll open up the door for chaos in your life and your family.

Like a professional salesman, he’ll stick his foot in your door and you’ll have to learn to say “NO!” to him.

• It’s too late to bar the door after the police call you in the wee hours of the night and tell you they have your son or your daughter locked up for a crime that you didn’t even know they were doing!

There’s many a mother that sat up by the door until the last child was in for the night, and then got up and barred the door for the night.

The devil has come into many church member’s home while they were spiritually asleep with his destructive forces of pornography, HBO and Showtime,–Get up and bar the door!

If you have to take a sledge hammer or a chain saw to that computer or DVD player. – Get up and bar the door! Many church people will have Time Warner witness against them on the day of judgment.

• It’s too late the shut the door when your teenage unmarried daughter tells you she’s going to have a baby in about 6 months.

• It’s too late to shut the door when the doctor tells you there’s only 3 months to live because of your lung cancer.

• It’s too late to shut the door when the judge says you’ll have to spend 10 years in prison because of that heroin habit.

• It’s too late to shut the door when the wrecker from the finance company has towed your car away because you have not been faithful in your giving.

• It’s too late to shut the door when your daughter moves in with her lesbian girlfriend and asks you if you’ll finance their wedding.

1 Corinthians 16

8 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost.

9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

Matthew 25: 1“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

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

3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,

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

5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’

7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.

8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’

12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Psalm 91:1 “dwell in the secret place of the Most High and abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Matthew 6:18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

An Old English poem from the 1600’s:

It fell about the Christmas season, and a happy time it was then when me goodwife had puddings to make

and she’s boiled them in a pan.

The wind blew hard south, then north, and blew open the door.

Then the man said to his wife, “Get up and bar the door”.

“My hand is in the pudding, as you can see. It will not be barred in a hundred years if it’s left up to me”.

They made a bet between themselves, they made it firm and sure

That the first word that either of them should speak

That one would rise and bar the door.

Then by their house came two gentlemen at twelve o’clock in the night

And they could neither see house nor walls, not any candlelight.

They couldn’t tell if it was a rich man’s house or whether they were poor

But never a word would either speak for they would have to bar the door.

And first they ate the vanilla pudding and then they ate the chocolate

“It’s delicious” thought the wife to herself, but she never spoke a word.

Then said the men to one another, “Here man, take my knife. You take off the old man’s beard while I kiss his wife.”

“But there is no water in the house, and what shall we do then?”

“See that pudding that’s brewing in the pan? We’ll use that on our man.”

Oh, then up out of his seat came our man and an angry man was he.

“Would ye kiss me wife before me eyes and scald me with pudding brew?”

Then out of her seat came the wife; she skipped three skips on the floor.

“My husband, you’ve spoken the first word; Now Get Up And Bar The Door!”