Today's thought: A prowling lion...
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8
More than 1,000 people in southern Tanzania, Africa were attacked by lionsbetween 1988 and 2009. Over two-thirds of the attacks were fatal, with the lions eating the victims. When Peter uses this imagery of a lion he does so because being attacked and devoured by a lion would produce in his readers the type of terror that is appropriate in considering our enemy.
Many people are flippant when it comes to talking about our enemy. We picture him as a little red cartoon character with horns and a tale. The reality couldn't be further from the truth. In Jude 1:9 it says,"But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" This is telling of the power of this devil, our enemy. Michael is the highest angel in all the heavens and yet he dares not confront this devil. Not only is the devil incredibly powerful but as a lion he is stealthy. Satan won't come at you as himself, as the evil he is, but will camouflage himself as good, as light, as truth. As Paul says, "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:12).
Peter wants us to not underestimate our enemy so he compares him to the most lethal predator on the planet. There are facts about this predator that Peter's readers would know, from experience, that we may not know. First is the fact that lions attack mainly in the dark. During daylight the prey will see the lion coming and they will evade him. Therefore, lions prefer the darkest dark to hunt. Those darkest hours are before dawn. Often right around 3am. A recent study found that lion attacks during the full moon were markedly less than the attacks when the moon was in wane or the wet season when the clouds covered the moon. In the darkest dark the lion would approach its prey quietly and stealthily. The prey would never know it was coming. When the lion had slunk close enough to his pray to catch it he would roar. His roar attack is meant to freeze the prey in fear and terror. Then the lion walks up to its paralyzed prey and sinks its teeth into the jugular vein. The lion then devours its prey.
This is telling. It is light that is the greatest safety factor for avoiding a lion attack. The idea of light and dark is very rich in Scriptures. Light is related to understanding, purity, righteousness, the scriptures and Jesus. Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." To avoid the devil start by bringing the light of God's word to your daily life. Next, Peter's advice against the devil is, "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believerss throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Peter 5:9). To resist him is to not go along with him. His philosophies and tactics are attractive but resist. He will devour you. Standing firm in the faith is, in essence, holding to the truth about, and from, Jesus Christ despite external pressure. Paul has the same concern for us when he says in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, "I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." Standing firm in the faith is maintaining a "pure devotion to Christ" in the midst of trials, tribulations and persecutions.
When we feel weak, when attack is immanent, we remember two things. First, we are not alone. Peter says, "that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." If they resisted the devil so can you. Secondly, that the Lion at our back is stronger, greater and more powerful than the lion at our front. John, in his revelation, was told, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals" (Revelation 5:5). The Lion at our back, Jesus, has already won the victory over the lion at our front, Satan, on the cross. It is not by our strength we defeat him but by our faith. "...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4). So, with faith in hand, resist this prowling lion, the devil, and he will flee from you, for the One who is with us is greater than he who is in the world.
PRAYER: Jesus, You are the source of victory over the devil who seeks to destroy us. It is our faith that resists that devil and by our faith we have victory through Your blood. We claim that victory today by Your grace and in Your name, Jesus, Amen!
Bulldog tenacity...
Today's thought: Bulldog tenacity...
Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
There is an evangelist who loves to hunt and he tells the story about the time he bought two setter pups that were top notch bird dogs. He kept them in the backyard, where he trained them. One morning, an ornery, vicious looking bulldog came shuffling and snorting down the alley. He crawled under the fence and into the back yard where the setters spent their days. It was easy to see he meant business. The evangelist's first impulse was to take his setters and lock them in the basement so they wouldn't tear up that little bulldog. But he decided he would just let the creature learn a lesson that he would never forget. Naturally, they got into a scuffle in the backyard, and those two setters and that bulldog went round and round and round! The little critter finally had enough, so he squeezed under the fence and took off. All the rest of that day he whined and licked his sores. Interestingly, the next day at about the same time, here came that same ornery little bulldog--back under the fence and after those setters. Once again those two bird dogs beat the stuffing out of that little bowlegged animal and would have chewed him up if he hadn’t retreated down the alley. Would you believe, the very next day he was back! Same time, same station, same results. Once again after the bulldog had had all he could take, he crawled back under the fence and found his way home to lick his wounds.
“Well,” the evangelist said, “I had to leave for a revival meeting. I was gone several weeks. And when I came back, I asked my wife what had happened. She said, “Honey, you just won’t believe what’s happened. Every day, at the same time every morning, that little bulldog came back in the backyard and fought with our two setters. He didn’t miss a day! And I want you to know it has come to the point that when our setters simply hear that bulldog snorting down the alley and spot him squeezing under the fence, they immediately start whining, and run down into our basement. That little, old bulldog struts around our backyard now just like he owns the place.” (Charles R. Swindoll, Living Above the Level of Mediocrity)
Perseverance leads to success. We as Christ followers must have that same kind of bulldog tenacity that perseveres and just keeps coming back. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4) It is those who persevere that come to maturity and lack nothing. That perseverance becomes a blessing for them. James says, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).
This is the difference between the righteous and the wicked according to the Proverb writer who says in Proverbs 24:16, “for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.” The righteous get back up. They may lick their wounds for a time but they come back again to fight another day.
So, since we have the great promise of God that we will reap a harvest if we do not give up we persevere; we hold onto our bulldog tenacity and are unshakable and undefeatable. We are overcomers in Christ and we hold the victory assuredly in our hand. “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:4-5)
PRAYER: Father, God, give us the type of bulldog tenacity that will persevere in doing good and persevere till the end. You promise us if we don't give up, if we persevere, we will reap a harvest, so we don't quit. We get back up gain, lick our wounds, and go back to the fight. With our faith securely in a Jesus Christ we are garunteed victory. We claim that victory today in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Door of hope...
Today's thought:
John 10:7-10: “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it to the full."
There is a small metal door painted white in the side of a tiny mission church in Johannesburg South Africa. This door is changing lives. On it are painted the words “door of hope.” That is exactly what it is for various babies within the city. On average some forty to fifty babies were being abandoned on the streets to die of exposure or starvation a month. That was before the mission installed their door to a baby bin allowing mothers to anonymously deposit their unwanted babies and have someone love them and care for them. Now the mission is saving over 100 babies a year. What an incredible door.
Here Jesus says, “I am the door.” Many preachers and teachers like to point to the abundant life that Jesus provides but the emphasis in this passage is not on the abundant life that is afforded but the contrast between the thieves, who only wish to steal and destroy, and Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who has come to save and bring life. The point is that Jesus is a passageway to God. The emphasis here is on Jesus the door. Understand that the abundant life is a result. The important fact resides in the cause not the effect.
Jesus the door does some rather important things for us. First, the door is access; access to salvation (John 10:9), freedom (John 8:34, 36) and satisfaction (note the word “pastures” and compare with Jeremiah 50:19). Also, the door provides assessment. We get the picture of Jesus standing at the gate of the pen and as each sheep passes into the fold his hands are surveying their bodies. Is there an injury or issue that needs addressed? As the door Jesus assesses us, not for judgement, but to ensure we are healthy so we can enjoy the abundant life. Jesus says in Revelation 3:19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” Lastly, the door is protection. While we mill about, gobble some grass and rest (do sheep count sheep or humans) Jesus stands guard. He is the last Shepherd you’d want to go up against if you were a hungry wolf.
Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14:6) He is the door. As the door he saves, brings hope and imparts to us the abundant life. To receive these blessings as sheep we must enter through him. Have you done that? There is no other way to the Father but by him.
PRAYER: Father, we come to You in the name of Jesus. We recognize that there is no other name by which we must be saved. It is by the grace afforded to us through Jesus that we come boldly before you and ask for your healing grace, your abundant life and your protection. We seek You through the door of Christ. Help us to enter and dwell with You for all our days. In Jesus name we pray--Amen.
Don't look back...
Today's thought:
Genesis 19:26, "But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt."
Have you ever listened to astronauts talking to NASA as they are taking off for outer space. There is a point before they are fully in outer space where you hear the phrase "negative return."
According to NASA's official website, "negative return" occurs when the space shuttle "is flying too far downrange and too high to return to the launch site in the event of an engine failure." It also means that, for the astronaut, they are now to the point where they are assured of making it into orbit—which is the whole point of the shuttle launch.
To follow Jesus starts by crossing the point of "negative return," letting go of the option to turn back, Burning your bridges. Whatever your landing site was—your identity, your sense of purpose—before you came to Jesus, you need to leave all possibility of returning behind.
Luke 9:62, "Jesus replied, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
No retreat, no looking back. Instead, Paul's advice, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phillipiams 3:13-14).
Forget what lies behind. Strain forward. Press on. Heaven waits in the balance.
Prayer: Father, what lies behind is gone. Only what lies ahead matters. Heaven is our goal and Jesus the means of our goal. We do not retreat. We do not turn back. We have burned our bridges and the only way to go is forward where our Savior has called us heavenward by His grace, mercy and love. We could sing of that love forever, and will. In Jesus, Amen!
An unbelievable love...
Today's thought:
What kind of love does God have for you?
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
New Tribes Mission reports on the way one group of Bible translators came to communicate the fullness of God's love to an African tribal community:
“The verbs for a particular African language consistently end with one of three vowels,” explains Dennis Farthing from the NTM Missionary Training Center. “Almost every verb ends in i, a, or u. But the word for 'love' was only found with i and a. Why no u?”
Dennis says the Bible translation team included the most influential leaders in the local community. In an effort to truly understand the concept of “love” in this African language, the missionary began to question them.
“Could you dvi your wife?”
“Yes,” they answered, “that would mean that the wife had been loved, but the love was gone.”
“Could you dva your wife?”
“Yes,” they responded, “that kind of love depends on the wife’s actions. She would be loved as long as she remained faithful and took good care of her husband.”
“Could you dvu your wife?”
Everyone in the room laughed.
“Of course not!” they replied. “If you said that, you would have to keep loving your wife no matter what she did, even if she never got you water and never made you meals. Even if she committed adultery, you would have to just keep on loving her. No, we would never say dvu. It just doesn’t exist.”
The missionary sat quietly for a while, thinking about John 3:16, and then he asked, “Could God dvu people?”
There was complete silence for three or four minutes; then tears started to trickle down the weathered faces of the elderly men of the tribe. Finally they responded, “Do you know what this would mean? This would mean that God kept loving us over and over, while all that time we rejected His great love. He would be compelled to love us, even though we have sinned more than any people.”
The missionary noted that changing one simple vowel changed the meaning from “I love you based on what you do and who you are,” to “I love you, based on who I am. I love you because of me and not because of you.”
Dennis concludes, “God encoded the story of His unconditional love right into this African language. For centuries, the little word was there—unused but available, grammatically correct and quite understandable.” ["THE QUESTION THAT MADE THEM LAUGH” by Cathy Drobnick, published by New Tribes Mission on usa.ntm.org, January 3, 2013]
Have you embraced the fact that God dvu's you? He loves you because of who HE is and not because of who you are or what you have done. No longer do you need to seek approval and acceptance from others to be loved. You are known and loved by Him Who loves you just because of Who He is.
That should blow our minds and overwhelm our spirits. Knowing that we are loved like this gives us what we need to love others with the same unconditional love. Such a love sets us free. Free to love as He has loved us.
Prayer: Father God, we bask today in the glow of Your love for us. Thank you that it is a love based not on who we are or our accomplishments but based on who You are and Your accomplishment of salvation given through Your son Jesus in whose name we pray, Amen.