I John 4:4
Little children, you are of God [you belong to Him] and have [already] defeated and overcome them [the agents of the antichrist], because He Who lives in you is greater (mightier) than he who is in the world.
Recently, I watched an episode of Tom & Jerry, with Brendon. As usual, in this episode Tom was after Jerry with intent to kill and eat him. Jerry runs into this really big dog and this dog sees what Tom is doing to Jerry. The dog gives Jerry a whistle to blow for whenever Tom comes at him. Jerry thought about it and in his mind he pictured himself blowing the whistle and the really big dog coming and beating Tom up.
This is a simple old cartoon, with spiritual insight if you look at it that way.
We are like Jerry, small within ourselves, and we have an enemy who is always seeking to capture us and devour us.
I Peter 5:8
Be well balance (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.
In the cartoon, Jerry was given a whistle and we upon salvation are given the Name of Jesus!!
All we have to do is say the Name and believe, He will come to our defense.
It may seem silly to see that in a cartoon, but Jesus truly is like the dog portrayed in the cartoon, He will come and smite our enemy. The enemy, like Tom, will cower in His presence. Sometimes the enemy can be attacking us and all we do is say the Name and He appears behind us, we may not even be aware, but the enemy is and he will cower and he will bow to the Name of Jesus.
I want to encourage you today to walk with boldness. Know that Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world!!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Are You Like Jonah?
As I was reading the book of Jonah I had a revelation. I had always pictured Jonah running from God, but I never really thought of why he was running. I guess I always thought that he was afraid to go to Nineveh. I really didn't know why. I guess I pictured him like a missionary going into a savage land with people who might want to kill him. I found out different. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh because he didn't like the people of Nineveh. He had aught in his heart toward them.
We know the story. Jonah went in the opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a great fish. While in the fish Jonah cried out to God and offered thanksgiving to Him in the midst of his trouble. The fish spit him out on dry land and God again told him to go to Nineveh quickly. Jonah followed God this time. He didn't even stop for a shower and a bite to eat. When he got there the people heard and heeded the word of the Lord from Jonah. They repented and God spared them.
What an awesome message of God's grace and mercy, yet Jonah was not the least bit happy about it. In Jonah 4:1, the Bible says Jonah was exceedingly angry. He prayed and told God that he knew this would happen. He said that was why he didn't want to go to Nineveh in the first place. He said he knew that God was full of mercy, and that he would revoke the death sentence on Nineveh if they repented. He really did not like these people. He did not want to minister to them not because of fear, but because he did want them to be saved.
How many times do we run from what God wants us to do because we don't like where He wants us to go? Often times we will ask God to send someone else, or we will ignore God and His call. We might not like the color of someones skin or the neighborhood they live in. We might think they are too fat or too lazy to deserve God's grace. We might even think that because they don't go to the same kind of church or wear the right clothes that God really wouldn't want to show them mercy. The truth is this. God loved the world and everyone in it so much, that He sent His only Son to die for you and me and the crack addict down the road and the single African American mother on wellfare and the millioniar in New York city. God loves us all. Who are we to judge who deserves grace. Don't be a Jonah by letting pride and personal opinion get in the way of ministering the Gospel to other. If you do, you just might find yourself in the belly of a fish.
We know the story. Jonah went in the opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a great fish. While in the fish Jonah cried out to God and offered thanksgiving to Him in the midst of his trouble. The fish spit him out on dry land and God again told him to go to Nineveh quickly. Jonah followed God this time. He didn't even stop for a shower and a bite to eat. When he got there the people heard and heeded the word of the Lord from Jonah. They repented and God spared them.
What an awesome message of God's grace and mercy, yet Jonah was not the least bit happy about it. In Jonah 4:1, the Bible says Jonah was exceedingly angry. He prayed and told God that he knew this would happen. He said that was why he didn't want to go to Nineveh in the first place. He said he knew that God was full of mercy, and that he would revoke the death sentence on Nineveh if they repented. He really did not like these people. He did not want to minister to them not because of fear, but because he did want them to be saved.
How many times do we run from what God wants us to do because we don't like where He wants us to go? Often times we will ask God to send someone else, or we will ignore God and His call. We might not like the color of someones skin or the neighborhood they live in. We might think they are too fat or too lazy to deserve God's grace. We might even think that because they don't go to the same kind of church or wear the right clothes that God really wouldn't want to show them mercy. The truth is this. God loved the world and everyone in it so much, that He sent His only Son to die for you and me and the crack addict down the road and the single African American mother on wellfare and the millioniar in New York city. God loves us all. Who are we to judge who deserves grace. Don't be a Jonah by letting pride and personal opinion get in the way of ministering the Gospel to other. If you do, you just might find yourself in the belly of a fish.
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