"We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?" (S.O.S. 8:8)
"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice: and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (John 10:11-16)
Just because it might be something that feels good, does not make it right! I can recall the time when I first got saved, I asked the Chaplin of the Facility what I needed to do in order to become a disciple of Jesus. Well, let's just say that he put me in my place! 'You're an inmate and are guilty of breaking the law; you need to work your way into the ministry; you must earn your way into discipleship.' Or words to that order! But that did not stop me or cause me to feel offended; it caused me to start trying to earn my way into being accepted by him.
Not that it made much of a difference, because I was still locked up and he wasn't; at least he didn't think that he was! We are all sinners, saved by the same grace, by the same Jesus; but we might not all see or understand the same salvation! Listening to Pastor Todd yesterday, I heard him say how very few people that say they are Christians, can actually tell him, in ten seconds or less, what salvation means. What does it mean to be saved? and how does it happen? Is the word, Repent, part of the act? and does it actually work?
I can still remember the first outward sin that committed after I got saved. Not anything I am proud of, that is for sure; but it was absolutely something that I became familiar with, and that's putting it kindly. You must crush that sin, under foot! It is a lot like the illustration given when Elisha told the king of Israel to strike the arrows upon the ground, and the king smote the ground three times; when he should have smote the ground at least five or six times, as if he meant to do some damage. (2 Kings 13:14-19)
It has been said, the sins we often keep are the ones we like; obviously, hiding something away as if it is out of site, does not count for destroying the thing that causes you to sin! Besides that, something else will always turn up again, so it must be something that is changed from within, from without! If God does not get allowed to make it happen, then it is most likely not going to count. If you know the story of the arrows, it was not really the fact of the way he smote the ground, but more about the passion within the way that he smote; he needed to want them to be consumed!
The real story behind the weak thrashing, is that Syria wanted to overthrow Judah; he wanted to be left alone, but did not want Judah to be left alone. Does that seem as though it might sound a little familiar when it comes to sin? We must hate sin because God hates sin! Hate the sin! But I kind of like the sin because it makes me feel good to know that it is still out there; even though I really don't have any intention to be used by it, I still like knowing that it is still around. Weirdo!!
What the heck does any of that have to do with a little sister, no breasts, and her brothers! Come On, Man! Are you on crack or somthin! Seriously, we have got to get into Word, and let the Word get into us! Our lives and the lives of our friends and families are depending on us...
"Then what's the advantage of being a Jew? Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision? Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God. True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful? Of course not! Even if everyone is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him, "You will be proved right in what you say, and you will win your case in Court."" (Romans 3:1-4) NLT
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