| Daily
Thought – December 7, 2004 |
|
| LIVING THE SOLUTION WITH DAILY INSPIRATION |
When the Passover
Feast, celebrated each spring by the Jews, was about to
take place, Jesus traveled up to Jerusalem. He found the
Temple teeming with people selling cattle and sheep and
doves. The loan sharks were also there in full strength.
Jesus put together a whip out of strips of leather and
chased them out of the Temple, stampeding the sheep and
cattle, upending the tables of the loan sharks, spilling
coins left and right. He told the dove merchants "Get
your things out of here! Stop turning my Father's house
into a shopping mall!" That's when his disciples
remembered the Scripture, "Zeal for your house consumes
me." (John 2:13-17 — The Message)
What are the words we have been taught
to describe Jesus? Words like kind, gentle, meek, mild,
loving, compassionate, understanding, tolerant, etc. But
have you ever had Jesus described to you as a warrior,
ready for battle, willing to fight for what is right,
desiring to bring down and defeat evil no matter where
he finds it and not afraid to get into the face of those
who are perverting and misleading others? Probably not,
but that is also who Jesus is. In fact, He is all of those
second items I described because of all of the first things
I listed.
Jesus loves us. He loves His creation, His children and
His Beloved/His Bride, so much that when He sees someone
doing things that hurts us it makes Him want to do and
be willing to do whatever He needs to do to defend the
one He loves. Wives, wouldn't you expect that of your
husbands? Husbands, who of you out there would do anything
less for your wives? Children, you would expect nothing
less from your parents. Why is it then that we cannot
see Jesus doing the same for us? Do we think that our
willingness to fight for and defend the ones we will love
is a part of our fallen nature? Do we believe that if
we were better, more holy, more mature people that we
would find some other way to fix the problem than fighting
for and defending our loved ones?
Today’s verse is one of many examples where Jesus
is anything but meek and mild. We must remember why Jesus
came to earth: to show us God’s heart, to rescue
us from sin’s grip on our lives, and to show us by
example, how we are to live our lives in this world. When
we see injustice being done, when see our loved ones,
God’s loved ones, being hurt we need to be willing
to stand up for what is right, just as Jesus did.
This does not mean we go around looking for a fight (be
angry but do not sin in your anger) or that we become
obnoxious to those around us. Our fight does not always
have to be physical; most of the time it may take other
forms (our battles are not with flesh and blood). But
we must be willing and able to fight when needed and there
are times that it may need to be physical. Best advice
is be in constant contact with the Father -- do what He
does and say what He says when He says and does it.
Live it with Passion
Pete Reinbold
|
| You
can see past Daily Thoughts - visit
the archive. |
 |
Scripture
taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright
© 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All
rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission
of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved. |
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
You'll also receive Practical
Biblical Solutions for life's challenges with our free
e-zine |
| |
 |
|
