Living Among Wolves

 

    

    

Matt 10:16

 

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

NKJV

 

If you are reading this blog, chances are you are a follower or Christ, or are interested in spiritual things.    Consequently, I feel relatively certain that you are concerned about the state of our world. I certainly am.   Wars,  rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, calling good evil and evil good...  these are examples  of the signs of the end times.  The soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ is becoming a topic of conversation even as I am out conducting business in public.  People know something is about to happen.  Check out the titles of newly released movies.  The end of the world is a recurrent theme!

 

Today, I was talking with another lady in ministry about how it almost seems like the criminalization of Christianity is coming about in America.  Other religions or belief systems are to be tolerated, if not applauded.  Simultaneously, Christians are portrayed as narrow-minded hate propagators.  There appears to be tolerance toward every religion in America but Christianity.

 

In light of all of this political and even legal persecution, what is a Christian to do?  I think much of the answer lies in today's verse.  We are sheep among wolves.  We are meek and mild ( if we are living out the fruit of the Spirit).  There are vicious predators all about us.  But instead of locking us up in a pen, the Lord say "I send you out."  Even the very wolves  who seek to devour us are people created in the image of God and for His glory.  We must tell them about Jesus.  We must live it out before them.  We must be salt and light.  Their salvation, or at least the opportunity to hear truth, rests soundly on us, the body of Christ.

 

But as we are milling around the predators who could easily turn upon us and ravage us for dinner, we need to set our mind as Christ admonishes.   We have to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.  What does that even mean?  We have to be aware.  We have to keep our eyes open.  We have to be strategic.  We have to be intentional.  We have to be knowledgeable.  Just because we look like sheep does not mean we do not need to be wise and prudent in our dealings.

 

The second part is that we are to be as harmless as doves.  That does not mean that we will never make someone angry.  Jesus told  us the world  hated him and would hate us as well.  But we do not need to purposefully be inflammatory and controversial.  If you can love a sinner in their sin, it goes a lot further than beating them over the head with your Bible!  As Christians,  we must strive to be helpful, rather than harmful.  There are times a person is helped with a kind word, a hug, or a word of encouragement.  Other times, what they may be most helped by, is a loving rebuke or strong word.  That does not mean we are not acting in love.  It means we are operating wisely and in accordance with the Spirit's leading.

 

I used to work in a mental health clinic.   One day I found myself trapped in my office with a desk, and a severely psychotic, delusional man between me and the door.  After that session, I rearranged my office.  I wanted to be able to help people, but first I had to protect myself!  We do not need to be foolish  in our dealings.  There really is a way to follow the Spirit's guidance and still utilize the common sense God entrusted to us.

 

Dear Lord, help me to be wise in these last days.  Show me how to mix grit with humility.  Righteous indignation with love.  Help me to be salt and light.  Even so, comely quickly, Lord Jesus!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can I Have Some of Yours?

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  At midnight the cry rang out, ‘Here comes the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him.’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’  Matthew 25:1-8

 

Have you ever had one of those friends?  You know the ones- they want you for what you can offer them and are done with you when you have nothing to offer them?  Have you ever been one of those friends?  We all have probably found ourselves on either side of this equation, if we are honest enough to admit it.

This passage is so sad because all ten of the virgins appeared to have what they needed.  But only five had “the goods” that they were able to make a light to find themselves to the groom.  The wise ones have more than they needed.  More of the oil of the Holy Spirit than they needed for that day.  A wise Christian gets as full of the Holy Spirit as possible.  We never know in a given day what kinds of demand will be placed on the anointing of the Spirit in our lives and therefore, we must have more than enough. 

Another thing that always strikes me about the passage is how wonderful it would be if the wise had enough to share with the others.  Obviously, as this parallels the end times, we cannot bring someone else into the rapture by sharing with then.  But up until the time that we go in and the door is shut (figuratively speaking) we need to be sharing with others what we have.  When we share, we inspire others to get their own oil and be ready when the time comes that they must have it or miss out.

When I read this parable I am always arrested by the sadness of it all.  The five foolish were smarter than so many others- they were there, they had brought their lamps, they were hanging with the wise ones.  They had it all together…almost.  Almost is just not enough when it comes to the things of the Spirit.  When the day comes that the church is rejoined with Christ, there will be so many of our loved ones left behind.  So many that almost made it. They came to church.  They joined Sunday school, they carried a Bible and even forwarded Christian related emails and Facebook statuses.  But they did not quite have the relationship with the Lord that is needed.

Our time is so short.  Let us look for opportunities to share the light, to share the oil, to share the faith; one day soon it will be too late.

Dear Lord, help me to be evangelically minded.  Help me lead others to you.  Help me have enough anointing, Spirit and victory to share with others. In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

Are You Read for the Groom? ( Part I)

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.  The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.”  Matthew 25:1-5

 

This is a familiar passage of scripture often used to teach about living in readiness of Christ’s return.  In the Life Application Study Bible, the commentary explains the wedding day custom of the time:  “On the wedding day the bridegroom went to the bride’s house for the ceremony, then the bride and groom, along with a great procession, returned to the groom’s house where a feast took place, often lasting a full week.  These ten virgins were waiting to join the procession, and they hoped to take part in the wedding banquet…”  As you can see, being ready to go to the party was a huge social event in those days.  To miss out was a huge disappointment for a young virgin- and quite instructional to us today.

In recent months, my heart has been so stirred about what the Bible terms “the end days” and the rapture of the church- where the Lord calls the saved to meet him in the air.  For those of us who have asked Jesus into our hearts as our personal Lord and Savior, we look forward to that time with mixed emotions.  We are eager to go out and join him, but of course, we do not want any of our unsaved friends, family, neighbors, etc., to be left out of the celebration.  We want to avoid seeing anyone that we care about left behind.  As Christians, we are mandated to care about every human being; thus, we look to this day with eager anticipation for ourselves and dread for those who have not made preparations to go.

In later posts, we will discuss the return of the “groom”, but for the purpose of today I want to pause in this passage where the Scripture ended.  Ten maidens had grabbed their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five thought ahead and took the oil that made the lamps useful.  Five foolishly failed to plan and had lamps with no ability to use them.  We know that Jesus put major emphasis on Him being “the light of the world” and us being His light in the world today.  All the virgins, at a glance, appeared to have the same potential to illuminate.  But upon further inspection, five were a farce.  They had the appearance, but no ability.  How many of us “Christians” claim the name of Christ, but fail to truly have the goods?  How many of us attend church, speak the language, have five Bibles, but are without the oil in our lives?  In the Bible, oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.  The five wise had the presence of the oil, or the Holy Spirit, thus they were able to light their path to lead them to the groom.

In these evil days that we are living in, it is going to take a little more preparation to keep our lights shining bright.  We are going to have to make sure that we bathe ourselves in the precious Holy Spirit of God and that we know our Word inside and out.  People are sick, beat-down and hurting.  What do we have to offer them?  Are we carriers of the light?  Or are we false advertisers, a mere charade?

The days of easy living for Christians is probably behind us.  Things are tough.  The darkness is growing.  But a pin-prick of light in a pitch-black night will draw all eyes to it.  Are you lighting up for Jesus?

Dear Lord, have mercy on the church.  Forgive us for blending in, giving in, and extinguishing our light.  Help us to shine for You.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri