I had an interesting dream last
night. I was back working for the Police
Department as a Sergeant. We received a
call of an injury accident on the west end of town.
I was on another call, so didn’t
get there right away. When finished I
went to the scene.
The driver had run into several
parked cars – he was obviously intoxicated.
He was ranting and raving that
it wasn’t his fault. It was the car’s
fault. It was the car that hit those
cars, not him.
The investigating/arresting
officer told him that he had been arrested for Driving under the influence and
told him that the car is a machine; HE was the one driving and would be held
responsible.
As he kept ranting and raving in
the back seat of the patrol car, the officer, shaking his head, looked at me and
said “First time I heard that excuse; it is the car’s fault, not his. Drunks!”
Then I woke up to the tones of
AllClassical.
As I lay there I was thinking,
how can anyone blame a car for injury when it is obviously the driver’s
fault? “Drunks!”
Ephesians 6:18-20 Praying always with
all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that
utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known
the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an
ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to
speak.
Paul asks us to be in prayer for
other Christians, to be diligent in helping them grow in Christ. Helping them avoid temptations, and stand
strong for Him.
Then
he writes,
And for
me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to
make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an
ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to
speak.
Paul, who never stopped
preaching Christ even when he was beaten and left for dead, even when he was
whipped and incarcerated, Paul was asking for prayers that he might speak boldly
as he ought to speak.
He didn’t relish the thoughts of
once again going through those ordeals and in the flesh he knew he was
vulnerable – even though his heart was fixed on God.
I am convinced that satan seeks
us out with special demons. They know
what our thoughts and weaknesses are, they know how to attack us and when to do
it. We are all different, what works for
one person doesn’t for another, satan knows that and acts accordingly.
Those demons have complete
access to our minds, but when we accepted Christ they no longer had access to
our hearts. And it is the heart that
drives a Christian.
Paul’s desire, his heartfelt
desire, was to preach the Gospel of Christ to everyone. To stand boldly and without fear as he told
others of his faith and as he admonished those that strayed from it.
Satan couldn’t work on his
heart, he couldn’t change his heart so he attacked him mind, trying to make him
think that he should tone down his remarks, or perhaps striking fear that he
would once again be tortured and abused.
But, Paul told his fellow
Christians of his struggle and asked for their prayers.
We suffer the same kind of fears
that Paul suffered, we are not good enough, we might be held in derision and
contempt. We will be made fun of or
looked at as a religious nut.
We will be cast aside by our
employers; we will be given the worse jobs and past up for any promotions. Our families will suffer because we speak out
and they too will be ridiculed for our testimony. If we proclaim Christ, all this will happen
to us and our families and it will be our fault – we should have remained quiet
and never professed our love of Christ.
Or at the very least toned it down, it is okay to be ‘religious’ at
church but it shouldn’t affect our daily lives.
All lies of satan’s special
demons assigned to discourage us; to make us think we cannot be effective
witnesses for Christ.
Does the physical happen, yes, I
have been through it and so has my family.
It sometimes wreaked havoc with me as I went through some of those
situations, and yes, there were times I backed off for fear of ridicule.
And I have asked and received
forgiveness from God for my inactions.
Paul’s request for prayers is a
good example for us. It shows us that
even the Great Apostle Paul was not
perfect and he needed the prayers and support of others to continue his
work.
If Paul needed those prayers,
then so do we; if Paul asked for those prayers then so can we.
While satan works on the minds
he cannot work on our heart. While he
can try to trouble our souls, our hearts and faith in Christ will win out.
Proverbs
23:26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my
ways.
We have given God our hearts
through the salvation of Jesus Christ.
We have a strength that satan cannot destroy. It is our faith that knows that God is God
and that His Word is true.
Mathew
22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind.
Now let us do as Paul did, ask
for prayers, and pray for others.
Later, Art :-)
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