1 Samuel 17:46-47: The Battle belongs to the Lord

Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on July 6, 2008
Presented to Swift Current Corps on May 2, 2010
and Warehouse Mission, Toronto on July 17, 2016
By Captain Michael Ramsay

Click here to read the message: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2008/07/1-samuel-1746-47-battle-belongs-to-lord.html

Devotion 2.15/67: Genesis 4:7b: Aware

A devotional thought presented originally to River Street Cafe, Regent Park Toronto, Friday 17 June 2016 

Read Genesis 4:3-8

There are consequences for giving into sin. It really is crouching at the door, just like God warns Cain before he strikes his brother.

Sin is like a house cat patiently hiding in the grass waiting for a bird to land in front of it. If you have ever watched a cat stalk its prey, you will know that as the moment of attack comes closer and closer, the cat becomes more and more excited: her limbs start twitching, her ears press back against her head, her eyes grow wide, and then when she can’t control it any longer, her tail starts to wag and she pounces on her unsuspecting prey.

This is what Sin is like with Cain. In his anger, he is like that bird landing in the cat’s backyard. God warns him not to stay in his anger or he will be caught by sin but Cain is too blinded by his dejection. Like a bird focusing on a worm or some other prey below, he is so focused on his anger that he ignores God’s warning not to stay in his anger. He instead defies God. God warns him to take flight from his anger and thoughts of vengeance before it is too late. God tells Cain - take your eyes off that worm - that the cat is about to pounce! God tells him that ‘… if you do NOT do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’ But it is too late; Cain strikes out at Abel and sin grabs a hold of Cain. Cain seems to feel that striking out at Abel will relieve his feelings of dejection from his perceived rejection; he feels that striking out in anger, releasing his rage will satisfy his urges - but alas that is not true. Sin is crouching at his door, Cain steps out onto the front porch of misplaced vengeance and it is already too late; sin springs into action and Cain is caught.

Do we ever get caught in this trap? Do we ever get so focused on our own selfish feelings that we do not notice that that is exactly what the devil and sin want us to do? Do we ever get so focused on our perceived rights, rather than our God-given responsibilities; do we ever get so caught up in our own world, becoming angry with others and striking out at them, that in the process we leave ourselves vulnerable to the devil and sin?

This passage is warning us about taking our eyes off of our Lord and instead focusing on our own selfish feelings and it is warning us against over-reacting and striking out against our brothers and sisters.

So, let us remember when we are tempted to walk out on that porch of selfishness, superiority, self-pity, retribution and spite; when we are tempted to walk out on that porch of jealousy and rage, let us remember that sin is crouching at our door and it desires to have us but we don’t need to blindly fly into its path like an unsuspecting bird focusing only on its own prey.

Instead we can open our eyes, pray to God, and master sin rather than being mastered by it.

Devotion 2.07/59: Luke 11:23: Br_exit?

A devotional thought presented originally to River Street Cafe, Regent Park Toronto, Friday 24 June 2016 

Read Luke 11:14-28:[1]

Last night Britain voted to leave Europe. England and Wales want to go; Scotland and N.Ireland want to stay. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has resigned. “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall...” 

 “...If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?” (Lk 11:23, Mt 12:30) Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me.” Jesus has been accused of exorcising demons by demonic power (Lk 11:15, Mt 12:24, Mk 3:22). A conviction of witchcraft was punishable by death. Jesus answers this charge by saying that not only is He innocent but also it is impossible to drive out evil with evil as is charged. Only good can drive out evil. Therefore since Jesus can drive out evil, He is good; thus if you oppose Him than you, by definition, are evil. “He who is not with me is against me.”

Today are we with him or against him? Jesus casts out demons while telling this story of a divided house and even a parable of an haunted house. Sin, in this parable, has many parallels with addiction. Any of us who have ever struggled with addiction know that each time one becomes clean and then slips up, it becomes more difficult to become clean again and remain that way. The metaphorical demons of addiction, like literal demons and sin, return stronger (with more friends) each time. It doesn’t need to be that way. Jesus can clean our houses and when Jesus cleans our house we can let Him keep it clean too (TSA d.6, d.10)!

So what can we do? We can do nothing to clean the house: Jesus defeated sin and death between the cross and the empty tomb (TSA d.6) but looking at Luke 11:27, we notice a woman who calls out to Jesus, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” To which Jesus reponds, as we should to the deliverance He has offered us, “blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it (Lk 11:28).” “He who is not with me is against me”

This is the choice set before us today. We can ask Jesus to sweep our life clean and He will. We then need to choose who we will serve. We can serve ourselves, our own desires; we can serve the Enemy by inviting demons to haunt our lives again or we can serve the Lord and live life abundantly (TSA d.6 d.8). Today we must decide, are we with our Lord or are we against him? 

Please remember too that any of us can ask our Lord Jesus to clean our haunted houses. Even if He has already cleaned it once or one hundred times and we have messed it up again. While we still have breath in our body, we can invite Him back into our lives to clean us up, sort us out and we can continue receiving the Lord’s blessing of eternal life, Luke 11:28, “blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” As we do this, we will continue in the blessing of the Holy Spirit. This is holiness and this holiness is available to all but we must make a choice (TSA d.10).

Today the choice is yours: are you with Jesus or against Him?

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[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Luke 11:14-28: The Haunted House. Originally presented to Swift Current Corps 31 October 2010. http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/10/luke-1114-28-matthew-1225-29-parable-of.html

Devotion 2.43/95: Luke 6:29: Nonviolence

A devotional thought presented originally to River Street Cafe, Regent Park Toronto, Friday 10 June 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay and the Arthur Meighen Centre, 15 June 2016 by Sarah-Grace Ramsay

Read Luke 6:26-31

Every volunteer in Martin Luther King Junior’s movement for freedom was required to sign the following pledge.

I HEREBY PLEDGE MYSELF – MY PERSON AND BODY – TO THE NON-VIOLENT MOVEMENT. THEREFORE I WILL KEEP THE FOLLOWING TEN COMMANDMENTS:

1. MEDITATE daily on the teachings and life of Jesus

2. REMEMBER always that the nonviolent movement in Birmingham seeks justice and reconciliation – not victory.
3. WALK and TALK in the manner of love, for God is love.
4. PRAY daily to be used by God in order that all men might be free.
5. SACRIFICE personal wishes in order that all men might be free.
6. OBSERVE with friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7. SEEK to perform regular service for others and for the world.
8. REFRAIN from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.
9. STRIVE to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10. FOLLOW the directions of the movement and of the captain of a demonstration.

I sign this pledge having seriously considered what I do and with the determination and will to persevere.

God used the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior to change a country and to change our world. God used him to peacefully initiate reconciliation. Here is a key note: This was done in the power of Jesus. When Martin Luther King Jr. was violently killed by his enemies, his friends refused the temptation to respond in kind. They gave up their right for vengeance and thus reconciliation was possible. MLK, just like Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela after him, followed Jesus and Jesus' teaching on peace and reconciliation and whole countries and our whole world were changed because of it. Just think, as we follow Jesus and His teaching on peace and reconciliation how much He will change our societies, our communities, and even our very lives.
  
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