No yield necessary....

12.02.10

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline."

Do these words ring true in the year 2010 or was this just for the first century church?

Have you ever felt the need to stop, slow down or yield when you should have just kept going? We all have. I can remember when I was about 24 years old and doing student ministry. I took a group of students up to West Virginia to do some camping and some rafting on the New River. It was an awesome trip and the students and I had a blast, well I did that was, until we got to the rock jump. The raft guide took us to a rock that was about 30 feet high off the water and one by one the students climbed to the top and jumped without a thought. When it was my turn I was the last one on the rock and I did the worst thing you can do when thinking of jumping of a high rock into water, or anytime your up high for that matter, I looked down. I began to see the water below as the end of me. I tensed up and had no idea what to do, I didn't want to jump, but I certainly didn't want to have to climb back down in front of everyone. I finally resolved myself to the idea that I was going to have to jump and trust that I would be okay. I closed my eyes and jumped, and to give you some perspective this truly was like jumping off the third story of a building. When I came up out of the water I remember thinking that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be and I wished I hadn't hesitated. Then we all ran back to the top of the rock and jumped for another hour or so. Once I realized that I just needed to not hesitate and just do it I realized I was in for the ride of a lifetime.

That is the kind of spirit that God wants us to have in our relationship with Jesus. That is how God wants us to be about sharing our faith with folks who do not know Him. The students I was with didn't think about the height of the jump or hitting the water they just jumped and enjoyed the ride. I hesitated and doubted and almost missed out on the ride of my life. God promises us life to the full if we trust in Him with faith like a child. God wants us to know that if we just jump and trust we will experience the ride of a lifetime.

We're told in the book of Acts that when the apostles of the first century church were out sharing the Gospel they were arrested and angel of the Lord freed them from their prison. The angel than commanded them to go and keep sharing Christ. When they did they were brought before the Sanhedrin even the Pharisees recognized that these men that preached in Jesus' name could not be matched as long as they were going in His name.

Acts 5:38-39

"...Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

These are the words of a Pharisee who knew that God was more powerful than anything they could possibly do to those men.

In Romans Paul tells us that if God is for us nothing and now one can stand against us. This should be all the encouragement we need to live with no fear, no timidity and a spirit of utter trust and faith that God is FOR US!!!!


Thought question:
What will it take for us to trust that Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever is for us and no one and nothing can stand against us? What will it take for you to just jump off the rock and not hesitate?