Comic Relief Proverbs Chapter 18 … 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof (KJV). Ephesians Chapter 6 … 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (KJV). Daniel Chapter 10 … 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia (KJV). I realize the statement I’m about to make will sound harsh and cruel, but it is the truth, whether you choose to believe it or not. We have become “comic relief” for the devil. The reason we are “comic relief” revolves around our ignorance of the influence he possesses as he operates behind the scenes. He acts like a “puppet master” pulling the right strings to obtain the appropriate action and/or response from individuals. Jesus was well aware of the enemies’ presence in the fore shadows and this is why He made the following statement in The Book of Matthew Chapter 16 verse 23 … “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men (KJV).” We fight each other instead of recognizing or even understanding who or what the real threat is, as well as, its’ intended purpose. How much longer will we allow ourselves to be manipulated by those things which are, at best, inconsequential (stupid stuff)? In other words, how long are we going to standby and be the devil’s “Comic Relief”? Aren’t we really tired of being upset because Brother and/or Sister Jones forgot to shake our hand or say: “Hello or Praise the Lord?” How long are we going to hold that grudge against our Pastor, Ministry leader, our parents or someone else who selected someone else over us? How long will we allow that specific individual to hold power over our lives? We know who that individual or individuals are: the one who knows how to push all the right buttons that causes us to lose our tempers; lower our standards and compromise on our integrity and character? Yes that person when we see them; that if it were possible, we would slap them; strangle the very life from their bodies; drop them from a plane at 30,000 feet or so; or drop them off the precipice of the tallest building we could find! How long we will standby and continue to allow the devil to exploit us, along with, our tongues to bring railing accusations against one another? My Brothers and Sisters, if nothing else is received from this message, please absorb this one truth being: “The devil is making use of his knowledge of Scriptures and exploiting them to brand us as fools. Let us be conscious enough that he doesn’t use the power of our tongues to assassinate (murder) one another or cause others to hate someone whom they are not even acquainted with, but because you have an issue, now they have one as well.” It is statements like these that at least for me amplify specific statements or commentaries chronicled in the Bible and they come to life in my mind and spirit. Take for instance the Apostle Paul’s teachings as recorded in the Books of: 1 Corinthians Chapter 3 … 1 Brothers and sisters, when I was there, I could not talk to you the way I talk to people who are led by the Spirit. I had to talk to you like ordinary people of the world. You were like babies in Christ. 2 And the teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready. 3 You are still not following the Spirit. You are jealous of each other, and you are always arguing with each other. This shows that you are still following your own selfish desires. You are acting like ordinary people of the world. 4 One of you says, “I follow Paul,” and someone else says, “I follow Apollos.” When you say things like that, you are acting like people of the world. 5 Is Apollos so important? Is Paul so important? We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do (Easy-to-Read Version). Hebrews Chapter 5 … 12 You have had enough time that by now you should be teachers. But you need someone to teach you again the first lessons of God’s teaching. You still need the teaching that is like milk. You are not ready for solid food. 13 Anyone who lives on milk is still a baby and is not able to understand much about living right (Easy-to-Read Version). Many times it will be observed that the use of the pronouns “we” and “us” are frequently employed because I will confess that I’m an imperfect vessel, but still have to acknowledge and thank God that in spite of my finite ability to comprehend His Sovereign Ways somehow and someway He obtains perfected praise. Again having to confess that apart from God I can do absolutely nothing and my life has no real significance, but conversely He permits me to be strengthened to accomplish things beyond my human intellect; abilities and connections. It for these reasons I love the Lord that in spite of knowing exactly who I am: He still loves and regards me and acts accordingly. What a MIGHTY, AWESOME, MAGNIFICIENT and RIGHTEOUS God I (we) serve. So after reading these words the challenge still remains before us: “How long will we continue allowing the devil to manipulate us into behaving like his Comic Relief?” © 2014 Robert G. Johnson, Jr.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 23:35:02 +0000