James and John were refered to as "the Sons of Thunder" in the Bible. When they discovered a Samaritan village that would not receive Jesus, they were fully prepared to call down fire to consume the entire community.
"And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" Luke 9:54.
Maybe they felt that through such a show of power, the gospel message might be enhanced. The two brothers were willing to sacrifice the lives of the village in order to further the cause of the gospel. However, Jesus rebuked them!
Later, the apostles heard that Samaria had responded to the gospel. Guess who was commissioned to go and help them receive the Holy Spirit? None other but Peter and John! It was God's purpose that the people not be destroyed but saved! God chose not to rain down fire on the village, but to shower it with His Holy Spirit! I wonder what was going through John's mind as he saw those same people he had wanted to destroy now rejoicing in their salvation? Maybe he was grateful and thankful that Jesus had prevented him from calling down fire? I would like to think so.
Friends, I think that this example in the Bible gives us a contrast between our thinking and God's thinking. Man's thinking would have resulted in the destruction of an entire village. Think about that for a moment. Is there someone in your life that you have given up on? Maybe you are tired of witnessing to them? Maybe it is your spouse and you are tired of living with them? Maybe it is your church and you are tired of worshiping with them? Whatever the case, maybe you are like John and James, ready to call down fire upon them. Think for a moment that maybe God has other plans in mind for those in your situation. Look at the village in our text, God's plan brought salvation to it! What I am saying to you today is that people will benefit far more from what God wants to give them than from our best plans. One question to ask ourselves today: Have we been short-changing the people around us by merely giving them our plans instead of God's?
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
"And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" Luke 9:54.
Maybe they felt that through such a show of power, the gospel message might be enhanced. The two brothers were willing to sacrifice the lives of the village in order to further the cause of the gospel. However, Jesus rebuked them!
Later, the apostles heard that Samaria had responded to the gospel. Guess who was commissioned to go and help them receive the Holy Spirit? None other but Peter and John! It was God's purpose that the people not be destroyed but saved! God chose not to rain down fire on the village, but to shower it with His Holy Spirit! I wonder what was going through John's mind as he saw those same people he had wanted to destroy now rejoicing in their salvation? Maybe he was grateful and thankful that Jesus had prevented him from calling down fire? I would like to think so.
Friends, I think that this example in the Bible gives us a contrast between our thinking and God's thinking. Man's thinking would have resulted in the destruction of an entire village. Think about that for a moment. Is there someone in your life that you have given up on? Maybe you are tired of witnessing to them? Maybe it is your spouse and you are tired of living with them? Maybe it is your church and you are tired of worshiping with them? Whatever the case, maybe you are like John and James, ready to call down fire upon them. Think for a moment that maybe God has other plans in mind for those in your situation. Look at the village in our text, God's plan brought salvation to it! What I am saying to you today is that people will benefit far more from what God wants to give them than from our best plans. One question to ask ourselves today: Have we been short-changing the people around us by merely giving them our plans instead of God's?
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
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I am glad that readers are enjoying my posts. I have been unavailable for a while as I tended to life issues, however, I will begin posting new teachings starting in 2015. I hope that these teachings help draw you into more of a relationship with Christ.
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