Matthew 10:16

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” ~ Matthew 10:16


These words of Jesus are a contradiction when set together. On the one hand we are to be sheep: gentle, needing a shepherd, followers not defenders. When I read this line, I sense we are told to go into the grassy pastures around us and settle in while also knowing there will be those who are ready to attack us, thereby being an easy target for the wolf. Next, we are told to be as shrewd as snakes who lie in wait ready to attack its victim from within the bush or from under the rock. We turn from being the victim to the aggressor if provoked, but all the while being gentle. It all can sound a bit confusing, but what Jesus is telling us is to be gentle while also be on guard and wise when we go out into the world. Paul the Apostle said we are to be like a Jew to a Jew and under the law to those who are under the law (though he is not under the law) to win them for Christ. When we spread the word of God to others, we are not to pound them over the head with the Bible. That will never win anyone over to know Jesus as their Lord. Relationship is how we will win people to Christ. So, we go out into the world as a sheep, but wise enough to know how to spread His word without trying to turn people away from listening to you. At the same time, we know that the word of God is offensive to those who do know want to hear it, but we are not to be the offenders.

Pastor Julia

image by pixabay

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t
Read more

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the
Read more