Week 3: 15 Jan 2018 – 21nd Jan 2018 (Lion in the lamb)

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Lion in the lamb

Week 3: 15th Jan 2018 – 21st Jan 2018

Bible passage to read: Revelation chapter 5

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Spiritual Maturity means we are no longer babies tossed back and forth with every single worldly wave. (Ephesians 4:14-15)

It is so confusing for a non-Christian to understand how the same person who is being referred to as the Lamb of God can be called Lion of the tribe of Judah. Jesus had a lot of names; the psalmist called him a good Shepherd (Psalms 23), an elder in Heaven referred to him as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelations.5:5) and Prophet Isaiah said he is the Lamb of God. But being a shepherd involves patience and tolerance and all these gentle qualities are totally absent in a Lion. Then, how can a Lion be a good Shepherd?
Shepherds are born meek or at least learnt to be meek because of the nature of their profession. Unlike goats that are notoriously stubborn, Sheep are naturally “foolish” and lambs are more foolish. They are so humble that they do not hesitate to follow the instructions of the shepherd; they simply follow where the shepherd directs.
Mostly, Jesus acted like a lamb while he was in this world. He gently follows the instructions of God the father without questioning his authority. The scripture even recorded that he was so patient that he endured a lot of pains without complaints (Philipians2: 7-8). No wonder he was highly exalted at the end.
However, this same Jesus never took it lightly with the traders in the temple at Jerusalem. He was not against trading but he was against buying and selling in a wrong place. His action was so firm that he did not even regard the word of mouth to be enough to deal with the culprits; he quickly made a cane and whips all “whippable’s” from the temple. That is the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
The ability of an individual to have this kind of character is spiritual meekness; the Bible did not refer to Moses as the meekest person on the face of the earth because he is gentle, rather it was because he is firm when it is needed and he is tolerant when relating to God’s people. How tolerant are you as a Christian, do you just flare up at anything or you take your time to respond to situations? There is a need for you to double-check your attitude and character.
Just like Jesus, God expects us to have this kind of dual character in us so that we can be able to fulfil our purpose on earth. As Christians, we are meant to be firm on the principles of God so that other people can see Jesus through us. We are not meant to compromise any God has given standard (2nd Timothy 2:19) no matter the condition we find ourselves; we are ambassadors of Christ and ambassadors do not have the right to change the constitution of a country.
However, it must be noted that our human ability cannot make us to be meek; except we allow the Holy Spirit to control our life, we shall always find ourselves reacting to situations wrongly. Allow the Holy Spirit to dwell richly in you so that the works of the flesh can be subdued and you will be surprised that the Lord will help you greatly as you do so.

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Devotional Prayer Points

• Oh Lord, give me the confidence to be bold when needed and gentle when you desire in Jesus name.
• Oh Lord, create in me a gentle heart to serve you and my neighbours
• Dear Father, I pray that you will give me a humble heart to take to corrections
• Father, destroy the spirit of “self” in me
• Holy Spirit, feel me to the brim so that I can always do the will of the father in Jesus name.
  

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