Scripture
On the way, Jesus told them, “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
~Matthew 26:31, NLT
Quote
Humble yourself or God will do it for you!
~Image Quotes
The flesh is strong when it comes to doing it’s will but it is weak and impotent when it comes to doing God’s will. There are somethings that the flesh does very well. It is great at boasting….
- Peter– “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you.”
- Peter–“Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!”
- The other 10–“Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!”
The disciples learned a very hard lesson on the eve of Jesus crucifixion. They learned that you cannot trust the flesh. One of the first verses that I committed to memory was Jeremiah 17:5, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and who’s heart turns away from the LORD [Yahweh].” The flesh can do a lot of things but there is one thing it cannot do and that is please God {Romans 8:8}. I had rather not think about the number of times I’ve seen the flesh fail in my life. It is rather ironic that Jesus makes the connection between Peter’s pride and the rooster. The rooster is a cocky bird who likes to strut and call attention to himself with his loud and incessant crowing. It reminds me of a story.
A hunter went forth to kill a wild bull but the bull turned on the hunter and gored him to death with its horns. The bull was so proud of its achievement that it found a high hill where upon, the bull bellowed loudly for some time as it celebrated its victory over the hunter. There was a lion in the forest near by and it heard the bellowing bull. Thus the lion attacked the bull and had itself a steak dinner. The lion, now feeling proud of its accomplishment, begin to roar loudly, so loud that another hunter heard it and tracked it to the spot where it was standing. The hunter shot the lion and killed it. The moral of the story is…“If you are full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” This story was told in a nearby pulpit back in the days when Samford ministerial students would visit local churches to do the Sunday morning sermon. When I was a kid, they called it H-Day. The host pastor took up too much time introducing the student. He told one joke after another. When the student got up to preach, he told the story of the Bull and the Lion. The pastor relayed the story to me.
Relying on the strength of the flesh is not risky, it is foolish. The flesh will never behave in a noble way and it will always produce a harvest of regret and disappointment…don’t trust the flesh, ever. Never say never, never think that you are the exception to the rule and never question the word of God. Peter did all three and it lead to bitter tears.
My neighbor and landlord Ray Edwards called this morning. He told me that Cliff Holladay and Louie Dutton had passed away. I think Cliff is Len’s brother and Mr. Dutton is Robert’s uncle and Teressa Abercrumby’s dad, I think.
Loving this weather. My tomatoes are growing like crazy. I sprayed my roundup ready sweet corn yesterday morning so we will see how that works out. I killed my early tomatoes when I sprayed the yard with MSMA. The bad thing is the MSMA didn’t kill the bad grass or weeds, it just killed my tomatoes and roses.