My daughter bought me the Bible on CD for Christmas and I enjoy
listening to it while I do my work-out on the treadmill. As I was
listening to the end of chapter 4 from Judges I began to laugh. This
passage described the downfall of Sisera, the commander of the armies of
Jabin, the Canaanite king to whom God had given over the Israelites, due
to the evil they had committed in his sight. It struck me as hilarious
that after Jael drove a tent peg through Sisera's temple that the next
words were, and he died. The whole scene was one of such violence it
seemed to go without saying that indeed surely he would be dead.
But as I laughed amidst my pounding along on my treadmill, this vision
of a tent peg being driven through someone's temple, causing death,
suddenly brought another thought to my mind.
"Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will
is-his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2 NIV)
The
Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord and thus became captives of
the ungodly Jabin, a king of Canaan. When we conform to the pattern of
this world, we also do evil in the sight of the Lord and we become
captives of that evil. It invades our minds, our thoughts, our actions
and the only way back to freedom in Christ, is to drive the tent peg of
God's truth through Scripture into the lies, to which we have fallen
prey that they too might die through the transformation and renewal of
our minds.
Suddenly I wasn't laughing anymore. I was amazed at
the sobering power and truth of this thought. Being able to test and
approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will should be
our goal as his children. And how can we achieve this goal if indeed we
are not willing to allow Scripture on a regular basis to transform and
renew our minds according to His truth? His truth which much like Jael's
tent peg has the power to kill the lies of the Prince of this world who
continually seeks to recapture the minds' of Gods' children and lure us
back into the conformity of this world.
Prayer: Father God help
us this day to allow the truth of your word to be driven deeply into our
minds that we may no longer conform in any way shape or form to the
pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds,
that we might be able to test and approve what your will is-your good,
pleasing and perfect will. In Christ's name we ask. Amen.
Lynne Phipps
Atlin, B.C.
Illustrator Message
Today's Bible Verse:
"Stand in the doorway of the tent, he told her. If
someone comes by and asks you, is anyone here? Say no. But Jael, Heber's
wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he
lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into
the ground, and he died." (Judges 4:20-21)
The Tent Peg
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