“Excuses excuses…..”

Have you ever said those words either to yourself or to someone else? I’m sure you have.

I’m reading an excellent book at the moment called, ‘Chase the Lion’ author – Mark Batterson. I highly recommend it. I highlight and write stuff down every time I pick it up.

He bases it on a fabulous Bible verse that I remember from a  book I had as a child! It wasn’t one of the ‘favourite’ Sunday school bible stories, but I wish it had have been!

It’s found in 2 Samuel 23:20

“And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two Ariel of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen.”

It’s one of those verses that you could easily read past without much thought, but as you read Mark’s book, every time he mentions Benaiah, you have to shake your head at amazement of that one thing he did!

Picture a 500lb (35 stone) lion…. I’ve seen many in the flesh, not behind bars in a zoo, but out in the savannah of Africa! They are formidable creatures, they are the king of the jungle. What would you do if you were face to face? Lions can run 35mph, their roar can be heard 5 miles away.

What would I do, what would you do? I can say with 100% certainty that I wouldn’t have chased it, it would have chased me and had me for lunch! Not Benaiah! It was snowing, he could follow the lions paw prints, he went into the pit with the lion! He didn’t chuck a spear at it from a distance – he chased it down into a pit! When I get to heaven, I think I’ll ask to see the video recording of this! It doesn’t say how the lion was killed, just that Benaiah won the fight!

That’s not all Benaiah achieved, he also struck down an Egyptian with the Egyptian’s own spear. He ran to him, snatched his spear and killed him with it. (2 Samuel 23:21)

Benaiah was one of King David’s 3 mighty men and he went on to become the commander in chief of Israel’s army when the crown passed from David to Solomon. (1 Kings 2:35)

What does Benaiah have to do with us? I think, for me, he makes me look at my life and wonder where I may have allowed fear of the lions in? We’ve all faced the lion of Covid for over a year now. How have you responded? We know it’s a serious disease and it has taken lives although, by the governments own admission, not as many as we were first told, but that’s another story. It has caused chaos in the world for sure.

From day one, I was never scared of Covid. I know the enemy tried to plant fear in me, especially when we were re-opening as a church, but, for my own life, I was secure. Why? Because if I had died (no desire to die I hasten to add!), but if I had, the incredible, awesome (in its fullest sense) amazing, eternal truth is, I would have woken up in a paradise that I can’t even begin to imagine! (John 3:16) So, I’m confused as to why, at the time of writing, (April 2021) some churches are still not open and so many Christians are not back in church. So many, it seems, are in retreat of the lion and not enough are chasing the lion into the pit.

In Damascus, there is a church lead by Brother Edwards. His congregants walk down sniper alley just to worship together!

Will we have to change the lyrics to some of our victory songs? E.g. you have delivered me from all fear (except for Covid) Tongue in cheek, but you get my point.

Some people may never go back to church simply because the online version has become the new normal and so much easier than getting out of the house on a Sunday morning. However good that has been, especially in the early days of Covid, it cannot in any way compare to all being together in one place and having the shared experience of worship, the word and the Holy Spirit within each one of us. The gathered church should be a place of equipping, encouraging, worshipping, learning, developing kids, youth and adults in preparation to go into the world making disciples, teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded. You can’t achieve this on line, in my opinion.

In Damascus, there is a church lead by Brother Edwards. His congregants walk down sniper alley just to worship together!

I’ve purposely written that sentence again…. Because there goes any excuses we have.

I think it’s time that churches open the doors again and created to be the safest places for anyone to go. Our God is the Lion of Judah and is more than capable of protecting His children.

In Damascus, there is a church lead by Brother Edwards. His congregants walk down sniper alley just to worship together!

D x

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