I thought many of you would enjoy this - O How I miss the Good Ole Days of coming up with Funky Illustrations just to keep the faithful selling books
Just my 2 cents
James
A Good reminder.
-Passed on by one of the friends here at work--portion of a brother's talk...
.. The title of his talk was "Don't Run." Brother Smith began by asking have We ever worked in the ministry with someone who is afraid of dogs? Usually we encourage the person not to run. Why?
Because the dog will chase after and probably overcome the person or child if they run. Then, he mentioned that Jehovah's servants are constantly being attacked by 'dogs' that is, Satan and his demons. They want to get us.
Thus, we may be plagued with problems, such as, worries about money and how to make ends meet (economics), some of us have health problems, others family problems, and the list go on and on. But how can we endure when being attacked?
He turned to Deut.11:22,23. In that text Jehovah promised Israel that if they would strictly keep his commandments and CLING to him, he would back them against the nations and they would dispossess them.
In the case of a child that is afraid of dogs, usually what he does when a dog comes around is hold the parent's hand > tight-even cling by grabbing hold of the parent's leg. Jehovah wants us to cling to Him when we are being attacked by the 'dogs'.
How do we cling to Jehovah? Bro. Smith then read 1Cor.15:58. That text encourages us to become steadfast, immovable. In other words, cling to Jehovah. We do this by 'having plenty to do in the work of the Lord.' We must keep busy > by:
1. Regular attendance at meetings;
2. Personal study and meditation;
3. Regularly sharing in the disciple-making work;and
4. Prayer.
This builds our trust in Jehovah. Thus, we don't run. He mentioned that sadly some when attacked by the 'dogs' run. They run from Jehovah and his organization. They forget that animals usually don't attack individuals in a group. Rather they go after the person who runs.
Even if the individual runs fast, sooner or later the dog catches up. He concluded by again emphasizing the need to cling to Jehovah and His organization. We all need to develop a close, personal relationship with Jehovah so that when the 'dogs' attack, we 'Don't Run.'
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DON'T YOU JUST LOVE THE FACT THAT PRAYER IS LISTED LASTED