Reaction = Reflection =D

Judges 13:22,23

22 "We are doomed to die!" Manoah said to his wife. "We have seen God!"

23 But his wife answered, "If the LORD had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."

Shalom and a blessed Sabbath afternoon!! =D

Ever heard the people around you, believers and non believers alike, go "Si liao!", "Die lah!", "This time finish already lor!"... my grandma used to go "Si ah, Si ah" (Die, die) after she sneezed. Thankfully she accepted Christ some months before she slept in the LORD. =p So I know she died one death but not two.

Others like to go "sh*t", "f***" and use other colourful terminologies in their lives when something goes wrong or when someone upsets them.

I remember Pastor Mark in his previous sermon telling people - if everytime say dung dung dung over everything, no wonder a lot of dung happens.

Our reaction be it in our speech or reaction to the circumstances in our lives show if we have received the revelation of the LORD in our lives or not.

Manoah just saw the Angel of the LORD (aka Jesus in his pre-NT form) with his wife but just looking at their reactions shows who has the correct revelation of the LORD.

Manoah like every OT fear-filled Hebrew panics when he realises they have seen the LORD and starts thinking it is the beginning of the end for them. This is because the OT mentality is this - that God = Judgement (because of the Mosaic Law).

Manoah's wife however has revelation - she tells her hubby that if the LORD had meant to hard them or have them dead, He would not have revealed to them such wonderful things ie the birth of their son. (Samson - a type of Christ... for the uninitiated we are not saying Samson is Jesus here but saying that a part of his life reflects an aspect of Jesus's actions in this world, but none show it completely. They are a typification or typology of Christ in some way. I will post on the various types of Christ this Feb).

As Christians today, living under the grace of God won for us at the cross by Christ Jesus, who are we more like in our reactions to temporal trials in this fallen Earth - are we like Manoah (who clung to doom and forgot completely the promises of blessings to come) or are we like his wife (who trusts in the promises and completely ignores any thoughts of doom and gloom)?

We are each letters of God to the people around us - do we project His true glory? Do people have a wrong understanding of what Christ has acheived for us just by watching us? If we live with defeat written on our faces and hearts due to our own anxieties and emotions, what are we telling the world about Jesus?

We ARE on the winning team so let's behave like we do! =D Does a football team walk around with black faces and downcast faces after a team mate scores a goal?? They rejoice! They run around the stadium taking off their T-shirts and swinging them around (of course I am not asking us to do that! LOL). They celebrate.

We have the ULTIMATE victory in Jesus so it is time to celebrate this gift of love and grace! =D

Let us continue to have a better opinion of God and cling on to His promises to us. We know His will for us (Jer 29:11) and we know that Jesus has said time and again to us to not be anxious or be afraid. So let us fear not and worry not whatever things may be like in our lives and have a confident expectation of the good that is just around the bend! =D

Hallelujah! ALL glory be to Christ Jesus!

Marantha!

Ger