DONKEY LOST HIS FOOTING
I was reading Luke
chapter 3. Verse 4 says: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path
straight.” I was thinking about this verse and it reminded me of this picture
of the donkey. The poor donkey is so burdened down, he can’t get his feet on
solid ground, and he can’t go anywhere. We need to repent and make appropriate
changes so that we can make a straight path for the Lord straight to our hearts.
Then we’ll be on solid ground, and we can move easily and peacefully. So, what
do we need?
We need to
drop off some of the things we think are okay, and get back to the simple,
straight truths from the Word of God. We’ve allowed ourselves to compromise. We
“self-medicate” with the scriptures we
want to hear and we leave out the ones we don’t.
We wonder why
we’re not moving forward as quickly and smoothly as we want. Part of the reason
is that we’ve piled up our carts with stuff that isn’t in the Bible, and we’re
like the donkey that’s up in the air, bewildered because our feet don’t feel
like they’re on solid ground.
We need to get
back to some of the basics.
The Gospels,
the Epistles, and the letters Paul wrote to leaders in the church are great places
to find out the basics of how we are to act as
Christians. The things mentioned in the Ten Commandments are still appropriate
for today as well. Do you even know where to find them in the Bible? I didn’t,
and I had to look them up just now as I was writing this article. Wow, I have
to admit I’m certainly not following them as closely as I could be, and that’s
what the Lord is showing me. Consider this:
Exodus 20: 1) And God spake all these words,
saying, 2) I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3) Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth: 5) thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of
them that hate me; 6) and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that
love me, and keep my commandments.
7) Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that
taketh his name in vain.
8) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it
holy. 9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10) but
the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in
it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within
thy gates: 11) for in six days the Lord made heaven and
earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
12) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days
may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
13) Thou shalt not kill.
14) Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15) Thou shalt not steal.
16) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbour.
17) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house,
thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour’s.
18) And all the people saw the thunderings, and
the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and
when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
19) And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us,
and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20) And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for
God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye
sin not.
The donkey in
the picture is out of control. We get that way sometimes. But we have a savior
and helper, Jesus Christ. Return to Him and He returns to us. Only Jesus is
called “The Prince of Peace.” He will help us get our carts back on the right
road.
Love, Carolyn
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