Saturday,
May 30, 2020
RIOTING!
2
Peter 2:12-13
12 But
these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil
of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their
own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as
they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time.
Prov
25:28
28 He that
hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and
without walls.
I
stayed up late
watching our cities burn while giggling idiots carted away alcohol, electronics,
and other toys. This, they say, was in response to a gross injustice and
therefore made their injustice somehow just.
Leaders
will be evaluated
by their response to the riots of the last three nights. I saw no response,
weak response, and measured response. No control and self-control met at
various barricades that marked the line that must not be crossed.
Only
three times
in our English Bible do we find the word “riot!” Twice it is the Greek word asotia
(as-o-tee’-ah) which literally means “unsavedness.” It infers an unwillingness
or inability to control oneself. The third time the word is used, it is the
Greek word truphe (troo-fay) which means “to beak up.” This is
the word we see in Second Peter. So, we see rioters as being, or at least
acting, in unsaved-ness while breaking things. This description will not shame
rioters. They are proud of their shamefulness.
My
mind pictures the Gadarene
who lived in the graveyard and wore no clothes. He could not be controlled
because he was being controlled by a “legion” (from 3,000 to 7,000 troops) of
demonic spirits. This is what I witnessed in our cities last night.
Our
first challenge
is to control ourselves. It is hard to restrain the natural tendency to take
matters into our own hands to quell a riot and to make things right. In doing
so we become rioters ourselves.
The
real answer
to rioting is to say yes to a controlling spirit – the HOLY SPIRIT. He is the
Spirit of meekness and wisdom. Oh, how our world needs Him today!
Daniel
Iverson
wrote a simple hymn that is appropriate here.
“Spirit
of the Living God”
Spirit of
the living God,
Fall fresh
on me.
Spirit of
the living God,
Fall fresh
on me.
Melt me,
mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of
the living God,
Fall fresh
on me.
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