Strength of the Ox By Roberts Liardon
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&view=post&articleid=85293&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Roberts Liardon
Print Friendly
It is time for each of us to put
our hands to the plough.
Proverbs 14:4 Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox
for a large harvest.
The ox is not a beautiful animal
but it is hardy. Where a horse might be susceptible to sickness and disease the
ox will be more likely to overcome. A horse used for riding needs to be shod
but the ox does not because his hooves are far stronger. Our feet are shod with
the preparation of the Gospel of peace. Like the ox, there is no ground over
which we cannot travel - no place we cannot go. The favored animal used by the
pioneers in America, the Voortrekkers in Africa, the Romans in Europe and the
Chinese in Asia was always the ox.
Being Strong in Character
The ox speaks of being stable and
persevering. We need to have the same spirit.
When things get tough we give up instead of setting our backs to the wheel
and pushing through or being stable and standing for what we believe. The ox is
strong in character and very tolerant. As
Christians so many of us are quick to jump and point fingers when we should be
more tolerant. It is a good thing that God is the judge and not us.
Oxen are always used in pairs and
trained to work together in unity. If we, as the Body of Christ were jealous
for God's glory and we worked together to achieve that, the task would be so much
easier but so often we are jealous for our own glory. The ox has always been associated with power
and strength and in the days of ancient Israel represented service and production
and increase in wealth. For us it represents our service before God and man and
the increase in souls (the harvest) for the Kingdom.
Roberts Liardon
Roberts Liardon.....on the Cutting Edge
MP3 5 Teaching Download
By Roberts Liardon
Price: $42.00
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=195507&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
There are three kinds of grace that operate in the life of every believer—saving grace, sanctifying grace and serving grace. All three come from God and are essential for the Christian life and for end-time service in the kingdom of God. Saving grace comes to you when you first hear the gospel and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. In Ephesians 2 and verse 8, the apostle Paul writes: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…."
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=193929&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
"When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." (Matthew 27:50) At Easter we remember the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary and how He took the judgment and chastisement for our sins upon Himself. But there's another significant event that took place at the moment Jesus cried out from the cross and yielded up His spirit. Scripture says that the veil in the Jewish Temple was suddenly ripped in two. It was not simply pushed aside, it was violently torn apart from the top to the bottom!
http://www.identitynetwork.net/Articles-?blogid=2093&url=10&view=post&articleid=183866&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
In the midst of believing God for a miracle this Christmas season, or even in the midst of spiritual war, we should know how to have joy. We don't need a new baptism of joy, we need to return to the joy we once had. We need joy to permeate our hearts! King David proclaimed: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit." Psalm 51:10-12 (NKJV)