The Measure of Your Loyalty
"You are only as loyal to Jesus as you are to your least favorite person."
By His substitutionary death for all of mankind, Jesus proved Himself to be loyal to absolutely everyone. Consistent with this doctrine is the call of Scripture that those who have received this act of love should, likewise, be loyal to all. Even to their enemies! To be disloyal to those for whom Christ died is to be disloyal to Him.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:43-45).
The Blaster
Fact of Fiction? It is legal to have your car retro-fitted with a flame thrower to ward of carjackers in South Africa. Fact!
With carjacking rampant in 1990s South Africa (in excess of 13,000 incidents per year), inventor Charles Fourie patented “The Blaster,” a flame-throwing device that could be retro-fitted to cars to ward off would-be attackers. “Casting a man-high fireball, reportedly with no damage to the paint, the Blaster … squirts liquefied gas from a bottle in the automobile's trunk through two nozzles, located under the front doors. The gas is then ignited by an electric spark, with fiery consequences.”
CNN reports that South African courts “allow killing if convinced that it's in self-defense.” Never mind the fact that flames shoot from both sides of the car simultaneously, posing great risk to pedestrians and passersby. In a society wherein cars are, for many, a luxury, some were willing to go to great lengths to stay in "the driver’s seat."
Can you imagine lighting someone on fire to stop them from stealing your car? Wouldn't it be better to just give them the car? ". . . Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" (1 Corinthians 6:7).
Post Script: Wondering how the invention fared in its battle against crime? Motortorque.com (http://motortorque.askaprice.com/blog/tag/flamethrower-car/) reported in 2009 that fewer than 1000 were ever sold, suggesting that criminals simply resorted to shooting their victims from a distance, effectively nullifying the Blaster’s usefulness.
Empty Vessels
Check this out ...
"We bought a house FULL of JUNK...!! What did we get ourselves into?"
The internet is filled to overflowing with stories just like this one — people buying homes at auction or in foreclosure, only to have to deal with all the old furnishings and junk that were left behind.
A house filled with old junk and clutter is not fit for habitation. It would be of little value to us until it is emptied of its contents. We need an empty house in order to properly set up housekeeping and make a house a home.
The Lord has little use for people who are full of themselves, their past "junk," and old, worldly ways. He needs an emptied vessel so that He can come and productively make His home within us.
In his ministry, Jesus loved to use empty vessels: empty boats, empty nets, empty jars, and empty tombs!
Are you ready to empty yourself to be filled with HIS fulness?
"Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses [empties] himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:20-21, ESV).
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, ... [who] emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5,7, NASV).