Seven Locks

Samson enjoyed Delilah but while he was asleep in the lap of compromise, he was shorn of his hair; and along with his hair, the strength of anointing that clothed his weakness. We are all weak without Him. We don’t we like weakness and we want to be in control; we don’t want things to be too big for us. We want the walls to be small enough to climb with a ladder if the shout doesn’t work. We don’t want to have to trust God; we want concrete, not water under our feet.
But nothing about being a disciple of Jesus is possible without miracles. It is impossible to live as Christians without supernatural intervention.   The task of changing hardened skeptics into people who will die for Jesus Christ, is, of course, impossible, apart from miracles from God and miracles only happen in the circumstance of weakness, need, and impossibility.

Gods plan is to work through weak vessels so he gets the credit. In fact, he even says “My power is made perfect in your weakness.” When Paul understood this he said, “Therefore I will gladly boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

Can we say too, that we are more interested in Gods power being released through us, than in our comfort or ease?  Trials and troubles pull us to our knees but when there is no pressure, we drift toward the arm of the flesh and our spiritual effectiveness withers. Samson was a man who forgot where his strength lay. (Judges 16:17) Without God, he was as weak as any man.

Friend, it takes the full 7 locks of Gods anointing to fulfill our destiny. The saddest thing is that many of us are happy to live with one or two locks. Let's grow some “hair” in His presence today.

The Visit

Some people can’t remember the home in which they were raised and no one can remember the room in which they were born.  The Saviour probably couldn’t remember the farmyard smell of His lowly birthplace. Jesus did not become humble in order to visit the planet but was already humble before the cross. He only demonstrated His humility on the cross and continues to be as humble after the cross.

Humble people are secure whereas the proud will never be because security doesn’t come from a position but a disposition. Of course, everyone wants to be valuable to somebody but when we don’t gain our sense of value from God we tend to give the approval of people, too much weight. If not from people, maybe we will seek to gain it from our own performance or from a position or title.

Jesus did not grasp His position or glory but He made himself of no reputation and became the servant of others – us.  He wasn’t afraid of losing something nor was He trying to keep up appearances or maintain His social standing. He could have stayed among the Angels and bathed in praise but instead, He chose to dwell with us.  He got down among the dirty. He walked with crooks and racketeers and sat with the spineless and the spiteful.  Jesus had no one to impress so He acted Himself.

The devil’s mistake was thinking that “God likeness” was positional, not dispositional. He thought God’s gloriousness came from the position He held at the pinnacle of the universe, instead of recognising that God’s glory came from His disposition of perfect and humble holiness.  He aspired to God’s “heights” rather than to His heart.

Friend, God has always been humble and continues to associate with those of low degree. That is why we know He is not looking to see if our house or our heart is perfectly clean before He visits.

JIM Shaw