19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Jesus has come into our lives to bring us salvation and to enable us to experience freedom from and victory over the power of sin. It is very easy to accommodate sinful desires and patterns in our lives, and God has offered to us a better way - He gives us access to His power and resources so that we might break free from the power of indwelling sin and experience the liberty of the new nature, united with Christ, so that we might honor Him in our thoughts and our actions.
The Lord wants us to develop a determination to eradicate areas of sin from our hearts, so that we might experience a greater measure of Christ's life. Hebrews 12 says:
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."
The circus has been a fixture of American life for years - and perhaps you have delighted in the amazing feats of daring artistry, or the way that the plethora of animal acts can astound and entertain.
Well, it was announced recently that the Ringling Brothers circus has decided to eliminate the elephants from their shows. A CNN Money article reported that Ringling Bros. announced it will gradually reduce the use of elephants in its shows, and all will be retired by 2018.
As the article points out, it's the end of an era for the animal that Ringling calls "a lifelong symbol" of its circus.
Elephants have for years played prominently in the circus' shows and its advertising. They triumphantly enter the ring, then perform a synchronized dance routine.
But Ringling Bros.' treatment of the pachyderms has also come under scrutiny. It has been repeatedly criticized, picketed and even sued by several animal rights groups, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States.
In 2011, the circus was fined $270,000 by the USDA for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Kenneth Feld, the chairman and CEO of Ringling Bros., is quoted as saying that, "No other institution has done or is doing more to save this species from extinction, and that is something of which I and my family are extremely proud." He added, "This decision was not easy, but it is in the best interest of our company, our elephants and our customers."
Ringling Bros. said it currently has 13 elephants traveling for its shows, and about 40 are at its 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida, created in 1995 by Ringling as a facility for the care and study of Asian elephants, the variety it uses in shows and an endangered species.
Author and speaker Jill Briscoe writes about the concept of the "elephant in the room":
+++++
The Lord wants us to develop a determination to eradicate areas of sin from our hearts, so that we might experience a greater measure of Christ's life. Hebrews 12 says:
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."
The circus has been a fixture of American life for years - and perhaps you have delighted in the amazing feats of daring artistry, or the way that the plethora of animal acts can astound and entertain.
Well, it was announced recently that the Ringling Brothers circus has decided to eliminate the elephants from their shows. A CNN Money article reported that Ringling Bros. announced it will gradually reduce the use of elephants in its shows, and all will be retired by 2018.
As the article points out, it's the end of an era for the animal that Ringling calls "a lifelong symbol" of its circus.
Elephants have for years played prominently in the circus' shows and its advertising. They triumphantly enter the ring, then perform a synchronized dance routine.
But Ringling Bros.' treatment of the pachyderms has also come under scrutiny. It has been repeatedly criticized, picketed and even sued by several animal rights groups, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States.
In 2011, the circus was fined $270,000 by the USDA for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
Kenneth Feld, the chairman and CEO of Ringling Bros., is quoted as saying that, "No other institution has done or is doing more to save this species from extinction, and that is something of which I and my family are extremely proud." He added, "This decision was not easy, but it is in the best interest of our company, our elephants and our customers."
Ringling Bros. said it currently has 13 elephants traveling for its shows, and about 40 are at its 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida, created in 1995 by Ringling as a facility for the care and study of Asian elephants, the variety it uses in shows and an endangered species.
But, the "elephant in the room" regarding these majestic beasts is apparently the treatment that elephants are subjected to in order to bring them into submission for the purpose of the performance.
There are questionable techniques that have been implemented, and apparently Ringling decided that the result was not worth the ethical cost.
I think circus goers will miss the elephants - after all, they have become a fixture, really, a symbol, of the circus culture.
Well, it's not too much of an analogous stretch to think about how sometimes we need to eliminate things from our own lives that while we may regard as being beneficial, yet, they are really detrimental to our spiritual walk. We tolerate the "elephants in the room," those things that we know are there, that we accommodate without effectively dealing with them.
Author and speaker Jill Briscoe writes about the concept of the "elephant in the room":
Do you ever have your devotions when there is something you are really worried about, yet you never get around to talking to God about it? Even though it dominates your thoughts, you manage to avoid addressing it with the Lord. It's funny, isn't it, that you can have a long devotional time, finish, and be as worried as you were when you started. Why is this? How do we manage to talk to God about the world and this life without ever mentioning the elephant in the room?
She asks:
But then, how can the elephant be in the Throne Room in the first place? The answer is he's there because I bring him with me! Yes, I do. You wouldn't think an elephant would fit through the Throne Room door, would you? But the front door is large enough for any old elephant, and he comes in because he refuses to stay outside. There I am clutching my Bible, prayer journal, calendar of Bible promises, a book about faith, and a map so I can pray for all the missionaries in the world, and there he is looming as large as life! The most amazing thing is that even though the animal sort of dominates the landscape, I manage to have my prayer time AS IF HE ISN'T THERE! In fact, at the end of a seemingly balanced time with God, (you know, like we've been taught: praising first, confessing next, praying for others, and then praying for myself) I get up and leave with the elephant in tow just as I came, pretending he's been invisible to all those heavenly beings (who we learned in Sunday school have eyes all over them!). In other words, it's possible to have a huge problem that you know only God can throw light upon and help with, but you won't allow yourself to LISTEN to what He wants to say or be enlightened and encouraged by Him.So what do we tolerate in our lives? Perhaps something with which we've grown so comfortable that we just regard it as part of us and fail to do anything about it. Perhaps we feed and care for that area of sin - it's on our mind, but we are too accustomed to it to really allow the Holy Spirit to take it away. Maybe we just flat out like it! The Ringling Brothers have been keeping the elephants going for years, even though they apparently have had to take drastic measures to keep the huge animals under submission. Maybe there are those drastic measures you are taking to hold on to sin, to accommodate those areas that bring private pleasure, but do not contribute to our spiritual growth. What are the elephants that are residing in your room, in your heart? - God wants us to bring those areas under the submission of the cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment