Friday, October 22, 2010

Be Gentle as a Dove!

Mathew 10:16
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.


In the word there are several places where the Lord describes certain attributes using a dove. I would like to consider some of those attributes and see how we can relate as believers. Ready, let us go and discover how we are like the dove.

Noah sent the dove to find vegetation. Several times the dove came back empty handed, yet each time the dove flew far and wide until it came back with the promise of land; with an olive branch in its mouth. The last time the dove did not return, it left to begin its new life in a land that was regenerated, made new.

We are to be point men like that dove. We are to go and share the gospel with all we meet. We are to go and discover the new life we have with Jesus.

We read in Mark 1:10 where the spirit of the Lord descended upon Jesus LIKE a dove. Notice it said like and not a dove itself! But gently in peace the Spirit of the Lord rested on Jesus calling him into ministry just as it rests on us when we are regenerated, made new in Jesus.

We are like Jesus, called forth to share the truths and manifest the fruits of our faith in Jesus. He who rested on Jesus is resting in us also. We have been regenerated to become the church.

O Jehovah, deliver not the soul of Thy turtledove unto the wild beast (Psalm 74:19) I believe the turtledove here is depicting the life of our faith devoured by the wild beast. So cry out with me, “Lord preserve our faith and do not let it be consumed by those without love for me!” Protect the dove of your faith always treasuring what the Lord has given you. Grow up my friends in the love of Christ, defending the cross with His love and compassion with the eyes of the dove.

Innocent, holy and pure as a dove we come into the presence of the Lord. “I cried like a swift or thrush, I moaned like a mourning dove. My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens. I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid!"In Isaiah 38:14 only those who are innocent and child-like will inherit the kingdom of God.

The dove instinctively seeks shelter while man does not know when to seek shelter in times of trouble. We tend to use our own means, the ways of the world, and the Lord is trying to tell us “Lean on Me, call upon Me and I will give you shelter and provide you for all your needs!” I am referring to Jeremiah 8:7 here.

Doves signify intellectual things: gentle, beautiful, clean, and useful, intellectual truths and goods. Do we have those characteristics? Or are we fierce, ugly, unclean, and useless, like the raven, which is opposed to the dove?

Lord, I pray, that in my life with you I will be gentle and as smart as the dove showing forth Your goodness for the rest of my days!

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