One more night with the frogs

We need to protect ourselves because if we choose to spend one more night with the frogs, by sinning or living in disobedience or doing something that is not of God then we could be jeopardising our salvation

Source: kentcrockett.blogspot.com

Any Christian who attends Church regularly will quickly accumulate a vast range of messages that are delivered from the pulpit along with further Words of God from meetings, bible studies and other Christian activities. The truth however is that unless you are like my wife, who takes meticulous notes in Church, the vast majority of messages/teachings are quickly forgotten. There are however those occasions when God speaks so powerfully that somehow a message imprints itself onto our minds and is not lost so easily. I remember hearing a message at our local church, possibly as long ago as seven or eight years, which I cannot remember the detail but I cannot forget the theme. This recently prompted me to re-look at this story and to write this blog.  

The teaching related to the early part of the Old Testament where under God’s instruction Moses asked Pharaoh to release the Israelites so that they could start their journey to the Promised Land. Each time Pharaoh refused, God would send a plague for which each one was all consuming and affected the whole land (each plague is vividly described in the book of Exodus). Exodus 8:1-15 describes the second plague which is the plague of frogs. What is particularly interesting in Exodus 8:8-10 is that Pharaoh is given the opportunity to bring the plague to an end however when Moses asks him when he wants it to end Pharaoh says ‘tomorrow’! ‘Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD’. Moses said to Pharaoh, I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile. ‘Tomorrow,’ Pharaoh said. Moses replied, ‘It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God’.  Given the severity of the plague of frogs, Pharaoh’s response is a real surprise and you could say quite extraordinary.

Source: www.jesuslovesyoutoday.org

Why would Pharaoh choose for the land and the people to endure a further horrendous night with the frogs when he had been given the opportunity to end the pain and suffering? This is a really good question and anyone looking from the outside in would think that Pharaoh must have been mad. This however is an important question for all of us because how many times, just like Pharaoh, do we choose to remain in our own situations when we have the opportunity to change them? How many times do we ignore advice, which we know is good, but choose to continue on our own path regardless?  How many times do we not do what is right with God but continue anyway? How many times does our selfishness prevent us wanting to make real changes in our lives because the alternatives may be difficult or mean giving up something that we like doing even though we know it might be wrong? I am sure you could think of other questions yourself, however unless we make a decision to make real changes in our lives then just like Pharaoh, we too are choosing to spend at least one more night with the frogs.

When we are given the opportunity to do something that can have a positive impact and to change our lives then we really should take it. The problem with waiting for tomorrow is that we are not actually guaranteed a tomorrow (on this earth). This is particularly important with regards to our salvation. For those who know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we need to keep short accounts of ourselves with God (this is something we have been hearing a lot about in our Church recently). We need to protect ourselves because if we choose to spend one more night with the frogs, by sinning or living in disobedience or doing something that is not of God then we could be jeopardising our salvation because that night with the frogs could be the very night that Jesus returns for us. Guarding our salvation is about saying to ourselves I refuse to spend another moment, let alone another night with the frogs. I refuse to continue in disobedience, I refuse to jeopardize my salvation, I refuse, I refuse and I refuse because I am not guaranteed tomorrow. 

When Jesus died He did so once and for all for ours sins. Every time we decide to spend one more night with the frogs we are actually putting Jesus back on the cross. We are not acknowledging that Jesus paid for our sins in the most painful and horrifying way, we are denying our salvation. We must ensure that we guard and protect ourselves every moment of every day because yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today is the day of the Lord, today is a gift from God Himself.

If you have not yet given your heart to the Lord then God is telling you that He loves you very much and that He does not want you to spend another moment let alone another night with the frogs.  As discussed, time is short and we are not guaranteed tomorrow.  This is particularly important because God tells us in His Word that Jesus is coming back for us, but we do not know when; Philippians 2:10-11 ‘that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ and in Matthew 24:36 ‘But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father’.  Are you spending your nights with the frogs?  If so, then now is the time to act, by asking Jesus into your life. After you have done this, speak to your Pastor, one of your Church leaders or somebody in your church who will help you on your new exciting journey.

Father I pray that hearts are not hardened like Pharaoh’s and I pray that those who have not given their hearts to you do not wait for tomorrow to except and secure their salvation.  I pray that the Holy Spirit speaks into the hearts and minds of those reading this prayer and that they wait no longer to accept the free gift of salvation so that they can look forward with confidence to the triumphant return of your Son and our King, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Author: Gary O’Neill 

May God bless and enrich your life

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