"But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." Acts 4:17-19
I saw an interesting article today on a football player named Tim Tebow. Now, I know nothing about this man and do not follow sports at all. However, it seems that he is continually bringing up his relationship with Jesus Christ and giving Jesus the glory every time the opportunity is presented. As a result, it is making some people very uncomfortable, and even angry; one being former player Jake Plummer who had the following to say:
"Tebow, regardless of whether I wish he'd just shut up after a game and go hug his teammates, I think he's a winner and I respect that about him. I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ, then I think I'll like him a little better. I don't hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every single time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff."What about all of the self-exalting grandstanding that is done by ball players? Does any of this offend? The pounding on the chest, the dancing in the end zone, the jumping into the stands, the showboating in the interviews... None of the flesh on display apparently bothers Plummer, but name the name of Jesus and he sees red.
Do you see how slick the devil is? Satan will even cater to your ego in an attempt to get you to deny Christ. "See, I like YOU Tebow. You're a winner! It's just this Jesus guy that is the problem. We would all like you even more if you just stop talking about Him."
When it comes to Jesus, it is a small thing for him to be accursed and mocked in the streets. Even His very name is offensive because the soul of man knows instinctively that Jesus is God.
It reminds me of a statement that hip hop artist KRS-One is stated to have made:
"Be God, stop worshiping God. Be God. If your religion is Islam, eliminate the distance, stop worshiping Allah and be Allah. If your religion is Judaism, stop studying the 5 books of Moses. Be the law. Be Moses. If you are Christian, stop worshiping Jesus Christ and calling his name out. Be Jesus Christ. Be Buddha. Be Krishna."Of all the "gods" mentioned by KRS-One, the only one whose name is offensive - the only one whose name must be stopped - is Jesus'.
The demons know that there is power in the name of Jesus Christ and they tremble! They have been trying to stop His name from being proclaimed since the days in which He walked the earth. Yet, those who belong to the Lord know that His name is a strong tower (Proverbs 18:10).
As others try to threaten you to stop naming the name of Jesus, I pray that you will have the strength to praise Him with even more boldness! His is the name above all names. It is the name by which all must be saved: Jesus!
Tim Tebow is really using his fame as being a well known football player to tell people about Jesus Christ. He always talks about The Lord and has a great testimony. I commend him because he gets a lot of backlash in the NFL about his playing style and his short comings, but it isn't even about that. He keeps talking about Jesus and it makes people mad. So that demon tries to make up negative things to say about him every chance he gets. I believe since former All-Pro basketball player David Robinson, there hasn't been anybody in pro sport Preaching Jesus Christ as hard as Tim Tebow. Love the Brother. Great Sis! Hopefully see you January 6th, 7th, and 8th.
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel, I look forward to seeing you at that time!
ReplyDeleteAs a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, Tim Tebow has my thumbs up. But as a football player?? LOL! May God bless him!
ReplyDeleteHi Walt,
ReplyDeleteLOL! Well, Thank God then that in the things that matter (the things which are eternal) he seems to have it together. :-)
MAN!!! I was talking about this very thing with a co-worker just this morning. I ran up on an article this morning about Tim Tebow and I was explaining to him that if he was representing any other religion there would be no flack against him but that people are offended by the name of Jesus!
ReplyDeleteApparently another football guy used to be a avid Christian back in the day. His name is Warner or something like that. He thanked Jesus after winning the Super Bowl one year. Now this guy is a sports analysts and is giving advice saying Tebow should just live his life and stop talking about his religiion so much. Looks like "they" got to Warner.
Hi Latika,
ReplyDeleteI guess great minds think alike. LOL But seriously, I do think that is the issue. It is all about the name of Jesus.
A friend who saw this post called to tell me more about Tebow for she went to school with him. From his birth, he really seems to have an inspiring story about the power of God.
However, even without knowing anything about him, I do know that it takes guts to publicly and sincerely name the name of Jesus. Hypocrites can name Jesus all day and it won't cause any reaction. But, when a real Christian does, all hell will break lose.
He doesn't even 'respond in kind' to his critics, but even in addressing them keeps his eyes on Jesus. Lessons many a Christian can learn from.