Have You Ever Attended the
Funeral of a Sparrow?
Matthew 10:29, 31
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father’s care…So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
How much for a sparrow?
In Jesus’ day, a sparrow was the cheapest of all the meat and one of the few things a poor person could buy for food. Matthew 10:29 says you could buy two for a penny (farthing). In Luke 12:67, we are told that you can even get a discount if you buy two penny’s worth. The price was two for a penny or five for two pennies. Continue reading
King Saul lost his kingdom in the hill country of Bethel. There and his large army of 3,000 faced off against a Philistine army of 3,000 chariots, 6,000 men on horses, and soldiers “as numerous as the sand on the seashore.” As daunting as the odds were it was not the enemy that destroyed him. King Saul’s destruction came from inside him. He failed for lack of faith. Continue reading
How to Deal with Negative People
I hope you know the difference between minor and major negative people in your life. The High Priest was a major negative person in the life of Jesus. People who laughed at him were just minor. When you have a major threat by a major negative person you have to take it seriously. You cannot ignore it, but I hope you know which is major and which is minor. I confess that I sometimes struggle with telling the difference.
On one occasion Jesus was going to an official’s house to heal a dying girl. He was late getting there and the girl was dead. The flute players and other professional mourners were already on the scene and showing sorrow. What Jesus did on that occasion was amazing.
Matthew tells us, “When Jesus came into the official’s house, and saw the flute- players and the crowd in noisy disorder, He said, ‘Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.’ And they began laughing at Him. But when the crowd had been sent out, He entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up” – (9:23-25)
From this we see three truths about negative people.
- There are negative people. Even Jesus had them in his life. They weren’t sneaky about it, but openly laughed at him. If you go through life hoping not to encounter people who will try to put you down, you are setting yourself up for pain.
- If you find yourself surrounded by the naysayers do what Jesus did. Tell them to leave. Do not be rude. Jesus simply said, “Leave.” You cannot do your work surrounded by negative folks.
- Do not let anyone stop you from doing good. Once you figure out what God wants you to do, the rest is just details.
Lonnie Davis