The DavId Spoon Experience 2-24-23 Part 2

A) There is a challenge for many of us who are believers. It is something that Tommy Barnett Sr. preached many years ago. He told the congregation to try not to be reactors but actors. In other words, don't just respond to things but try to take action regarding things. One of the issues that many Christians face is how they respond to trials and to testing. They can have reactions, or they can have actions. An action would be diving deeper into the Lord to try and connect better through the situation. A reaction would be getting frustrated and turning away from things that promise relief but never deliver. The real question is, when things are tough and when there are trials and testing, where do we turn?

B) I want to be very careful in this DDD I will share regarding Mankind and animals. Let's not misunderstand that there is an interesting correlation between how we love our animals and how God loves us. But we don't want to go too far down this rabbit hole. Still, there is the truth that they don't know how we will take care of them, and yet we always do. There does need to be a distinction because Jesus died for people. That does not mean He does not love animals, and that does not mean that the animals will not participate in heaven. What we know for sure is that redemption is coming to Creation. We don't understand how that will look or how that will be, but we do need to recognize that animals can be a blessing to us. But they are not our equal in the purchasing power of the blood of Jesus.

C) I love to talk about expectations. The reason that I enjoy it so much is that every time I talk about it, my own expectations increase. That's a good benefit to teaching. In the book of Acts story, when the beggar fixes his attention on Peter and John, he expects to receive something. Therein lies the great lesson: he expects to receive it. He's anticipating its reception.