Sons of Thunder

I often times get ahead of myself in thought, word, and deeds. I need to remember although God gave me a voice and permission to use it for Him, I must make sure that I am speaking for Him and not myself, that my words are pleasing to His ears, and that my actions following what I speak are pleasing to Him.

The following is a great example of two familiar apostles of Jesus' that had the loud voices & the passion for Christ but sometimes got ahead of themselves. So much so, He nicknamed them the "sons of thunder".

John 15:13

No one has greater love than to give up one's life for one's friend.-James

Boanerges

Sons of thunder

James son of Zebedee and his brother John.

Lets follow suit and never think timidly about Jesus again.

Let us be forthright about preaching the word and like fisherman calling out to each other over the waves we should shout praises to our Lord over crowds. Lets shake the world for God. Let us not be silenced. Let us worship so loudly that everything in hell is bending at the knee to the One and only God.

Let us not be as useless as thunder with no sight of lightening. How then can people see reason for our hollering? We will look like fools. Let us be the thunder that is followed by an act. Finishing our loud rumbling with lightening instead of those who thunder but never follow up with actions. When the disciples state they won't deny Jesus, with voices loud in assurance, only to have their fire fizzle out by lack of action during the arrest & crucifixion a passerby would never know real love for Christ and someone who was in their lives might have questioned their faith.

With our actions should be wisdom in Christ.

Much like James and John we often speak before we think and get ahead of ourselves by our own self-inflated egos.

When James and John asked Jesus if they should command fire to come down from heaven and consume this village for not receiving Him, He rebuked them saying, "you do not know which manner of spirit you are of. The son of man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them". Luke 9:51-56 N(KJV)

We must watch our thunder and our lightening and make sure our deeds create life, & love, ending in rebirth in Christ instead of ruin and death of faith. We are to be good examples and stewards in Christ. Bringing forth hope. Let us know the nature of ourselves. Let us show love for our savior Jesus Christ by giving our old selves to death and our new lives to Him so that His will may be accomplished through our thunderous preaching and love and our deeds that bring our words full circle. There is no greater responsibility.