The Light of the World

In John 8:12 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."Darkness surrounds us--deception, corruption, abuse of power, greed, and the taking of innocent life. Into this darkness Jesus came--the light of the world--but the world did not comprehend him. They rejected Him. "Light came into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light for their deeds are evil" (Jn.3:19). The answer to the worlds woes is "The Light of the World"--Jesus. Those who follow Him will not walk in darkness--they love darkness because their deeds are evil. That means those who do walk in darkness are not following Him. Those who follow Christ "shall have the light" which is "life." Those in darkness are destined for eternal separation from God (death) while those who follow Christ enjoy eternal life. The real answer to the darkness of the world is Jesus.

The Bread of Life

Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (Jn.6:35). He had just fed the 5,000 and he was again being pressed to give a "sign" so the people would believe in Him. In metaphorical language that speaks to the most basic of human felt needs (hunger and thirst) Jesus declared that faith/belief in Him would satisfy completely (shall not hunger...shall never thirst) the spiritual needs of our soul. Notice that He says, "He who believes in me..." pointing to a spiritual rather than physical satisfaction. I hope each of us has found the hunger and thirst of our soul satisfied completely through faith in Christ. It is so true, "That our souls are restless until they find their rest in Him."

Food for the Soul

During lent some people decide to fast, to refrain from certain foods or activities as acts of devotion to God. When I read John 4:34 "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work", it seems that Jesus was "feasting." Oh that more of those who are genuine followers of Christ would find sustenance in doing what God has called us to do. Oh that ministry would nourish us spiritually. I don't think Jesus was saying he didn't have to eat anymore, but that in a real sense he was nourished in His soul by doing God's will. May our love for God grow to the place that serving Him nourishes our soul in ever increasing measure.

Believing and Obeying

Last night I came home from the office, walked into the house and immediately I accused my dear wife of "shrinking" a coat of mine by over drying it. Where did that sinful accusation come from? Why was it that instead of appreciating her efforts to wash and dry the coat that I chose to find fault. It didn't take too long for me to realize that I had just wounded her spirit and I asked for forgiveness. Once again the enemy had gained a brief victory, but through the shed blood of Christ the ultimate victory is mine. When I consider this incident in light of John 4:36 it is sobering. ‎"He who believes in the Son (Jesus) has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life..." (John 3:36). I would not expect the word "obey" to appear in the second half of this verse because I don't naturally equate belief with obedience. But Jesus certainly does. He set up this verse declaring that those who believe gain life and those who do not obey do not see life. Genuine belief in Jesus is evidenced by genuine behavior. Those who believe, behave and those who don't behave (obey Jesus) don't truly believe. These words strike at the heart of "lip service" whereby we are tempted to say, "of course I believe" while our behavior may be totally inconsistent with what Jesus expects. So does my condemnation of my wife over something so trivial as possibly shrinking a coat mean that I am not truly a child of God? Those who are trusting in Christ's death alone as the payment for their sins are truly new creations in Christ (2Cor.5:17) and are no longer slaves of sin (Ro.6:3-6) but they are not perfect. Whenever those who profess faith in Christ sin we can confess the sin and experience renewed fellowship with God (1Jn.1:9), but we should also take time for a "gut check" to see if as a pattern of our life we are growing to be more like Jesus in my behavior. If not, then I have reason to question the sincerity of my belief. Indeed, we are saved by grace through faith, but it is equally true that those who truly believe are growing in Christ-like behavior (not perfect, but progressing). I believe the Word of God teaches believers that they are secure in the Father's arms (Jn.10:27-28) but that truth is to be held in tension with the fact that genuine faith is always evidenced by good works...belief impacts behavior, attitude determines actions. We are never to rationalize that we are eternally secure simply because of a "prayer that we prayed" but only when our faith is evidenced by fruit. Granted that there are ups and downs in our consistency, there are dry times spiritually, there are struggles in which we stumble and flounder, but the true believer is, over the course of time, convicted, repentant, and pressing ahead.

Simplicity and Purity of Devotion

Paul was concerned for the Corinthians and said, "But I am afraid...your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (2Cor.11:3). He was speaking to those who had heard of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. What sort of things lure those who know the truth (at least intellectually) away from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ? Familiarity with the truth so that it has little impact? Activity--so many things competing for our attention and affection? Pride--an elevated view of self that makes us think our involvement and input in any number of things is so valuable that we can not spare the time to focus on Christ? Love for the world--a quest for pleasure, possessions, power, popularity, and/or profit? Religiosity--the adherence to a long list of rules that defines our spirituality rather than the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ? Lord help me see what lures me away and repent, run, and rid myself of it.

Economics 101

Well today is the day when the "Sequestration" across the board spending reductions go into effect. I have been astounded and disheartened by all the hype surrounding the impact of what begins today. First of all, I think the "powers that be" deliberately chose a term that most people would stumble over (sequestration) as an attempt to keep people confused and easily manipulated emotionally. Here is the straight scoop. The cuts that go into effect today will NOT mean that our government will spend less this year than last year. What will be cut are the proposed increases. That's correct. No real cuts to any program or agency will take place. We are talking about an extremely small reduction in proposed spending. So when the department of defense sets their budget for 2013 they build in a 15% increase over last year (This is an example because I don't know the exact amount of their proposed increase). So sequestration means that instead of their 15% increase they will only be able to have a 12% increase. Unfortunately most of the people in the U.S. have been subjected to tremendously dishonest scare tactics with threats that meat inspectors will be cut, that we will not have air traffic controllers, and we witnessed the release of known criminals in states like Arizona on the premise that sequestration would result in immediate reduction in law enforcement officers (ICE, DEA, etc.). Nothing is further from the truth. Those in every agency where these reductions to proposed increases will take place have the discretion as to where those reductions go into effect. So just realize that NOTHING is being cut from any budget. Need I remind you that there has been no Federal Budget passed for over 3 years. All that is actually happening is a slight decrease in PROPOSED increases in spending. Secondly, the dishonest emotional manipulation by lawmakers trying to scare people into thinking that vital services are being cut is reprehensible. Finally, specific actions taken that threaten the security of the country and the safety of our citizens (i.e. releasing known criminals on false pretenses) is unacceptable. All of the manipulation, deception, and misrepresentation reminds me in fresh and firm ways that we live in a fallen world and that the hearts of men and women must be changed. Only in Christ are our deepest needs met and we need to humble ourselves as a country, pray, seek God's face, turn from our wicked ways and put our trust fully in Him and not in fallen men.

Showing Mercy

A few days ago I was leaving WalMart and I was surprised by someone asking for money to buy food for their family to get them by until morning when they could go sign up for some "assistance program. It was late and I was in a hurry to get back to the comfort of home and spend a few minutes with Marla before retiring for the evening. Now just that morning I had read Luke 6:35-36--"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." As this person was "spinning their story of need" there were a couple of things going on inside. A battle if you will. On the one hand I was certain this was a scam and I was trying to rationalize why I should not help. On the other hand, I recognized the scam but was being prompted to offer to take the person inside and buy whatever essentials were needed to get them and their family by until morning. I chose to listen to my rationalizations, told the person I would not give them money and I walked away. Since then the words of Luke 6 have resounded in my mind--"for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." I have confessed my sin of insensitivity, of lack of mercy. I don't think we are to through our brains out the window, to ignore the fact that there are people scamming us, and just "willy nilly" start dolling out cash to everyone. I do think that in my own life and in the life of many in the church we have desensitized ourselves to Jesus' words in Luke 6. The Lord was kind to evil and ungrateful men and most of the time I am not. I think where possible we should give to meet a specific need rather than just give cash. But ultimately, God calls upon us to be merciful and what the people do with our mercy is between them and God and what I do is between me and God. If I could have a "do over" of that night I would like to think that I would have asked the person if they would like to go inside with me and I would buy them some staple foods (milk, eggs, beans, bread, fruit) to get them by until morning. If that person would have been agreeable to those conditions I would have delayed my arrival home by 15 minutes and would have been merciful as my Father is merciful. Had that person refused my overture and demanded cash I probably would have declined w/o pangs of conscience.