Have you ever been to one of those "fun houses" at an amusement park? It has been decades since I've been to one, but I can still remember laughing at myself. The mirrors made my body look like a string been or a pumpkin or a pear or something else distorted. Though it was fun, it was always a relief to look in a normal mirror and see how I really looked.
After those innocent elementary school years had passed, and adolescence arrived, I had more serious problems with mirrors. I really didn't like myself at all...especially how I looked. I was tall and extremely skinny. I had nasty looking acne sores. I was ashamed to smile after I was bashed in the mouth by a baseball bat as a kid, chipping one tooth and killing another, leaving it an incurable yellow color.
I tried everything I could to change my appearance. I laid under a sun lamp to try and improve my skin condition. I lifted weights and ate everything in sight. I shaved off the soles of my shoes and slouched a bit to try and appear shorter. I even prayed I would shrink!
It all seems pretty silly now, but at that time I was extremely insecure and didn't know the Lord.
After I came to Christ, I realized that God wasn't going to shrink me. That wasn't the solution to my problem. What I needed to do was come to realize that I was fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and that He loved me just the way I was.
But the death blow to my poor self image came when it dawned on me that God has bestowed the greatest dignity possible on this (now) bagging, sagging and dragging physical body by making it His temple!
Today's verse, 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NIV) says, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"
How can any believer in Christ still view his or her own body with disgust knowing that God lives there...that God moved in of His own free will...and that He will never leave (see Hebrews 13:5)!
Maybe your body would never make the cover of Vogue or GQ; that's okay, Jesus' wouldn't have either (check out Isaiah 53:2). But, in Christ, you need to know that you are precious in God's eyes and the presence of God in your body beautifies it beyond human comprehension!
So the next time you look in the mirror, know that what is looking back at you is the house, the home, the temple of the living God. And God is delighted to live there.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
I am a personal, Spirit-empowered witness of Christ's (Acts 1:8)
The senior pastor of my church has the true heart of a soul-winner, which is really refreshing. A couple weeks ago at church he taught all of us to make a gospel bracelet (with different colored beads that provide prompts for sharing the gospel) during his sermon! It was fun. The idea was that each person attending the worship service would get a bracelet to wear, then, during the sermon, he or she would put together one bracelet for the church's mission to Peru and one to use here at home in sharing our faith. I think the church attendees made around 500 bracelets for Peru!
I was excited to use the bracelet and so I wore it with a short-sleeved shirt on while flying out to California for one of our CFM University Practicums.
Eagerly awaiting who would sit next to me on the plane, I saw a young lady...probably in her 20s or 30s...ambling down the aisle. She had a funky hat and bright-colored scarf on, and she was carrying a tote bag that had a whole bunch of tiny skull-and-crossbones designs on it. I said to myself, "She has got to be the one!"
She was.
She hoisted her bag into the overhead compartment and plunked down in the middle seat (I was by the window). I noticed she was carrying two or three books, one of which looked like a Bible.
It was. The other book was Crazy Love by Francis Chan.
Almost immediately she commented on my bracelet, saying how pretty it was.
"It's a bracelet that helps me explain to people how they can know Jesus as their Savior," I replied.
She nodded and asked me what the different colored beads meant. I was able to clearly explain to her the way of salvation by using the bracelet...just what our pastor had meant for us to do. I was excited!
"It's really amazing that I am sitting next to you," she remarked.
"Oh really? What makes that so amazing?" I responded, knowing the Lord was continuing to open the door to be a witness to her.
"Well, I have really struggled for a while with forgiving myself..."
Amazing it was. As we flew west toward California, I was able to explain to her all about God's forgiveness and why, through His forgiveness of us we had the right and responsibility to let ourselves off the hook, too. It turns out she was a follower of Christ but was stuck in this place of unbelief and unforgiveness. I suggested she get Victory Over the Darkness and The Bondage Breaker and she said she would.
I also explained to her that her sitting next to me was no coincidence. My original flight from Asheville to Atlanta had been delayed, so I was put on another flight in order to catch my connection to Salt Lake City. But the flight that I ended up on was delayed, too, so I missed my connection anyway. They told me that I would have about a 9-10 hour layover at the airport in Atlanta and then would fly direct to San Diego. I decided to go up to a Delta information desk and the lady was able to put me on an earlier flight to San Diego, with only a five-hour layover in Atlanta. She told me there were two seats I could choose from on that Atlanta-San Diego flight. One was a middle seat and the other was by the window. Guess which one I took?
Talk about a divine appointment! And this is just one of a number of these kind of "chance" meetings that I have had on the plane and in a restaurant over the past couple of weeks.
What a privilege it is to be led by the Spirit to those who need to know Christ as Savior, Lord and Life! Jesus said, just before His ascension, "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
I am convinced that people around us are far more eager to hear the good news than we are to tell it. Let's allow God's Spirit to empower us that we might become His bold, enthusiastic witnesses of the grace of God in Christ. Jesus promised to empower us and we never know what exciting things He will do when we just open our mouths to speak. Personally, I can't wait until heaven when we'll get to hear all the amazing stories of what God did when His people took the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit! Let's fulfill our calling as personal, Spirit-empowered witnesses of Christ!
I was excited to use the bracelet and so I wore it with a short-sleeved shirt on while flying out to California for one of our CFM University Practicums.
Eagerly awaiting who would sit next to me on the plane, I saw a young lady...probably in her 20s or 30s...ambling down the aisle. She had a funky hat and bright-colored scarf on, and she was carrying a tote bag that had a whole bunch of tiny skull-and-crossbones designs on it. I said to myself, "She has got to be the one!"
She was.
She hoisted her bag into the overhead compartment and plunked down in the middle seat (I was by the window). I noticed she was carrying two or three books, one of which looked like a Bible.
It was. The other book was Crazy Love by Francis Chan.
Almost immediately she commented on my bracelet, saying how pretty it was.
"It's a bracelet that helps me explain to people how they can know Jesus as their Savior," I replied.
She nodded and asked me what the different colored beads meant. I was able to clearly explain to her the way of salvation by using the bracelet...just what our pastor had meant for us to do. I was excited!
"It's really amazing that I am sitting next to you," she remarked.
"Oh really? What makes that so amazing?" I responded, knowing the Lord was continuing to open the door to be a witness to her.
"Well, I have really struggled for a while with forgiving myself..."
Amazing it was. As we flew west toward California, I was able to explain to her all about God's forgiveness and why, through His forgiveness of us we had the right and responsibility to let ourselves off the hook, too. It turns out she was a follower of Christ but was stuck in this place of unbelief and unforgiveness. I suggested she get Victory Over the Darkness and The Bondage Breaker and she said she would.
I also explained to her that her sitting next to me was no coincidence. My original flight from Asheville to Atlanta had been delayed, so I was put on another flight in order to catch my connection to Salt Lake City. But the flight that I ended up on was delayed, too, so I missed my connection anyway. They told me that I would have about a 9-10 hour layover at the airport in Atlanta and then would fly direct to San Diego. I decided to go up to a Delta information desk and the lady was able to put me on an earlier flight to San Diego, with only a five-hour layover in Atlanta. She told me there were two seats I could choose from on that Atlanta-San Diego flight. One was a middle seat and the other was by the window. Guess which one I took?
Talk about a divine appointment! And this is just one of a number of these kind of "chance" meetings that I have had on the plane and in a restaurant over the past couple of weeks.
What a privilege it is to be led by the Spirit to those who need to know Christ as Savior, Lord and Life! Jesus said, just before His ascension, "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
I am convinced that people around us are far more eager to hear the good news than we are to tell it. Let's allow God's Spirit to empower us that we might become His bold, enthusiastic witnesses of the grace of God in Christ. Jesus promised to empower us and we never know what exciting things He will do when we just open our mouths to speak. Personally, I can't wait until heaven when we'll get to hear all the amazing stories of what God did when His people took the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit! Let's fulfill our calling as personal, Spirit-empowered witnesses of Christ!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
I have been chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I was in the middle of a two-week Practicum for my graduate degree in Christian counseling when the Lord decided to powerfully intervene in my life.
The presenter was encouraging us to ask the Lord to show us our "old name." He was referring to any label that had been slapped onto our soul...maybe early in life...that had continued to dog our steps and keep us back from experiencing the full realization of our new identity in Christ.
I thought about people whom I had counseled and how they had been labeled as "ugly" or "stupid" or "can't do anything right" or "wish you had never been born" or... Though I was very aware of the rejection that I had suffered as an adolescent, I wasn't sure what my "old name" might be. So I prayed about it.
Several days later, it came to me. My "old name" was outcast. Boy, that really hit the nail on the head. That's exactly how I felt for years. I felt like nobody liked me; that I didn't belong; that people didn't want me around. And so I retreated into my own world. It felt safe there, I guess, but it wasn't fun. And, at the core, I was pretty lonely. Sadly, though I had some casual friends, my closest friend was my dog. If I wanted anyone to hang out with, I had to call them up. Rarely, if ever, did anyone choose to spend time with me unless I asked them.
After figuring out our "old name", the presenter then encouraged us to ask the Lord for our "new name." He wasn't telling us to try and get a sneak peek at our new name written on the white stone in the book of Revelation. He was suggesting we ask the Lord for a revelation of our new identity in Christ.
What might my "new name" be? The thought really intrigued me.
After some time, the Lord crystallized my thinking and told me my "new name" was chosen friend.
Today's Scripture in context (the words of Jesus) provide the biblical basis for that new name:
"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." (John 15:15,16 ESV)
There it is! Chosen friend. All of God's children...including you...are God's chosen friends! But it was particularly meaningful for me to hear that since I had been (and seen myself) as an outcast for so long. The Lord even gave me a partial paraphrase of John 15:16, in light of how I always had to be the one to call people up to spend time with them or I would be alone. God said:
Rich, you did not call me up but I called you up!
Wow! Thank You, Lord! You took the initiative with me to be my friend. You didn't have to choose me, but You did!
And what was God's purpose in choosing you and me? So that we would bear fruit...kingdom results... through answered prayer. What a privilege!
God took an outcast and called him His chosen friend so that my life could count for His kingdom...to see people rescued from the domain of darkness, brought into the kingdom of Jesus, and set free to walk in fruitful newness of life!
And that's what He has done for you as well...in Christ!
The presenter was encouraging us to ask the Lord to show us our "old name." He was referring to any label that had been slapped onto our soul...maybe early in life...that had continued to dog our steps and keep us back from experiencing the full realization of our new identity in Christ.
I thought about people whom I had counseled and how they had been labeled as "ugly" or "stupid" or "can't do anything right" or "wish you had never been born" or... Though I was very aware of the rejection that I had suffered as an adolescent, I wasn't sure what my "old name" might be. So I prayed about it.
Several days later, it came to me. My "old name" was outcast. Boy, that really hit the nail on the head. That's exactly how I felt for years. I felt like nobody liked me; that I didn't belong; that people didn't want me around. And so I retreated into my own world. It felt safe there, I guess, but it wasn't fun. And, at the core, I was pretty lonely. Sadly, though I had some casual friends, my closest friend was my dog. If I wanted anyone to hang out with, I had to call them up. Rarely, if ever, did anyone choose to spend time with me unless I asked them.
After figuring out our "old name", the presenter then encouraged us to ask the Lord for our "new name." He wasn't telling us to try and get a sneak peek at our new name written on the white stone in the book of Revelation. He was suggesting we ask the Lord for a revelation of our new identity in Christ.
What might my "new name" be? The thought really intrigued me.
After some time, the Lord crystallized my thinking and told me my "new name" was chosen friend.
Today's Scripture in context (the words of Jesus) provide the biblical basis for that new name:
"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." (John 15:15,16 ESV)
There it is! Chosen friend. All of God's children...including you...are God's chosen friends! But it was particularly meaningful for me to hear that since I had been (and seen myself) as an outcast for so long. The Lord even gave me a partial paraphrase of John 15:16, in light of how I always had to be the one to call people up to spend time with them or I would be alone. God said:
Rich, you did not call me up but I called you up!
Wow! Thank You, Lord! You took the initiative with me to be my friend. You didn't have to choose me, but You did!
And what was God's purpose in choosing you and me? So that we would bear fruit...kingdom results... through answered prayer. What a privilege!
God took an outcast and called him His chosen friend so that my life could count for His kingdom...to see people rescued from the domain of darkness, brought into the kingdom of Jesus, and set free to walk in fruitful newness of life!
And that's what He has done for you as well...in Christ!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus, a channel of His life. (John 15:1-5)
I painfully remember the day in college when the Lord first began to bring the wonderful truth of Jesus being the Vine and I being a branch home to my heart. I was a senior at Penn State University. I called it "State Penn" in those days and was later paroled after four years with a degree in meteorology.
I was an "on-fire" Christian by my senior year, having first placed my trust in Jesus as Savior in the fall of 1972, my freshman year. Subsequent to that decision, I came face to face with my need to repent of running my own life, and by God's grace, I came to surrender to Him as Lord in the summer after my sophomore year. That was a powerful work of God, but that's another story for another day.
By the time my senior year rolled around, I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ; had been trained in how to share my faith; and was on a roll, zealously and relentlessly moving through my entire dorm floor (72 students), bound and determined to share Christ with everyone on that floor before I graduated. It got to the point where I would walk down the hall, people would see me coming and they'd run in their rooms and lock their doors. Undaunted, I would find another time to catch them off guard and share the gospel with them before they had the chance to escape! I didn't take the time to get to know most of the guys...I didn't think I had the time. I was just eager to check another person off my list and get the goal accomplished.
Somewhere along the line, the initially godly desire to evangelize my entire dorm floor evolved into the subtly ungodly goal of simply reaching my objective. It became much more about me and what I wanted as opposed to God and what He wanted.
One day I was listening to a set of tapes on John 15 by the late Ron Dunn, and the Lord convicted my heart. I realized that I had trusted Christ as Savior, was trying to submit to Him as Lord, but I had not come to see Christ as my Life.
I believe that is a journey that all of us in Christ must walk...coming to know Christ not just as Savior; not even just as Savior and Lord; but as Savior, Lord and Life.
Some, by the amazing grace of God, come quite rapidly to all three. Others spend decades in Christ before they move beyond the basic place of salvation and progress to surrendering to Christ as Lord. Many...perhaps most...never come to embrace Him as Life.
Shortly before His death, our Lord wanted His disciples to make sure they knew where life came from. He wanted them to know that the Christian life isn't "trying to imitate Jesus". Good luck! Give it a try for a while, if you think that is possible to do in your own strength. You'll soon grind to a halt in frustration, guilt and weariness. It is a futile endeavor, because the only One who has ever lived the Christ-life is Christ Himself!
What does the branch need to do in order to receive the strength and nourishment it requires to be vibrant, filled with fruit? It needs to abide, to remain, to stay connected and yielded to the vine. It is a place of trusting, not trying; resting not striving.
At that moment listening to those teaching tapes, broken and reproved for my fleshly attempts at obeying God's commands, I chose to take my place as a branch trusting in Jesus, the Vine, as my Life. I made the conscious decision to allow His love, His wisdom, His power, His direction, His Life to flow in and through me, becoming a channel of His life rather than simply an outflow of my own fleshly humanity. It was a decision that completely altered the course of my ministry.
And it can alter the course of yours as well.
If what I have been writing is going over your head or maybe you're trying to wrap your mind and heart around it and it just isn't clicking, I encourage you to take the words of Jesus in John 15 and pray about them. Think about them, asking the Holy Spirit to make real what our Lord was teaching:
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4,5)
Sadly, it is very possible to go through life thinking that we are doing what God wants and even seeing "results" but not bearing any fruit to God's glory at all. Jesus meant it when He said that apart from Him we can do nothing. He didn't mean that you can't get up in the morning, brush your teeth, get dressed, go to work or school, do your work, come home, have dinner, spend time with the family, watch TV and go to bed without Him. People do that all the time.
What Jesus meant is that apart from Him you can do nothing that constitutes fruit that remains to the glory of God. Apart from the strength, power, motivation and love of Christ, it will just be wood, hay and stubble to be burned up at the final judgment (see 1 Corinthians 3:12-15). But the works that we do while abiding in Christ are gold, silver and precious stones that will be eternal.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to see much or even most of my life go up in smoke when my works are judged by the King. How about you?
Won't you make the choice today to abide in Christ, allowing to be your all, your very life?
By the way, you may be wondering if I ever accomplished my goal. Nope. The Lord wouldn't allow it. I reached 71 out of 72. But I know He orchestrated another way...a better way than my fleshly efforts...to reach that final one!
No, I didn't reach my goal, but I was able to reach God's goal...to learn that I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus, a channel of His life.
I was an "on-fire" Christian by my senior year, having first placed my trust in Jesus as Savior in the fall of 1972, my freshman year. Subsequent to that decision, I came face to face with my need to repent of running my own life, and by God's grace, I came to surrender to Him as Lord in the summer after my sophomore year. That was a powerful work of God, but that's another story for another day.
By the time my senior year rolled around, I was involved with Campus Crusade for Christ; had been trained in how to share my faith; and was on a roll, zealously and relentlessly moving through my entire dorm floor (72 students), bound and determined to share Christ with everyone on that floor before I graduated. It got to the point where I would walk down the hall, people would see me coming and they'd run in their rooms and lock their doors. Undaunted, I would find another time to catch them off guard and share the gospel with them before they had the chance to escape! I didn't take the time to get to know most of the guys...I didn't think I had the time. I was just eager to check another person off my list and get the goal accomplished.
Somewhere along the line, the initially godly desire to evangelize my entire dorm floor evolved into the subtly ungodly goal of simply reaching my objective. It became much more about me and what I wanted as opposed to God and what He wanted.
One day I was listening to a set of tapes on John 15 by the late Ron Dunn, and the Lord convicted my heart. I realized that I had trusted Christ as Savior, was trying to submit to Him as Lord, but I had not come to see Christ as my Life.
I believe that is a journey that all of us in Christ must walk...coming to know Christ not just as Savior; not even just as Savior and Lord; but as Savior, Lord and Life.
Some, by the amazing grace of God, come quite rapidly to all three. Others spend decades in Christ before they move beyond the basic place of salvation and progress to surrendering to Christ as Lord. Many...perhaps most...never come to embrace Him as Life.
Shortly before His death, our Lord wanted His disciples to make sure they knew where life came from. He wanted them to know that the Christian life isn't "trying to imitate Jesus". Good luck! Give it a try for a while, if you think that is possible to do in your own strength. You'll soon grind to a halt in frustration, guilt and weariness. It is a futile endeavor, because the only One who has ever lived the Christ-life is Christ Himself!
What does the branch need to do in order to receive the strength and nourishment it requires to be vibrant, filled with fruit? It needs to abide, to remain, to stay connected and yielded to the vine. It is a place of trusting, not trying; resting not striving.
At that moment listening to those teaching tapes, broken and reproved for my fleshly attempts at obeying God's commands, I chose to take my place as a branch trusting in Jesus, the Vine, as my Life. I made the conscious decision to allow His love, His wisdom, His power, His direction, His Life to flow in and through me, becoming a channel of His life rather than simply an outflow of my own fleshly humanity. It was a decision that completely altered the course of my ministry.
And it can alter the course of yours as well.
If what I have been writing is going over your head or maybe you're trying to wrap your mind and heart around it and it just isn't clicking, I encourage you to take the words of Jesus in John 15 and pray about them. Think about them, asking the Holy Spirit to make real what our Lord was teaching:
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:4,5)
Sadly, it is very possible to go through life thinking that we are doing what God wants and even seeing "results" but not bearing any fruit to God's glory at all. Jesus meant it when He said that apart from Him we can do nothing. He didn't mean that you can't get up in the morning, brush your teeth, get dressed, go to work or school, do your work, come home, have dinner, spend time with the family, watch TV and go to bed without Him. People do that all the time.
What Jesus meant is that apart from Him you can do nothing that constitutes fruit that remains to the glory of God. Apart from the strength, power, motivation and love of Christ, it will just be wood, hay and stubble to be burned up at the final judgment (see 1 Corinthians 3:12-15). But the works that we do while abiding in Christ are gold, silver and precious stones that will be eternal.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to see much or even most of my life go up in smoke when my works are judged by the King. How about you?
Won't you make the choice today to abide in Christ, allowing to be your all, your very life?
By the way, you may be wondering if I ever accomplished my goal. Nope. The Lord wouldn't allow it. I reached 71 out of 72. But I know He orchestrated another way...a better way than my fleshly efforts...to reach that final one!
No, I didn't reach my goal, but I was able to reach God's goal...to learn that I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus, a channel of His life.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13,14) Part 2
In part two of this study, we return to Jesus' words from the Sermon on the Mount about how His followers were to live in this world. He said in Matthew 5:14-16:
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
In Scripture, we read that Jesus declared Himself to be the light of the world at least twice. Interestingly, in John 9:5 He said, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." The implication of that statement is that when He was no longer in the world, someone else would take over as the light of the world. And we see from Matthew 5:14-16 that the "someone" is us!
Jesus actually uses two metaphors to illustrate the truth that His followers were to be the light of the world. The first was a city on a hill. The second was a lamp in a house.
I can remember times when I was driving in the desert Southwest late at night where the road was pitch black, the terrain on either side of the road was pitch black and the sky was pitch black. Mile after mile after mile of lonely travel through lonely country, trying to make it to a town with a motel where I could finally stop and get some rest. With eyes drowsy, I would finally see a slight brightening on the horizon and the mileage sign would tell me that my destination was getting closer. As I would near the city, the sky grew brighter, there would be more lighted billboards and other telltale signs of civilization until finally I could make out the street lights and building lights of the town. What a relief!
Isn't that what we are to be in a dark, lonely world?
God wants us to be a welcome sight, a place of rest, a beacon of good news in a fallen world to lost people, weary from the lonely journey in a desert land without hope...like a city on a hill that can't be hidden because it is shining so brightly in the darkness.
We are also to be like a lamp in a house. I don't know about you, but I love lamps. Forget fluorescent lights. Give me a small lamp on a bookshelf or a brass lamp on a table with the warm glow reflecting on the wood. Walking into a dark, cold room and turning on one of these lights changes my mood and the whole atmosphere of the room instantly. It even feels warmer when there is light. The uneasiness of coming into a dark area is replaced by the assurance that all is safe. The anxiety of tripping over something or bumping into furniture dissolves into confidence and security.
Light is warm. Light is welcoming. Light brings safety. Light exposes and dispels darkness. Light shows the way to walk. Light enables us to see others as they are. Light is pure and clean.
Light, in fact, is one of the metaphors the Bible uses of God Himself. 1 John 1:5 says, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all."
And because we have been born again and smuggled out of the domain of darkness into God's kingdom (Colossians 1:13), we are "containers" of God, the Light, and are meant to radiate who He is to a dark world.
Ephesians 5:8-11 says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
What a significant calling! Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, He has placed His mantle of being the light of the world on us! And now we can let our light shine before men so that they will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. When you allow God, who is Light, to fill you with His goodness, righteousness and truth, it will overflow in good deeds to people around you. And you will so radiate the bright, warm, welcoming love of God that people will know that God the Father is real and that He cares.
So don't hide the light! Tell people what a wonderful Father we have and demonstrate His love by meeting the needs of the needy around you and speaking truth into the darkness you encounter. And you will shine like a city on a dark night or a lamp in a dark house.
The question is not, "Are you light?" You are light in the Lord! The question is, "Will you shine?"
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
In Scripture, we read that Jesus declared Himself to be the light of the world at least twice. Interestingly, in John 9:5 He said, "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." The implication of that statement is that when He was no longer in the world, someone else would take over as the light of the world. And we see from Matthew 5:14-16 that the "someone" is us!
Jesus actually uses two metaphors to illustrate the truth that His followers were to be the light of the world. The first was a city on a hill. The second was a lamp in a house.
I can remember times when I was driving in the desert Southwest late at night where the road was pitch black, the terrain on either side of the road was pitch black and the sky was pitch black. Mile after mile after mile of lonely travel through lonely country, trying to make it to a town with a motel where I could finally stop and get some rest. With eyes drowsy, I would finally see a slight brightening on the horizon and the mileage sign would tell me that my destination was getting closer. As I would near the city, the sky grew brighter, there would be more lighted billboards and other telltale signs of civilization until finally I could make out the street lights and building lights of the town. What a relief!
Isn't that what we are to be in a dark, lonely world?
God wants us to be a welcome sight, a place of rest, a beacon of good news in a fallen world to lost people, weary from the lonely journey in a desert land without hope...like a city on a hill that can't be hidden because it is shining so brightly in the darkness.
We are also to be like a lamp in a house. I don't know about you, but I love lamps. Forget fluorescent lights. Give me a small lamp on a bookshelf or a brass lamp on a table with the warm glow reflecting on the wood. Walking into a dark, cold room and turning on one of these lights changes my mood and the whole atmosphere of the room instantly. It even feels warmer when there is light. The uneasiness of coming into a dark area is replaced by the assurance that all is safe. The anxiety of tripping over something or bumping into furniture dissolves into confidence and security.
Light is warm. Light is welcoming. Light brings safety. Light exposes and dispels darkness. Light shows the way to walk. Light enables us to see others as they are. Light is pure and clean.
Light, in fact, is one of the metaphors the Bible uses of God Himself. 1 John 1:5 says, "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all."
And because we have been born again and smuggled out of the domain of darkness into God's kingdom (Colossians 1:13), we are "containers" of God, the Light, and are meant to radiate who He is to a dark world.
Ephesians 5:8-11 says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."
What a significant calling! Now that Jesus has ascended to heaven, He has placed His mantle of being the light of the world on us! And now we can let our light shine before men so that they will see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. When you allow God, who is Light, to fill you with His goodness, righteousness and truth, it will overflow in good deeds to people around you. And you will so radiate the bright, warm, welcoming love of God that people will know that God the Father is real and that He cares.
So don't hide the light! Tell people what a wonderful Father we have and demonstrate His love by meeting the needs of the needy around you and speaking truth into the darkness you encounter. And you will shine like a city on a dark night or a lamp in a dark house.
The question is not, "Are you light?" You are light in the Lord! The question is, "Will you shine?"
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
I am the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13,14)
Today's Scriptural truths teach us a very important concept: With God's blessings come expectations; with honor comes responsibility. Let's take a look at what Jesus had to say about us in its context:
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16).
As you may recall, Matthew 5 is the beginning of our Lord's "Sermon on the Mount". Prior to today's teaching, Jesus had declared (in Matthew 5:3-12) the character qualities of those in the kingdom of God and the blessings ("Blessed are ...") that result from those qualities...even though in this world, kingdom-livers are likely to be persecuted by men for those very same qualities God commends.
Jesus proceeds then to use two metaphors to describe what His people are to look like and how they are to act, including His expectations inherent with those descriptions...salt and light. We will look at the first metaphor today and tackle the second next time.
Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth. Though you don't hear it much anymore, in bygone days people (especially men) that were looked upon as really good, giving, caring people were referred to as "the salt of the earth," as in, "Hey, there goes Jim, he's the salt of the earth!" It was clearly a compliment.
Jesus's metaphor would have called a somewhat different, though related, picture to mind in the first century. First of all, salt was a very valuable substance. In fact, Roman soldiers at that time were paid in salt, called a salarium (Latin for salt). That is actually where we get our English word "salary". Pretty cool, huh?
So, when Jesus called us "the salt of the earth", He was saying we are very valuable!
Second, covenants or business contracts in the first century were sealed with an exchange of salt, signifying the binding nature of the agreement. God makes covenants with us and salt beautifully symbolizes that God's covenants, including marriage covenants, are forever. In a day (both then and now) where people find it very easy to break covenants, promises and contracts, salt reminds us that we are to be people of faithfulness and keep our word, like God does.
So, when Jesus called us "the salt of the earth", He was saying we are a picture, a reflection, of God's faithfulness to His covenants and promises.
Third, salt was used in the first century to preserve food (especially meat, like fish) from corruption, since there was no refrigeration. Salted fish didn't rot. And salted societies don't either.
So, when Jesus called us "the salt of the earth", He was saying that we have been placed in society as agents of moral and ethical purity that are to stem the tide of sinful corruption...in our families, places of employment, in our government...wherever we are. We do that by how we live (and don't live!) and by what we say (and don't say!).
So, as you can see, when Jesus said that we are "the salt of the earth", He was saying a lot more than "he's a great guy". He was saying that we are of high, high value to Him and to society and that we are to faithfully live as examples of God's faithfulness to His promises, stemming the tide of (or at least slowing down) the rotting of society due to sin!
That is significant! Our lives are clearly VERY significant in Christ.
Jesus, however, warned us that our identity as salt can go south pretty easily. We can lose our saltiness.
How is that possible? Salt by its very nature is...well...salty. The only way salt can lose its saltiness is if it gets mixed with other stuff (as it did in the first century), like sand, dust, and dirt.
Hopefully you get the picture. When our lives become so infiltrated by the non-kingdom values and practices of the culture around us, we lose our saltiness. We cease being a good representative of God and His kingdom faithfulness. We cease being effective in stemming the tide of corruption around us. We lose our value to God as an agent of preservation in society.
In the first century, such diluted, polluted salt was just chucked into the streets,where people walked all over it. And isn't it true that un-salty Christians are ultimately devalued, disrespected and disregarded by the people around them, being viewed as hypocrites?
Brother or sister in Christ, you most certainly did not learn Christ that way! If the Holy Spirit is showing you today that you have allowed the things of this life to dull your saltiness, there is still time to change. Repentance...a change of your mind leading to a change in your life ...leads to restoration...a return to usefulness in the kingdom of God.
So, if you are in Christ, the question today is not "Are you salt?" You are!
The question is, "Are you salty?"
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16).
As you may recall, Matthew 5 is the beginning of our Lord's "Sermon on the Mount". Prior to today's teaching, Jesus had declared (in Matthew 5:3-12) the character qualities of those in the kingdom of God and the blessings ("Blessed are ...") that result from those qualities...even though in this world, kingdom-livers are likely to be persecuted by men for those very same qualities God commends.
Jesus proceeds then to use two metaphors to describe what His people are to look like and how they are to act, including His expectations inherent with those descriptions...salt and light. We will look at the first metaphor today and tackle the second next time.
Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth. Though you don't hear it much anymore, in bygone days people (especially men) that were looked upon as really good, giving, caring people were referred to as "the salt of the earth," as in, "Hey, there goes Jim, he's the salt of the earth!" It was clearly a compliment.
Jesus's metaphor would have called a somewhat different, though related, picture to mind in the first century. First of all, salt was a very valuable substance. In fact, Roman soldiers at that time were paid in salt, called a salarium (Latin for salt). That is actually where we get our English word "salary". Pretty cool, huh?
So, when Jesus called us "the salt of the earth", He was saying we are very valuable!
Second, covenants or business contracts in the first century were sealed with an exchange of salt, signifying the binding nature of the agreement. God makes covenants with us and salt beautifully symbolizes that God's covenants, including marriage covenants, are forever. In a day (both then and now) where people find it very easy to break covenants, promises and contracts, salt reminds us that we are to be people of faithfulness and keep our word, like God does.
So, when Jesus called us "the salt of the earth", He was saying we are a picture, a reflection, of God's faithfulness to His covenants and promises.
Third, salt was used in the first century to preserve food (especially meat, like fish) from corruption, since there was no refrigeration. Salted fish didn't rot. And salted societies don't either.
So, when Jesus called us "the salt of the earth", He was saying that we have been placed in society as agents of moral and ethical purity that are to stem the tide of sinful corruption...in our families, places of employment, in our government...wherever we are. We do that by how we live (and don't live!) and by what we say (and don't say!).
So, as you can see, when Jesus said that we are "the salt of the earth", He was saying a lot more than "he's a great guy". He was saying that we are of high, high value to Him and to society and that we are to faithfully live as examples of God's faithfulness to His promises, stemming the tide of (or at least slowing down) the rotting of society due to sin!
That is significant! Our lives are clearly VERY significant in Christ.
Jesus, however, warned us that our identity as salt can go south pretty easily. We can lose our saltiness.
How is that possible? Salt by its very nature is...well...salty. The only way salt can lose its saltiness is if it gets mixed with other stuff (as it did in the first century), like sand, dust, and dirt.
Hopefully you get the picture. When our lives become so infiltrated by the non-kingdom values and practices of the culture around us, we lose our saltiness. We cease being a good representative of God and His kingdom faithfulness. We cease being effective in stemming the tide of corruption around us. We lose our value to God as an agent of preservation in society.
In the first century, such diluted, polluted salt was just chucked into the streets,where people walked all over it. And isn't it true that un-salty Christians are ultimately devalued, disrespected and disregarded by the people around them, being viewed as hypocrites?
Brother or sister in Christ, you most certainly did not learn Christ that way! If the Holy Spirit is showing you today that you have allowed the things of this life to dull your saltiness, there is still time to change. Repentance...a change of your mind leading to a change in your life ...leads to restoration...a return to usefulness in the kingdom of God.
So, if you are in Christ, the question today is not "Are you salt?" You are!
The question is, "Are you salty?"
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)
When our kids were little, I used a coin to demonstrate a crucial biblical truth, praying that the visual and tactile illustration would help plant the truth deep in their hearts. I was teaching on John 10:27-30 (NASB) which records the words of Jesus:
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
First, I would take that coin and put it in the palm of my right hand and close my fingers tightly around it. Then I would invite the kids to try and pry my fingers apart. Of course, since they were only five or six years old, they couldn't do it, hard as they'd try. Since they already had trusted Christ, I told them that they were in Christ and that no one, including the devil could take them out of Christ.
Then, I would wrap my other hand around the first, symbolizing the Father's hand around Jesus' hand and again their efforts to pry the coin loose would be futile. "...no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
Finally, I would intertwine my fingers as a picture of Jesus and the Father being one. A third time they would endeavor to pull my fingers apart and get at the coin, and a third time they would fail.
By that time they were a bit tired and a bit frustrated, but they got the picture. We are safe and secure in the Lord. Even the devil himself cannot take us out of Christ.
That is what today's Scripture also teaches, and it is interesting to note that it is by the same author, John. He wrote in 1 John 5:18-20:
"We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who has been born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."
In John's letter, one of the essential marks of a true follower of Christ is that he doesn't sin as a lifestyle (that's what the first part of the verse above means; not that we never sin but that we don't practice it as a lifestyle). Instead...John continued...Jesus, who has been born of God, keeps us and the evil one does not touch us.
What does that mean exactly?
Well, first of all, we know that it doesn't mean that the devil cannot touch us physically. In Revelation 2:10 (also written by John), believers were warned that the devil was going to cast some of them into prison. In the end times, many saints will even be martyred (put to death) for their refusal to worship the "image of the beast" (see Revelation 13:15), a human puppet of Satan. So certainly the promise of Scripture that "the evil one does not touch him" cannot mean automatic protection from all physical attack and harm.
Secondly, we also know that the devil is the tempter, accuser and deceiver and that we need to put on the full armor of God in order to stand firm against the schemes (thoughts, mind games) of the devil (see Ephesians 6:10-17). Every day we see sincere followers of Christ trapped in bondage, fighting a losing battle for their minds. So certainly the promise of Scripture that "the evil one does not touch him" cannot mean automatic protection from all psychological attack or harm either.
So what does the Scripture mean when it says, "He who has been born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him"? Basically, the Lord Jesus (He who has been born of God) keeps us from practicing a lifestyle of sin (because we are now in Christ and we no longer are under the power of the evil one like the world without Christ is) and the evil one (the devil) cannot touch us in the place of our new spiritual union with Christ. In other words, he can't pry God's fingers open and yank you and me out of Christ and force us back into a lifestyle of sin! We are "in Him who is true" and that is the place of complete spiritual safety...in Christ!
The apostle Paul was basically saying the same thing when he wrote (Romans 8:37-39 MSG):
"None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing -- nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable -- absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us."
You're safe and secure in Jesus. Sleep well tonight, my brother or sister!
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
First, I would take that coin and put it in the palm of my right hand and close my fingers tightly around it. Then I would invite the kids to try and pry my fingers apart. Of course, since they were only five or six years old, they couldn't do it, hard as they'd try. Since they already had trusted Christ, I told them that they were in Christ and that no one, including the devil could take them out of Christ.
Then, I would wrap my other hand around the first, symbolizing the Father's hand around Jesus' hand and again their efforts to pry the coin loose would be futile. "...no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
Finally, I would intertwine my fingers as a picture of Jesus and the Father being one. A third time they would endeavor to pull my fingers apart and get at the coin, and a third time they would fail.
By that time they were a bit tired and a bit frustrated, but they got the picture. We are safe and secure in the Lord. Even the devil himself cannot take us out of Christ.
That is what today's Scripture also teaches, and it is interesting to note that it is by the same author, John. He wrote in 1 John 5:18-20:
"We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who has been born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."
In John's letter, one of the essential marks of a true follower of Christ is that he doesn't sin as a lifestyle (that's what the first part of the verse above means; not that we never sin but that we don't practice it as a lifestyle). Instead...John continued...Jesus, who has been born of God, keeps us and the evil one does not touch us.
What does that mean exactly?
Well, first of all, we know that it doesn't mean that the devil cannot touch us physically. In Revelation 2:10 (also written by John), believers were warned that the devil was going to cast some of them into prison. In the end times, many saints will even be martyred (put to death) for their refusal to worship the "image of the beast" (see Revelation 13:15), a human puppet of Satan. So certainly the promise of Scripture that "the evil one does not touch him" cannot mean automatic protection from all physical attack and harm.
Secondly, we also know that the devil is the tempter, accuser and deceiver and that we need to put on the full armor of God in order to stand firm against the schemes (thoughts, mind games) of the devil (see Ephesians 6:10-17). Every day we see sincere followers of Christ trapped in bondage, fighting a losing battle for their minds. So certainly the promise of Scripture that "the evil one does not touch him" cannot mean automatic protection from all psychological attack or harm either.
So what does the Scripture mean when it says, "He who has been born of God keeps him and the evil one does not touch him"? Basically, the Lord Jesus (He who has been born of God) keeps us from practicing a lifestyle of sin (because we are now in Christ and we no longer are under the power of the evil one like the world without Christ is) and the evil one (the devil) cannot touch us in the place of our new spiritual union with Christ. In other words, he can't pry God's fingers open and yank you and me out of Christ and force us back into a lifestyle of sin! We are "in Him who is true" and that is the place of complete spiritual safety...in Christ!
The apostle Paul was basically saying the same thing when he wrote (Romans 8:37-39 MSG):
"None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing -- nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable -- absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us."
You're safe and secure in Jesus. Sleep well tonight, my brother or sister!
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