Archive for the ‘ Bible ’ Category

The Acts of the Doctor (Who)

Get some of that old-fashioned wisdom at Proverbial Thought!

I am a fan of Doctor Who. That means I am a Whovian.

I enjoy the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre, and Doctor Who covers that in spades (and probably has or will literally).Doctor Who Matt Smith

I have found several devotionals based on Doctor Who, with a common theme of the Doctor as a Christ-like figure and his companions as disciples. There are a few which put the Doctor in a different role, biblically speaking, and within all of these there are times when our circumstances are compared to his and with the Bible.

This is one of those odd-ducks in which I deviate from the Christ-likeness.

Apostle to the World

If I were to compare the Doctor to anyone, it would be the Apostle Paul. Here is why:

The Doctor is a Time Lord who comes from the planet Gallifrey, so he is an alien to Earth. He is not the one who controls time. He is often used by Time to help good win.

He has two hearts, is very clever, and he travels around in a T.A.R.D.I.S. – Time And Relative Dimensions In Space – through all of time and space and occasionally outside. He usually has one, two, or several companions who travel with him (usually from Earth, but not always), whom it is very clear (at least if you pay attention, sometimes) he loves dearly. And he has a sonic screwdriver which helps him get out of and into sticky situations.

The Doctor has a knack for showing people the truth behind circumstances, and he saves the world (and the universe) on a regular basis.

One of the more amazing things about the Doctor is the way he and the Time Lords can escape death: regeneration into a new body.

Now consider Paul:

He was a Jew who was called to preach the Gospel (the truth of Jesus Christ) to the Gentile world (Acts 9:15, Romans 15:15-16).

He had many disciples which he left in cities to lead the church, some of them Jews and some Gentiles. With the help of the Holy Spirit he was saved or revived from sticky situations and helped many people or the glory of God.

All of this was possible because his heart was regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:22-24) (you could argue he, and we as Christians, have two hearts as evidenced by our sinful desires and a new desire for God). We also have the promise of regenerated bodies at the end of the age (2 Corinthians 5).

Paul is not God, but he was used by God to help win over hearts and minds.

I say all this just to say …

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “test everything. Hold onto what is good.” (Technically speaking about prophecy, but it is so applicable in our world.)

It is just as Paul used the pagan god statues in Rome to witness for Christ, or God using secular (non-Christian) songs to pull someone closer to Himself (such as Backstreet Boys’ “As Long As You Love Me” helping me realize my deep need for unconditional, perfect love).

I also really like G. K. Chesterton’s quote:

“Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”

I enjoy Doctor Who, and other works of Sci-Fi/Fantasy, because they remind us of who we are, who are meant to be, and that we can and should be more than we are.

What is your inspiration? What is your passion in life that moves you?

Mine is God and the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ, but Doctor Who reminds me of that!

2013
08/13
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Build Your Kingdom Here

Learn the wisdom of the Kingdom by reading some thoughts at Proverbial Thought.

I am on a role with these song-inspired posts, as of late, so here is another.

The Kingdom of God Is Near

Prayer is certainly important in the life of a Christian, as discussed last week.

Jesus taught us to pray:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation
    but deliver us from the evil one.”
Matthew 6:9-13, NIV

Perhaps the reason we fail to see revival and change in our society is because we do not really pray for “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Sure, we say the words, but how often do we mean it?

A chapter earlier, Jesus says:

“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 underfoot.

“You are the light of the world. A town built 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 others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.“
Matthew 5:13-16, NIV

Perhaps we do not see revival and change in our society, because we have not really asked our Father to change us through His Holy Spirit to be His salt and light in our world. We have a tendency to think God will just change all of their hearts without our intervention.

I could go on and on, but I think the Rend Collective Experiment sang it out best in this prayer to song:

Build Your Kingdom Here

Come set Your rule and reign
In our hearts again
Increase in us we pray
Unveil why we’re made
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
Like wildfire in our very souls
Holy Spirit come invade us now
We are Your Church
We need Your power
In us

We seek Your kingdom first
We hunger and we thirst
Refuse to waste our lives
For You’re our joy and prize
To see the captive hearts released
The hurt; the sick; the poor at peace
We lay down our lives for Heaven’s cause
We are Your church
We pray revive
This earth

Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray

Unleash Your kingdom’s power
Reaching the near and far
No force of hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this
Awake the kingdom seed in us
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ
We are Your church
We are the hope
On earth

2013
07/30
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Milk Does a Body Good

Get some good spiritual milk over at Proverbial Thought!

There are three main stages to the Christian walk:

  1. Acceptance and Growth
  2. Understanding and Growth
  3. Teaching and Growth

As we walk through this life, we should never stop growing. In this life, we will never achieve perfection, full Christ-likeness. This is one reason why Paul wrote, “Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23)

We never stop growing, it is true. However, just as some things stay with us as we grow and age from infant to death, so there are things we need from the moment of salvation knowledge to the end of this life.Mugstache

I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
1 Corinthians 3:2

We need our mothers milk when we are young. We cannot handle other foods, because our bodies are not ready for solid food.

We come to a saving knowledge of Christ through the presentation of the Gospel: We have sinned against God. We have willfully broken his laws, separated ourselves from Him; and we generally refuse to love others and Him the way we should. Therefore, God came to earth as a man, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, to live a perfect life and offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins to reconcile us to Himself. He rose from the grave three days later, giving us a hope of eternal life with Him.

This gets us excited, and we want to share this information with everyone. Unfortunately, too many people stay at this level of maturity for years.

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
Hebrews 5:11-6:3

Repentance is good, and it is something that is needed throughout our walk with Christ. Too many congregations and even whole denominations have gotten stuck on repentance and forgiveness without moving forward on the individual level (“Get ’em saved!” if you will, without helping new converts grow in righteousness, as Paul said.)

Just as a child eventually grows to eating solid food, so we must grow to be able to discuss the deeper things of our faith, such as prayer, service, and even miracles. The biggest reason we do not see as many miracles today is not because they are no longer used by God. Rather it is because the Western Church largely has abandoned the rites and practices that help us grow deeper in our faith and that position us to be used by God in miraculous ways.

There have been strides as of late to correct this within the Church. This is evidenced by the rise in social reform, but it is only one way God wants us to grow. We must also focus on theological and spiritual needs within ourselves and for others.

The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of sense.
Proverbs 10:21

Something happens with most of us as we grow: we fall in love, and we procreate – we make babies! All of a sudden we have to help these little ones survive and then learn and grow into adulthood. This requires using all we have learned and experienced to help them, but sometimes we need help.

Likewise, as followers of Jesus Christ we are commanded to make more followers. We are told that we are to take the knowledge of salvation to bring others to new life. We are then to help them grow in their walk with Christ, as we should have been doing. And we need help, which is why we have priests and pastors and each other who meet each week for communal worship and learning.

A warning, though, is that, as Paul again said, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3)

This has happened multiple times throughout Church history, but it is certainly prevalent today. It used to be that most churches would start with the basic milk of doctrine: faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. That is no longer a requirement for some churches. In either event, the teachings can range from “Be a better person by thinking this way or doing these things,” to full on cult-ish ideas and practices that are at best morally and cognitively dangerous and at worst physically dangerous. All of these are spiritually bankrupt!

Therefore, we must remember the milk of our faith – believing in the facts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the Son of God for the forgiveness of sins; that we must grow to understand more of our walk with God and of who God is as well as love others through word and action; and that we must learn to teach others of this knowledge, understanding, and service in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2013
06/25
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Following Me – 100 Followers!

It took almost a full two and a half years, which I do not find surprising with a blog focused on theology and poetry, but today I received my 100th follower!

I know I owe some of this to my friends and fellow bloggers from Proverbial Thought, that great devotional site on the wisdom of Proverbs. Here is a special shout-out to Heather Joy at GrowUp318, because I met some of those friends through her blog!

I must say to each person who follows my blog, though, that this still comes with a warning of encouragement.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1

Thank you to each of my followers! For those who have them, may your blogs be blessed by God as you bless God through your gifts.

A special thanks goes to my wonderful wife for dealing with the hours I have spent at my laptop or on my phone typing blog entries and responding to comments, and for the advice she has offered, whether requested or spontaneous, to make my words that much better!

For everyone who comes across this page:

The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace
Numbers 6:24-26

2013
06/04
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Singing in the Acid Rain

With a full year behind it, you know it is full of wisdom. So head on over to Proverbial Thought to partake of that and new wisdom commentary!

Imagine for a moment that you have an umbrella. Not just any umbrella, but a super-durable umbrella.

This is an umbrella that seems to defy physics. It is incredibly light yet is strong enough to take hail and fire and brimstone falling from the sky. It is no thicker nor less functional than your average umbrella; yet it will not crumble under said hail and brimstone, burn up in said fire, nor dissolve in a shower of acid rain.

Now imagine you live in a city that has constant acid rain showers. There is relative safety in most buildings, but if we are honest we know that buildings will not hold up indefinitely to acid rain.

Some buildings are in worse shape than others. People can not stay in them long without being in the same conditions as outside.

Now imagine that you actually live in a bunker under a mountain. You are pretty safe inside. It would take quite a while for acid rain and most other things to get in.

So what do you do?

Your Dad asks you and your siblings to go out and help those in the acid rain.

Some say to each other, “We are safe. Our Dad can welcome those people in if he wants to. We can stay and prepare for the great feast!” What they do not realize is that they will find themselves kicked out of their home just before the feast.

Some others grab their umbrellas and hurry outside. Seeing how dangerous it is, they run back inside and complain about how awful the world is outside, and they spend their time talking about how great things are since they are saved from the outside world.

Others say to each other, “We will be safe with our umbrellas. We can go outside and tell them how great it is inside!” They may see some people believe them, but while outside they complain about their lazy siblings and how horrible it is outside. This pushes many away, and some with umbrellas may find themselves joining their lazier siblings outside during the feast.

There are a few who take their umbrellas and hurry outside. Some walk around their neighborhood telling others about their safe home, bringing many inside and helping them get umbrellas of their own. Others run to the far ends of the city proclaiming the news of safety and peace. Some of these reach out from under their umbrellas, getting burned by the acid rain, just to get to some of those struggling through the acid rain. Some even brave the full onslaught of acid rain to allow others enough precious time under their umbrellas to get to safety, and they end up looking just as burned and messed up as those they saved.

At the end, most of those who remain for the feast look worn out, tattered, and disfigured from the acid rain.

Isn’t it a wonderful feeling? We’re stinging, again.

Maybe you have already caught on to the point.

One of my favorite passages comes from Jude, verses 22 and 23 (NIV):

Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

In the above parable, the city is Earth, the home under the mountain is the Church, the umbrella is the Gospel, and the acid rain is the sin that soaks into every part of our lives and world. Obviously, then, the Dad is God. Those who reside within the mountain and go out into the city are Christians.

This past Sunday was the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Almost six weeks later, just before His ascension, He issued this commission:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20, NIV

We cannot reach out to people unless we go where they are.

We cannot rescue people if we do not get involved with their lives.

We cannot teach them if we do not do as we were instructed: to live like Jesus.

If Jesus, God made Man, came to our sin-soaked world, walked with us, suffered with us, even died with us, can we not suffer a little with our world to show them the resurrection power of Jesus?

2013
04/02
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Crucified, Dead and Buried, and Rose Again to Life

(Proverbial Thought. Go. Get wisdom.)

We have been looking at the Hard Knocks Life. I am not going to write much this week. Instead, I will let the Word speak for itself, because it tells about some of the hardest knocks anyone can face.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then

“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The Death of Jesus

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

The Burial of Jesus

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Jesus Has Risen

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” Then they remembered his words.

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Luke 23:26-24:12, NIV

Let us remember this week: HE IS RISEN!

2013
03/26
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Another Adulterous Wife and the God Who Loves Her

Once again, I remind you to get some wisdom from those inspired by God’s wisdom over at Proverbial Thought.

There was a man who was called by God to speak out against the wrongs and injustices in his nation.

He spoke out against the nation turning away from God to follow its own lusts. He spoke out against the rising violence. He spoke out against the rise in crime. He spoke out against the rise of disrespect for parents. He spoke out against the lies of the government leaders as well as the religious leaders. He spoke out against the partnership of those leaders with different religions and hostile governments.

While this could be someone from any moment in the past fifty years in pretty much any part of the world, you probably already guessed that this person is in the Bible.

The First Adulterous Wife

Hosea was told by God to take a wife who was little more than a prostitute. Even though Hosea and Gomer had three children together – a son, a daughter, and another son – Gomer began to live and sleep with another man.

When things began to go badly for Gomer and she found herself on the auction block as a slave, God told Hosea “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” (Hosea 3:1) Hosea essentially paid his entire savings to buy his adulterous wife from prostitution and slavery.

The message was and is clear: Just like Gomer, Israel had sinned by turning from God to the false gods of other nations. They neglected their relationship with God, they neglected their children and parents, and they neglected common decency.

God’s punishment for these sins was exile. But God loves His people.

He brought the nation, at that time divided in two, back to the Promised Land as a united people.

Beyond that, and this is where the Christian Church comes in, God sent His own Son as payment for the sins of not only Israel but of the whole world! In essence, God sacrificed Himself in payment for the sin we are all guilty of committing: worshiping anything other than God!

Another Adulterous Wife

If only those who believe the truth of God sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins never strayed!

If you look around our world today, especially within the Western World of Europe and North America, there is much corruption.

Leave governments out of this. Except for the mini-nation of Vatican City, national governments are not of God. He may have established the governments of the world for this time (Romans 13:1), but they do not govern the matters of God. They govern the matters of people. (Regardless of what most of the world and the Conservative Right say of the United States of America, it is not a Christian nation.)

Read the newspapers and watch the news on TV. Hardly a week goes by without hearing of some sex scandal, controversy, or fraud from some church or denomination. Many congregations, leaders, and denominations choose to work more with governments and other religions than with other congregations, leaders, and denominations. Many compromise their beliefs to appease the masses, the government, other religions, or simply passing fads or ideas.

Looking around today seems to show a Church which has left its Groom (Christ) to have relations with those who do not believe in or even mock the God of the Universe.

God’s Love

Even with all of the sins the people within the Church of our Lord continue to commit, He still loves her.

His Bride continues to allow many sins to be committed in His name, but I think there are good reasons He has not brought the same judgment on the Church as He did on Israel.

For starters, His faithful are still loving the least of these and showing God’s love.

Among those who rob God are those who give more than their fair share.
Among those who compromise their bodies are those who remain chaste and pure.
Among those who compromise their beliefs are those who remain steadfast in faith.

Secondly, God holds back His wrath because of His promises.

He has promised that His wrath was poured out on His Son.
He has promised that His wrath is not for His faithful.
He has promised that He will wait until He separates His faithful from the world.

Lastly, God holds back His wrath because of His love.

If God is not willing that anyone should perish (2 Peter 3:9), would He not give us time to repent, to choose His love in our hearts?

Hear the Truth and Turn

We each, in our own time, sin against God, yet He so desires to be with us that He died on a cross for our forgiveness and waits to destroy the world until His proper time.

As Peter said:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
2 Peter 3:10-15

Let us not worry about the sins going on around us in the name of the Lord. Instead, let us focus on our own relationship with God. In the process, God working in our lives will either cause guilt leading to repentance or guilt leading to further sin.

In any event, we are to remain pure to God to the glory of God.

2013
02/05
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Ray of Darkness

I first offer you some sagely advice: go to Proverbial Thought and get some godly wisdom!

What Lights?

Have you ever been walking or driving down a road at night when it is really dark? Have you ever been there and had a car come around a corner with its high beams on?

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you have probably read and/or heard this passage read:

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-16, ESV

As a believer in Jesus Christ, we should desire to be the light of the world to a lost and broken world drowned in darkness. It is good to be the light and want to help people.

What if our desire to help gets in the way of helping?

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
Luke 11:33-36, ESV

Spreading Darkness

Is it possible that the light coming out of our eyes is dark?

If we are calling out and shining light on the sins of the world, yet we are just as guilty of those sins as believers, we share an hypocritical message that no one would want to believe. Why should they? We say one thing and do another.

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
Philippians 2:14-16, ESV

I am not saying most Christians do this. I do not know most Christians nor their hearts.

What if there is another possibility?

What if, in our desire to be compassionate and loving, we forget our compassion and love?

The longer we walk in darkness the easier it gets to see, though we can not see with the same detail as in the light.

Obviously, those who walk in the light know this, and we simply wish to share the light with others.

Going back to my initial question, what happens when you are on a dark road and someone comes around the corner with their headlights on high beam?

Night blindness.

It is almost as though you are completely blind, or at least considered legally blind being able to see only the biggest and brightest things. Usually those sights tell us either to draw near for safety or flee from danger, such as in case there is another car speeding toward us!

This is what it can be like with a Christian approaching one who still walks in darkness.

In our zeal to reveal the sin of the world, we may come out of nowhere with our high beams right in their eyes!

We worsen their lives with our attacks on their sin!

Do not get me wrong: we should most certainly wish to help lead the world to the Savior who forgives and cleanses away their sins.

Some indeed may turn, in the induced blindness from our light, toward our light in hopes that we are someone who can help.

In a world that lives in fear, however, the most natural response is to react out of … FEAR!

Remembering the Way

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. . . .Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:1-2, 15-21

In our desire to share God’s love, we must remember to be careful in our approach. There will be times we must speed in, but most of the time we must tread carefully with love, compassion, and wisdom.

The wise will share the love of Christ by trusting the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Update: Prodigal Magazine had a very good article yesterday about this very thing! They have good writers! God is amazing!

2013
01/29
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Engine Change

Firstly, here is your regular reminder to get some good ol wisdom from Proverbial Thought.

Perhaps you have heard the line – or even said it yourself – “I believe I can get to heaven, because I am basically a good person. I do a lot of good things, at least way more than the bad I do!”

There are a few reasons why this is wrong, and I will explain this some a little later.

First, a story:

Engine Change

You are a car. You were built with the modern combustion engine, and you run on gasoline. As you drive around, you occasionally speed or roll through a stop sign; but overall you follow the rules, let people merge ahead of you, let people take the closer parking spot at the store, and do your best to keep your engine running well.

One day, you realize that the way you are living is actually harming your surroundings and causing some issues within your engine, because it runs ever-so-hot and fills the air with corrosive and poisonous gases. You decide to clean up your act! You switch to a biofuel, like E-85. You still live much the same way, but now you have much less of an effect on your surroundings. Good for you! You are now the envy of so many other cars who wish to live the same way as you!

There is still one problem: No matter what kind of fuel you use or how well you drive, you are still polluting your environment even just a little. No matter how well you drive, even if you follow all of the rules of the road and let every one else get ahead of you on the road and in the parking areas, you still pollute your environment at least a little. Your good intentions will always stain your environment and hurt the air.

One day, you learn of the Master Mechanic. When you choose to let the Master Mechanic work in your life, he offers an upgrade you can not get on your own. He switches out your engine for a fuel cell and tells you to obey all traffic laws and offer your spot on the roads and in parking areas. He tells you that you have to come to Him regularly to ensure your engine is running smoothly. In the process, you will no longer pollute the air or run too hot. Instead, all you produce clean, pure water. You may still drip the occasional break fluid or wiper fluid when you forget to check in with the Master Mechanic, but He fixes you right up and helps you clean the spills when you remember to spend time with Him.

Did you get it?

Perhaps this was a little too straight-forward, but here is the explanation:

Our hearts are like the engines. While we eventually come to realize that our actions have consequences, that we can do many things to make our bodies run efficiently and healthy by changing habits or diet, we still have a problem. We may occasionally do truly selfless acts, but we all have selfish motives at one time or another. We all deny God in some way at one time or another. We all put ourselves in the place of God at one time or another.

This is called sin. One sin is enough to taint every part of our lives. No matter how good our intentions, we all will fail in the end to live perfectly pure and clean lives. A car that runs on biofuels will still require oil to help the engine run smoothly. A person doing good works will still do many things with selfish intentions, or make something (including their good works) more important than God, or they may think they might have the control that God alone has to decide who suffers and who does not or who lives or dies.

Good Intentions

What a person like this fails to realize is that even good intentions can lead to horrible results. I know of someone who once was told by his dad not to let anyone touch the car in the driveway. It seems like a simple enough request. His friend called and said, “I need a ride to the store, can you help?” He thought, “Sure. What could be the harm of a quick five-minute drive?”

His friend came over, and they pulled out of the driveway. At the stop sign at the end of the block, they rolled through the stop sign and were struck by another car. His friend was killed almost instantly.

You see, his dad wanted no one to use the car, because his dad had gone to find new brakes having taken the ones from the car to match.

This young man had good intentions, but his desire to do something good at the sake of disobeying his father led to drastic repercussions.

It must be remembered that even our good intentions may have unintended consequences. Think of the age-old cliché “Be careful what you wish for!” As the show Once Upon a Time … puts it, “Magic comes at a price.” There are countless ways to express this.

The Whole Point

Here is what it all means:

Apart from the work of Messiah Jesus through the Holy Spirit living in us, we can do nothing on our own to get us to Heaven. While we are capable of good works on our own, they are meaningless without God. We must believe in the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, that He brought us grace, forgiveness, and peace for our sins.

All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64:6

As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God. All have turned away,
they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good,
not even one.”
“Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.”“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”
     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . .
Romans 3:10-18, 23

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

2 Corinthians 5:17, 14-15

2013
01/22
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Celebrating Re-birth

Before you read whatever I have to say, get some wisdom from Proverbial Thought!

Last year, I explained that this particular day is important to me. It is a day I celebrate with my friends and family.

To re-cap, I call it my Re-Birthday. It is the day I celebrate Christ getting a hold of my heart and my life! It has been 13 years to the day!

I make a cake. I share it with my loved ones … and even some I do not know particularly well, if at all.

Here is the thing …

I do not want presents on this day.

I do not want to go out to a restaurant on this day.

I do not want someone to make my favorite meal on this day.

I do not want an extravagant party thrown in my honor on this day.

Because …

Christ calls each of us to be a new creation.

Christ commands us to give up our own desires for His desires.

Christ asks us to be His ambassador of life, peace, and servanthood to this world.

Christ only wants to move through us to a lost and hurting world, to draw them closer to Him.

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:17-24

Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says,

“In the time of my favor I heard you,     and in the day of salvation I helped you.”

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:11-6:2

“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

While I take a day every year to focus on the gift of grace, forgiveness, and life our Lord has given me, this is really a daily thing. We should all be ready each day to thank Jesus for loving us so much. People should be able to tell that you have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).

We should thank Him through our devotion to sharing His grace to the rest of the world, with every person we know.

Christ is the Light.

Let Him shine through you!

2013
01/09
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