30 Years

I find myself curious about the first 30 years of the life of Jesus.  Most scholars believe that Jesus was around 30 when He started His ministry and after three short years it ended in His crucifixion.  The first four books of the New Testament mostly reflect on those last three years.  Apart from that, there is descriptions of His miraculous conception and birth, and there is a reference to an event when he was around 12 years of age. 

Overall, very little is known about the first 30.  What a wonderful book Mary could have written about this!  Or Joseph!  It puzzles the mind to understand why there is so little information, except to understand the time period and lack of tools and education.

I find it is important to realize a few other details about Jesus.  He was sinless.  He did not sin.  This means that He was exceptional in the presence of everyone else (sinners).  It seems like He would have stood out.  My experience is people either hate or love the person who is good and does what is right.  Therefore, I would expect that He was, by His very presence and action, a divisive person to His community and most probably, immediate family. 

A disturbing read is to find Jesus going and calling disciples to follow Him as He starts His ministry.  That’s an odd sentence isn’t it?  But considering that He was sinless and a kind just person with wisdom, shouldn’t He have drawn people to Him as a result?  Let’s be truthful, this is the commonly accepted evangelism method used by the majority of Christian churches today.  If we’ll just be the “right” kind of person exhibiting Godly character traits, then people will be drawn to us and when they are we can tell them the good news. 

Yet, Jesus lived 30 years in a community and did not sin!  How are we possibly going to live as the “right” kind of person exhibiting godly character traits and be more than He was?  That is insanity.  We know nothing of who Jesus influenced before His ministry, but we know a lot about who He influenced once His ministry started.  He lived in a community for three decades and we know not of a single person who was healed or who grew closer to God for it.

I’m not sure there is an accurate estimation of how many people Billy Graham influenced / persuaded / compelled to come to Christ.  He spoke at crusades all over the world with stadiums full of people night-after-night.  Would we even know who Billy Graham was if he has simply resolved to just be a good person and trying to influence people to come to Christ by exhibiting Godly character alone?  Of course we wouldn’t.

Would we even know who Jesus is if He had simply stayed in His home community and continued a sinless life exhibiting complete and perfect Godly character?  I don’t think so. 

The simple fact is this: they witnessed to who God is and testified about God’s greatness to anyone who would listen.  They preached and taught salvation and how people can be redeemed through God’s gift and their repentance.  The undying hope is that everyone would hear the gospel message and choose to believe in Jesus as the Son of God and accept His free gift of salvation.

Jesus had to tell people who He is and who God is.  It caused controversy, confrontation, and His death.  People have to hear the gospel message; they have to be confronted with it.  They do not seek it on their own.

Are you a silent witness today, hoping that maybe someday someone will ask you a question about Jesus?  Be aware, you will likely die before that happens.  Be bold and speak out the gospel message.  Do not be ashamed to stand in front of the whole world and speak confidently that there is one true living God and His son is Jesus.  Through Him and Him alone is there salvation.  Refuse to cower in the corner. 

Now is the time for the church to believe again!  Now is the time for the gospel message to be proclaimed without apology!  Now is the time for believers to refuse to be ashamed for following the Words of their Savior!  Now is the time for people to repent and turn away from their sins!

Do You Have Love?

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NKJV)

What a minute, let’s break that down.  If we are able to speak incredibly well to the world and even to the angels in heaven, it is empty and worthless?  What if we can prophesy about the future and have wisdom and knowledge of mysteries in this world?  What if we are so strong in our faith that we can move a mountain?  What if we sacrifice everything we can offer that we are able to give?

Verse 1 is about the heart.  Jesus taught us that “those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man” (Mt 15:18).  I’ve never heard an angel speak, but I have heard marvelous eloquence from men, and I must assume that angels speak so much more so powerful and with authority.  Yet, if we do not speak from a heart that has the love of God in it, it is worthless.  Our speech is corrupt and not worthy to be heard.  The term “sounding brass, or a tinkling or clanging cymbal” means emptiness and confusion, even unpleasantness.  The message of the gospel must rule in our hearts.

Verse 2 is about the mind.  Knowledge alone is not enough.  Maybe we’ve memorized every word in the Bible.  It is not enough.  Understanding alone is not enough.  Soloman writes in Ecclesiastes 1:16-17, “I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.”  And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.”  God’s love and gospel message has to be added to the knowledge and to the understanding. 

Verse 3 is about the will.  Will you follow the commands of God?  Are you going to do what He says?  If you do it must be done with the love of God and His gospel message or it is of no value.

Let’s look at it this way.  We’re going to write down a string of zeros.  Eloquence = 0; Prophecy = 0; Knowledge = 0; Understanding = 0; Faith = 0; Sacrifice = 0; Martyrdom = 0.  That’s seven 0’s: 0,000,000.  Put them all together and you get zero.  But, if you put a ‘1’ at the front, then every zero now has a value, it amounts to something: 10,000,000.  Love is the thing that has to be added to every gift, otherwise they are worthless.

The song, The Proof Of Your Love, sung by “for King & Country” is a great song describing these verses.  I also like the interpretation as give by The Message Bible:

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. (1 Corinthians 13:1-7, The Message)

All that we say and do must be done with the love of God that is the gospel message.  

If we speak, it should be from the foundation of the gospel message.  

If we have knowledge and understanding, it should be from the foundation of the gospel message.  

If we sacrifice anything or give of ourselves, it should be from the foundation of the gospel message.

This compels us to ask a very important real question.

   -     How does someone “have love”? 

You receive the gift of God, who is love, into your heart.  You believe His gospel message with your mind.  You are willing to follow His commands with your will. 

Ask yourself:

1. Is God the focus of intent of your heart?  Does He come out in your speech?
2. Is God the focus of your learning and understanding of the mysteries of this world?  Do you look for Him everywhere in the world?
3. Is God the focus of what you do?  Are you following Him?

Ask your church:

1. Are we sharing the love that God and Jesus shared?
2. Are we sharing the message that Jesus shared?
3. Are we doing everything as someone that has love?

What Is Love?

⁷ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. ¹⁰ In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:7-11

1 John 4: 8 tells us that the person who does not love does not know God.  This is a serious charge.  It becomes imperative then that we know what love is. 

Did Jesus love everyone?  I’m not sure I know anyone who would answer “no” to that question.  Yet, He didn’t treat everyone the way we believe someone who loved them would treat them.  When He ran the money changers out of the church, was that “love” as we would define it?  When we think of His description in Revelation, riding a white horse with His sword drawn and robe dipped in blood, leading the armies of heaven against the enemy, is that “love” as we imagine it?  How about when He called the leaders of the church “serpents” and “brood of vipers” (Mt 12:34, 23:33)?  He was essentially calling them devils.  He also called them sons of their father, Satan (Jn 8:44).  Is this name calling “love” as we would describe it? 

Shouldn’t Jesus had just been a nice kind person who “loved” them?  And if He would just love them correctly, they would see that He was God and come to Him?  I mean, this is our evangelism style today isn’t it?    

We think of exhibiting love to be cuddly, teddy bears, and people that just make us feel good about anything we do, encouraging us to just be happy.  Yet, that’s not the Jesus I read about.  That’s not the love He shared.  If He had done that, we wouldn’t even know His name today.  He certainly wouldn’t have been purposely humiliated, falsely accused, and murdered on a cross.

   -     So, what was the love that Jesus shared?

If we are told in 1 Jn 4:8 that “anyone who does not love does not know God”, then we need to know how to love if we claim to be a follower of God, a Christian!  This is damn important!

Verses 9 and 10 answers this question along with John 3:16-17. 

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. – 1 John 4:9-10

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. – John 3:16-17

   -     How did God show His love to mankind? 

He gave Jesus.  Not just to be born and live alongside mankind and impart wisdom and miracles.  This aspect is not even mentioned as a reason.  He gave Jesus for the sole purpose of being a substitute for our sins so that God can have fellowship with any person who wants to have fellowship with Him. 

Again, let us ask ourselves then:

   -     What was the love that Jesus shared?

It was and is the gospel message, the good news:

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:14-15

The gospel message is the message of forgiveness for sin through the atoning work of Jesus Christ.  You can have your sins forgiven and be saved from the hell in your heart by believing upon Jesus as the Son of God having come to save you, so you can be reconciled with a just and holy God.

The love that Jesus shared is the same one that God shared.  Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice.  There is one God and He came here to us and made a way for us to have fellowship with Him, if we will only believe that He is the only God and His Son Jesus is the only way.  He is the Lord, the One true Living God.  We simply are not.

Going back to 1 Jn 4:9, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.”  We are taught that the way the love of God is “manifest” in us is that Jesus came into the world and we can live “through Him”.  That is, God’s love is exhibited in us through Jesus.  How do you live “through” someone?  You would have to be with them to live through them.  Or, they would have to be with you.  We are taught that when we believe upon Jesus as the Son of God and as having lived, died, and resurrected as the “propitiation for our sins” (v 11) we receive the Spirit of God.  And, in such, we are able to live through Him since He is then dwelling with us intimately. 

Okay, let’s walk this back.

   -     If God is love and the love He gives is Jesus, and

   -     If Jesus is the gift of God’s love and the love He gives is Himself, then

   -     What should our message be?  And what is the love we should give?

It should Jesus!  It must be the gospel!

If you want to truly love someone, give them Jesus.  If there is anything important in your message to others that you must say, it should be the gospel message.

Is Everything Going to be All Right?

Is everything going to be all right?

You must have faith to know this.  Faith can’t be stationary.  You can’t stop growing your faith when you are young because you know you believe.  The truth is, when you get older, you need more faith.  The stakes for everything are higher.  There is more to lose and no time to recover from a terrible mistake.  You are responsible for so much more, so every decision affects a lot more people.  Fear works so very hard to seep into every crack.  Only a faith that grows steadily will help you be able to sail confidently through those trials and temptations.

Is my faith growing today?  Do I have a faith journal to remind myself of the many, many times God has directly and purposefully answered prayers? 

Am I confident in God’s provision, come what may?  Sure, I am aware that bad things could and do happen to people with faith.  In fact, my faith may be why those things could happen to me.  No one wants to go through bad things, but that is fear.

So, is everything going to be all right?  Today?  Tomorrow?  Is it?  Do you or I have rest in our souls that everything is going to be all right because God lives today and forever and He has a place for us?

Until this faith is assured deep in our hearts and settled as a part of our soul, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to find and live with hope, joy, and peace.

This great, old church hymn sums it up nicely.

It is Well With my Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

1. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well with my soul.
   
   
   Refrain:
   It is well with my soul,
   It is well, it is well with my soul.
   
   
   Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
   
   
   My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
   My sin, not in part but the whole,
   Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
   
   
   For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
   
   
   But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
   
   
   And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
   The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
   The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
   Even so, it is well with my soul.

Criminal Record vs Bad Credit Score

In a recent economic article entitled, Get Your Act Together, by Jared Dillian, he comments:

“There are two types of people with bad credit. People who are genuinely dirtbags who don’t pay back loans, and people who are just slobs. If you have a bad credit score, it is because you are a dirtbag or a slob. Generally speaking. …

“A credit score is a measure of your character. I’ll go further. A credit score says more about your character than, in many cases, a criminal record. A criminal record is a snapshot of your behavior at a brief moment in time. Sometimes good people break laws now and then.

“But a credit score isn’t a snapshot of your behavior at a moment in time. It establishes a pattern of behavior over years and years. There is a lot of data that goes into a credit score.

“I would rather date someone with a criminal record than a bad credit score.”

Now, I’m sure that statement has some qualifications based on what the criminal record actually was.  I doubt he would rather date an ax-murderer than a financial slob.

However, his point is incredibly valid.  In relationships, it is easier to be friends with someone who has failed and sincerely repented than be friends with someone who has a sloppy character and constantly has small failures but doesn’t get a handle on it. 

This comparison strikes so directly at the class conscious better-than-you church going Christian.  For me, that person so often compares directly to the financial slob described above.  They are full of what they consider small sins and they have no intention of pursuing a purer sanctification because what they do is so much better than others.  My experience is that this person is quick to complain when something isn’t done their way (or the way its always been done) and there personal witness is very weak.  So weak that I’ve often wanted to ask “Is that it?  You’ve been a Christian for decades and that’s all you’ve got?”  God should not seem a small thing when a Christian provides a testimony.

Then there is the sinner who did a most awful sin, became completely broken at the foot of Jesus, repented and has a changed character because of it.  This person carries a powerful witness and testimony.  They know Jesus can change a person and are willing, even eager, to share their story hoping that it will stop someone who may be on the wrongful path they took or lead someone to repentance.  They know they are a sinner like everyone else and can’t be pretentious.

Which one would you want to have as a friend?  Which Christian are you?

The Lord is My Need

Is the Lord your need?  Is the Lord all you need for fulfillment, purpose, and life?

²² Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
²³ They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!” – Lamentations 3:22-24

Is your only hope in God because He alone fills your soul?  Are you satisfied with God and nothing else?  Do you have hope for today?  It is found in the Lord when He is your fulfillment.

The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. – Psalms 23:1

Where does your heart lie?  In the cares of this world or satisfied in communion with the one true living God?

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord. – Jeremiah 17:7

Do you want to live a blessed life?  Let go of yourself and stop being your own god!  Sacrifice all that you hold onto for security and embrace the Savior who reaches for you.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. – James 4:8

Deliberately move to the God who created you, mercifully saves you, and never stops loving you. 

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.  – Jeremiah 29:13

There are no wrong steps in moving closer to God. 

Is God your need?

The Lord has suffered so much for me.

It is reported that the last words of Girolamo Savonarola, one of the first open reformers of the corrupt Catholic church, upon being executed in 1498 by the order of Pope Alexander VI were, “The Lord has suffered so much for me.”  He was hung and then burned.  His greatest crime was working for a reformation of the Church.  He opposed the severe declining of Biblical morality in society and saw the same societal morality in the Church.  Martin Luther considered Girolamo to be a martyr. 

Regardless of anything else that happened in his life, the last words are profound and we can apply them to our own life.

We live in a society that preaches “Me, me, me, it’s all about me.  What should I do to make me happy?”  This doesn’t seem to be different than any society of any other time.  It is the condition of man who has wanted to be god from the beginning.  The questions today are: 

• Who is it that preaches sin and repentance?  
• Who is willing to accept God’s leading and be willing to follow obedience to God’s authority? 
• Where is the conviction of sin in men and women today?

Is our generation so gutless that they are unwilling to suffer rejection or discomfort for the sake of standing on the written Word of God?  The only answer is a resounding YES!  Most who claim to follow Christ (calling themselves Christian) reject His Word for their own pleasures, to do what they want to do so they can be “happy” according to their terms.  Where is the one who will stand unapologetically on faith in the one true living God and His Word?  Where is the one who is wiling to suffer in taking such a stand?

Compared to the man who was about to be hung and burned and said, “The Lord has suffered so much for me”, in great humility and thankfulness, we are the softest bunch of pansy Christians that must have ever been gifted with life.

Psalms 7:7-9

⁷ Let the assembled peoples gather around you,

    while you sit enthroned over them on high.

The Lord sits on high above all on His throne in heaven.

Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar. – Psalm 138:6

The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes everyone on earth; his eyes examine them. – Psalm 11:4

Hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. – 1 Kings 22:19

David is calling for God to sit on His throne of judgment in front of the heavenly hosts.

⁸     Let the Lord judge the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,
    according to my integrity, O Most High.
⁹ Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
    and make the righteous secure—
you, the righteous God
    who probes minds and hearts.

How could David say that he is righteous?  David himself tells us that no person is good.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

    there is none who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

    to see if there are any who understand,

    who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

    there is none who does good,

    not even one.  – Psalm 14:1-3

The only thing that would make David’s righteous is the Spirit of God within him.  David knew the Spirit of God was with him and within him.  He testifies of it in Psalm 51:11 when he prays to God, “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

David is praying here for God to vindicate him based on the actions he has taken and on the integrity of his heart which has followed the Lord’s command through His Spirit.  Otherwise he can’t make that prayer because he himself knows there is no good in man. 

O LORD, judge the people, condemn the wicked and free the righteous!  Only He can do this as only He knows the mind and heart of every man.

Psalms 7:6

⁶ Arise, Lord, in Your anger;

    rise up against the rage of my enemies.
    Awake, my God; decree justice.

This is such a powerful statement from David.  Especially if you’ve been subject to the deeds of evil people or an evil person.  Yes!!  Oh Lord Yes!!  Rise up in Your anger against them!! 

This is also a very Old Testament mindset, but we should be reminded that the Lord is the same God and He does not change.  David prayed for God to rise up in His anger, not David’s, against the rage of his enemies that were dealing with him unjustly.  David wisely knows that when God rises up to oppose his enemies, his enemies are doomed.  God’s justice is perfect.  God’s opposition to them will be perfect and there is no escape.

To say this, David is confident that he has not wronged his enemies.  If he has, he has just prayed for God to allow him to be trampled and overtaken by them.  David knows he sits on the side of God’s righteousness and his enemies oppose God’s righteousness or God Himself.

Jesus taught for us to Love our enemies and Pray for those who persecute you (Mt 5:44).  The spirit of the text being to pray for their salvation.  To pray that they will turn on one of the chances they get to choose to believe in God since God doesn’t will that as single person would perish in to the eternal flames of a very real Hell.

Is David praying differently than Jesus teaches?  David who had the Spirit of God within him is praying for God’s anger to rise up against the rage of his enemies. 

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. – Romans 12:17-19

Notice that David isn’t praying that he be allowed to destroy his enemies.  He is asking God to take His anger against them.  He is praying for God’s wrath upon them.  Paul teaches in Romans that the ungodly live at enmity against God (Rm 8:7-8).  That is, they are enemies of God.  David knows this and is praying for God to repay them.  David knows that God will deal with them perfectly.

²² Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut;
May their best friends be trappers who’ll skin them alive.

²³ Make them become blind as bats,
Give them the shakes from morning to night.

²⁴ Let them know what you think of them,
Blast them with your red-hot anger. – Psalms 69:22-24

Do we want any less?  If people have hardened their heart against God and are intent on opposing Him everywhere they can to include intruding and demanding me to change my lifestyle – to take away my freedom to worship and live as well as I can according to the Word of God, then yes I want God’s anger to rise up against their rage, so they will meet Him face-to-face.  Perhaps then, they can decide if they want to oppose the living Lord forever or realize that that powerful God is reaching out to them even while He stands against them.

Either way, I want those who don’t know God to be presented with God.  I pray they will act justly and stop battling me, but if they won’t, I pray that the one true living God will rise up and stand against them, so they will know there is a God that is everywhere and who is all life and who loves His children.

It is important however to remind myself that God’s timeline isn’t mine.  I must rest in peace knowing God will save His children and confront their enemies.  He will deal justly with them perfectly.

Psalms 7:3-5

³ O Lord my God, if I have done this:

If there is iniquity in my hands,
⁴ If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or have plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵ Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
Yes, let him trample my life to the earth,
And lay my honor in the dust.  (NIV)

How many people do I know that are willing to sacrifice their worth, their pride, thein “honor”, their life, so willingly so that righteousness will be done?  How many people do I know that believe righteousness is so important that it must go forward as a priority over even their own cause?  Am I willing to believe in righteousness so vigorously?

An interesting thing to note here about David is he was very close to God in these extreme trials.  In battles with enemies or his king, he turned to God with complete abandonment of himself, as we all should.  In 1 Samuel 13:14 we read Samuel telling the king Saul, “the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler of his people”.  And in Acts 13:22, “God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”  David was a man whose internal desire was pursuit of the purpose and character of God.  This he did, especially when in confrontations, battles, and trials. 

I have often thought that David’s fall came when he relaxed as a deserving king that didn’t need to be in those battles, leading and inspiring the men, but resting in the palace comforts while they fought.  I recently heard someone say that “happiness is the enemy”.  The point was that once they rested in comfort of accomplishments in life, they would stop achieving – they would lose their drive and their ability to take risk.  They would be unwilling to lose everything to achieve great things.  I wonder if David had lost some drive as king during his dark days of sin and had relaxed his pursuit of God’s righteousness.  (The response to this quote was, “if you can never let yourself achieve happiness, then you have already lost.”  I don’t know what the answer is to these opposing thoughts.) 

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18

David has the most noble of thoughts here from his heart.  He considers that he is capable and may have done wrong to these people unknowingly.  Maybe they are justified.  If he’s actually done wrong to these people, then the just answer is for him to be dealt with properly.  That is honest repentance and putting God then others first.  We should strive to be so noble.

Light of Life

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” - John 8:12 

Today, I certainly don’t feel like I have the light of life.  I wonder if God has left me.  I assume this means that I am not following Him, if I interpret the verse above correctly.  How can you follow when you can’t hear or there are no words for you?  Where is the life from the Spirit?

Perhaps God has judged me and He has left me to myself as a judgment.  I certainly deserve this.  What then? 

I know that life is precious and everyday should be lived and not taken for granted.  Yet, life seems hollow.  Every aspect of life seems to hurt and I make everyone around me miserable.  I try to hide it, but those closest to me know something is wrong.  Perhaps I am just really tired from the fight.  Everything is a fight.  I am criticized on all sides.  The light of hope fades and I fight to keep it alive.

As I write I notice that there are way too many “I”s in the above paragraphs.  “I” should not be so important to my own landscape. 

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.  - Psalms 51:10-12

God did not speak to Israel for 400 years.  No prophets came during that time.  That is 12 to 15 generations of families.  That is longer than the United States has been a nation.  Even so, some in the culture kept the Word of God and the society was a theocracy based on the writings from God through men of previous generations. 

Then, Jesus came as a child and died as a sinless man.  He was resurrected and through Him life was created and can be recreated.  The dead society following words could choose God and receive His Spirit and walk in life.  Long before, David knew how important that Spirit was within him and pleaded with God to not take it from him.  Now, the Spirit is available to any who choose to believe that Jesus is the Son of the one true living God.

Today I plead as David did, for a new pure heart, to not be cast from the presence of God, that the Spirit would remain in me and my own spirit be renewed, that my joy of His salvation would be restored, and my own spirit would be willing to persevere.  May it be so.

Psalms 7:1-2

O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;

Save me from all those who persecute me; (v1, NIV)

God! God! I am running to you for dear life;
    the chase is wild. If they catch me, I’m finished:
    ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,
    dragged into the forest and left
    unlooked for, unremembered. (v1-2, Message)

While it is often said we should not reserve our prayers to God to only be 911 prayers, it does say something, at least to me, that we do turn to God in such times.  It is a sign of faith.  It says, like the Message Bible interprets, that we trust God and Him alone to save us.  The old saying, “There is no such thing as an Atheist in a foxhole” rings true.  If there is nothing else beyond this life and no god, then what must the despair be for those who have no help and are hopeless?  I can only imagine it is internally sheer panic or it is a willingness to do anything that makes the person happy or helps them. 

If there is no god, then each person is their own god.  They have to be.  If they live in a limited time arena, then it is complete foolishness to not get what you can and live how you want to live for as long as you can.  It must appear as complete hypocrisy to see people living within moral boundaries or purposely giving, often sacrificing, of themselves for the benefit of others.  It must also be completely offensive to them when another person creates limits on their ability to live however they want to live since the only thing they’ll ever have is what is inside this limited time.

Every sad moment is offensive to them and has to be the result of someone else causing it because they are living to be happy in every moment.  If they don’t have something they want it now so they can be happy now before the limited time ends.  Every tested rule of life that were learned by previous generations of Americans are being thrown out (that is, until they return like a boomerang and hit them in the head).  Brett & Kate McKay list the following lessons learned after reading Tom Brokaw’s book The Greatest Generation: 1) Take personal responsibility for your life; 2) Be frugal; 3) Be humble; 4) Love loyally; 5) Work hard; 6) Embrace challenge; 7) Don’t make life so damn complicated (just get up and go).  None of these reflect the ideology of I have to be happy and it’s the world’s job to make me happy.

The problem in the world today is the absence of God in the life of people.  Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”  They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good! (Ps 14:1)  Life is much more than this limited time.  In fact, the Bible tells us that once a person accepts that Jesus is the Son of the one true living God and His sacrifice was made for their sins, the Spirit of God descends into their heart, their internal person.  The Spirit of God is eternal.  How can the eternal reside with something not eternal?  Every person is eternal, only their destination is in question and they get to choose their destination.  In today’s society it would seem the question is whether to worship oneself or worship the holy God who is, was, and will be forevermore.  The separation among people today is not whether they are Democrat or Republican.  It is whether they don’t believe in God or they do.