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THE LIGHT OF LIFE

4/30/2024

April 30, 2024 THE LIGHT OF LIFE

John 8:12 “Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.’”

What Jesus says in this verse is amazing to say the least. In this life, we are constantly presented with various trails that we could take, choices we could make, that would lead to where we do not want to go. There is a constant call or temptation to go the ways of the world; as someone said “The world is always trying to squeeze us into its mold.” If you are trying to find your way on a pitch dark night in a place where there are many dangers, you would be forever grateful if someone lit your path. Jesus made an astounding statement when He said that HE WAS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD! The world was and is a dark place-but Jesus is light-and He is the only light. The most brilliant person, the most ‘educated’ person walks in darkness if they do not have the the light of life-Jesus. There is a danger that we as believes must be aware of; it is possible for us to lean to our own understanding or to walk according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. To follow Jesus is a big deal. We can say that we are following Jesus but actually be living according to our own preferences and our own wisdom. The good news is that when, and only when, we follow Jesus, we have the light of life. Following Jesus is not vague or ambiguous; Jesus modeled life as God designed it to be; He was and is our example. Not only did Jesus model life, He taught and gave written instructions on how to live life. Jesus was wisdom and He is all-knowing. Our enemy, the devil, is a deceiver out to deceive even the believers to follow their ways instead of following Jesus. Our call is to learn of the ways of God as modeled by the life Jesus lived and to hear and obey the words Jesus spoke-it’s quite simple. In our particular place in life, in our sphere, Jesus will show us the way and He will be the light of life to us! Let it be our greatest heart desire to be flowers of Jesus.

1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.”

Blessings, Buddy

THIS IS THE VICTORY

4/28/2024

April 28, 2024 THIS IS THE VICTORY

1 John 5:3-5 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. And who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

If you are breathing, then you know there is a lot to overcome in this world. There has always been trouble in the world, but it seems that it has intensified as of late. But thanks be to God, He has made us to not be overcome by the world but to overcome the trials and challenges that we face and the pull of the world to conform us to it’s ways. There is a connection between the love of God, overcoming the world, and faith. As in the last blog, we saw that when we are ‘truly perfected’ in the love of God, we naturally keep His word. To me, the starting point is believing with all of our being that Jesus is indeed the Son of God-and that is a life changing truth for us. To believe that the God who created everything, chose to send His Son Jesus into the world in the likeness of man to be the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of man is almost beyond comprehension. It was the love of God that moved Him to send His Son to redeem us. When the Holy Spirit makes the love of God real in us, we are changed forever. This God that loves us so and lives in us is an all-powerful, all-wise God-and He is our Farther! God never fails; His word and His purposes always come to pass; He always overcomes. We have been born of God and have been joined to Him; now we share in His overcoming; the outcome of what God is doing is never In doubt. Living in the ways of God, and keeping His commandments is not burdensome; rather, it is life-giving. Faith is the key. By faith we believe in God, we believe what He has said is true, and we believe every promise He has given will be fulfilled. To live a life based on human wisdom is a life lived on a much lower plane and a life void of the presence and power of God. The good news for us is that no matter what obstacles, trials and challenges we face, God has equipped us to overcome. If we truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God-then we are overcomers of the world. And, we live victoriously-no matter what!

1 Corinthians 2:5 “So that your faith may not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Blessings, Buddy

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IT’S SIMPLE

4/25/2024

April 25, 2024 IT’S SIMPLE
1John 2:5-6 “but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”

We may tend to make things more complicated than they are. In Christian circles, there seems to always be an emphasis on ‘keeping God’s word.’ Certainly no one could argue with that emphasis. However, there is a huge problem; as hard as we try and as determined as we might be, we cannot keep His word by our own will-power. There is good news for us-and it is rather simple-and it solves the problem of keeping His word. The liberating truth is that when ‘the love of God has truly been perfected in (us),’ we will keep His word. ‘Truly been perfected’ are key words. Certainly, in my opinion, very few if any are truly perfected in the love of God at the point of salvation. Through out the New Testament we are admonished to grow in the faith, and the grace and the knowledge of God. As we mature in the Lord, we discover more about who He is and who we are in Him; as we know Him in greater ways, we come to understand just how awesome God is-that all He does is out of His perfect love. We learn that He is totally trustworthy and that He is more than able. As we get to know Him, it becomes natural to love Him; and we come to know that we are much better off when all of our life-all of our being is yielded to and entrusted to Him. Back to the admonition to grow in the knowledge of God: growing in the knowledge of God does not happen automatically; it requires something from us. First, it starts with a desire to know Him-but that in itself is not enough. We must avail ourselves to His word as it is His primary way of revealing Himself to us. Also, it is important to express praise and worship to Him; and it is a needed thing to associate with other believers. Let it be our desire to be perfected in the love of God; when we experience the indescribable love of God, it will be our desire to walk in His ways. It’s not all up to us to be perfected in His love; He has given us the Holy Spirit to be our Helper. There is nothing greater to experience in this life than walking in the same manner as He walked.

1 John 4:16 “So we have come to know and to believe the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

Blessings, Buddy

BEYOND OUR STRENGTH

4/23/2024

April 23, 2024 BEYOND OUR STRENGTH

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,”

We often hear it said that ‘God will not put more on us than we can bear.’ We need to look at that statement because that is not accurate. This view comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 where it tells us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to resist-but will provide a way of escape. That is talking about being tempted to sin; not about enduring trials. There is a key truth we must embrace in this verse for today. There will be times when we will feel ‘the sentence of death within us’ just as Paul and his co-laborers did; they expected to die as a result of the great trial they faced. They had lost hope; it was a dark place. They could not see any solution or any way out. Most of us have experienced times when all seems lost-and there is nothing we can do. Here is the point we must not miss: God will allow us to be in a place where we see no way out and we feel the ‘sentence of death’ within us SO THAT we can learn to not trust in ourselves-or our ability to get out of a difficult place. WE CAN put our trust in God who delivers from the dead-and if He can raise the dead, He can deliver us. To put our trust in Him is saying we are incapable of delivering ourselves. In the trial, our place is to simply give up on trying to figure a way out and yield everything to Him. This does not mean we become idle; it does mean that we operate from a total trust in God to deliver us in anyway He chooses. When we no longer trust in ourselves but trust in God, we find hope. So, in the difficult times-and always-let us realize that on our own, we are not able to deliver ourselves; only God can deliver. The amazing thing is that when we surrender everything to God who loves us, we can actually find rest in the midst of the storm.

Psalm 50:15 “And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

Blessings, Buddy

THIS LIVING CHRIST

4/21/2024

April 21, 2024 THIS LIVING CHRIST

Matthew 28:5-7 “And the angel answered and said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, ‘just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus is not to be reserved for one day a year on Easter Sunday. Rather, celebrating His resurrection is to be a way of life. And, it’s more than a celebration; it is about the living Christ. Christ is not just a historical figure; nor is He now someone who resides in heaven, no longer present on earth. He is with the Father in heaven, but He is also here on planet earth in the person of the Holy Spirit. This living Christ is all powerful and all knowing; full of grace and mercy; provider and protector; He is love; He restores and forgives; and He is the source of life, joy and peace. Christ conquered death; He broke the power of sin; He sets the prisoner free; and He makes us new creations-in the likeness of Him. Christ brings with Him love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He directs our steps; He goes before us and is behind us. He empowers us to live righteously-to say no to sin. He is always working-even when we experience trials and difficulties; He uses all things for good. We have been joined to Himself in an inseparable union. All of these things-and much more-are true only because our Father loves us and His love was so great that He allowed His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins that we might be restored to Him. May it get into our spirits that this living Christ is present-that He is in us! When our spirits are awakened to the fact that He is present, our lives will not remain the same; no longer will we live a ho-hum life; no longer will we be anxious, defeated or discouraged when we face difficulties; and no longer will we have to search for that which fulfills our deepest longings because He satisfies completely. This may all sound like a pipe dream or something reserved for a few-but it is for you and me. Christ did not die without a purpose; He gave His life that we might experience His presence and His life in us. Believe it and receive it!
Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
John 10:10b “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Blessings, Buddy

THE STAKES ARE HIGH

4/18/2024

April 18, 2024 THE STAKES ARE HIGH

Ephesians 5:8-10, 5-17 “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light consist is all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is..

A great transformation has taken place for those who know Jesus as their Savior; they were at one time darkness (not in darkness) but are now are light in the Lord. That transformation caries with it many responsibilities as well as many opportunities. In Paul’s letters, as well as other New Testament writers, mixed in with the promises of God and all the blessing that come from belonging to God, you find warnings that are directed to believers. What should get our attention is that it is possible for believers to not walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. Just as Paul lived in evil days, so do we; and thus the warning or admonition-“Be careful how you walk.’ We are to walk as wise followers of Christ; it should be our heart’s desire to learn what is pleasing to the Lord-then do it. This gets down to the trenches where we live; how I respond to those around me; how I live my life before them; do I reflect the character of God; and do I have a serving attitude. In these evil days, we desperately need those who are letting their lights shine and who by the life they are reflections of Christ. The stakes are to high for us to waste our time away; time is precious. As we seek to grow in the Lord and as we set out to know what is pleasing to Him, we discover what the will of the Lord is. His will is for us to love Him with all of our hearts and to live in a way that honors Him and blesses others. Living in a way that pleases the Lord becomes natural when we walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

Proverbs 4:26 “Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.”
James 1:25 “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it-not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it-they will be blessed in what they do.”

Blessings, Buddy

WALKING THE WALK

4/16/2024

April 16, 2024 WALKING THE WALK

2 Corinthians 12:6 “For if I do not wish to boast I shall not be foolish, for I shall be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one may credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.”

God chose to give great and surpassing revelations to Paul. Paul was aware of the possibility of exalting himself because of the revelations given to Him-and because that was a distinct possibility, God gave Paul a ‘thorn in the flesh,’ a messenger of Satan to buffet him-to keep him from exalting himself. Paul asked God three to remove the thorn but God said to Paul “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:8. In this passage of scripture, there are two important truths we must grasp. One is that we need to ‘walk the walk.’ Paul makes this point clear when He says that he wanted no one to credit him with more than they ‘saw’ in him or ‘heard’ from him. One may have great intellect and has great knowledge, or may have accomplished a great feat, or may be a great orator, or have great revelations from God, or may hold a high office; and these could lead to boasting. At the same time, one who may not be considered accomplished according to the worlds standard may also find reason to boast. If not careful, we can say things that we hope will make us look good-look better. Also, those who teach or those who preach have to be keenly aware of the importance of living out what they teach or preach. Wow! What Paul said really is a plumb line for us: do our words and our actions ‘walk the walk.’ Is there any guile in us? Psalm 32:2 tells us “Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not inquiry, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” The second point for us is to understand and accept is the fact that power is perfected in weakness. It really is! By human nature we do not like weakness. For us to be content with weakness-and we all have weaknesses-we must know that God’s grace is sufficient and that He displays His strength in our weakness. Maybe not the the extent Paul had, but I think we all have a thorn in the flesh that is there to keep us dependent on God and to cause us not to trust in ourselves. So, let us be ones who walk the walk, and ones in whom there is no guile; and ones who acknowledge and accept our weaknesses knowing that His strength is made perfect in weakness.

Ephesians 4:1 “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

Blessings, Buddy

THE RELATIONSHIP

4/12/2024

April 12, 2024 THE RELATIONSHIP
Luke 7:47: “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
There are two important truths found in this verse that are foundational for the believer. One is that even though the sins of one may be many, God forgives all of the sins when repentance takes place. Whether one sins once or sins numerous times, we all stand, or have stood in need of God’s forgiveness. The second truth in this verse is the one we will focus on today, and it has to do with the relationship between love and forgiveness. We will see that if we struggle with the issue of forgiveness, we will struggle in the area of love. The simple, but profound truth is that to the degree that we realize how much we needed and received forgiveness from God, is the degree of love we have for God and for others! The woman in this verse loved and worshiped God in an extravagant way because she was keenly aware of the fact that she had been forgiven of her many sins. When we come face-to-face with our sins, when we are broken and contrite over our sin and when we confess our sin to God, we find that He is a God who forgives. After we go through this process of being broken and repentant, and receiving His forgiveness, we are humbled and less likely to judge others when they sin. Jesus came not to judge, but to demonstrate the love of God that is expressed by His forgiveness. “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. With love comes forgiveness, and with forgiveness comes love. Once we have received forgiveness, we are to no longer focus on our sin, but we do need to remember that we have been forgiven by a loving God. As saints, or children of God, we also must demonstrate God’s love by forgiving others just as He forgave us. Love and forgiveness or much more effective in maintaining good relationships than withholding forgiveness in order to make the one who sinned ‘pay the price’ for their sin. Our unwillingness to forgive should be a red flag that tells us that there is something amiss in our spiritual health. We cannot explain away or justify un-forgiveness on our part. Contrary to what some say, to forgive is not difficult, but is a fruit of walking in the Spirit. Should we not know how much we needed God’s forgiveness, it may be an indication that we do not know God as Savior. The next time that someone sins against us, let us be quick to remember that we have been forgiven, and be quick to demonstrate the love of God by our full forgiveness of others.
Colossians 3:13: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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FOR SUCH PEOPLE THE FATHER SEEKS

4/9/2024

August 9, 2024 FOR SUCH PEOPLE THE FATHER SEEKS

John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.”
Hebrews 13:15 “Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.”

Worshipping God is much more than singing a few hymns or songs on Sunday mornings-as good and as needed as that is. God sets the standard for how we worship-and that is in ‘spirit and truth.’ True worship of God flows from our spirits. I have found that I can be listening to a worship song because I just like the arrangement of the song and how it sounds or because of the talent of the ones doing the song-and yet not be worshipping God. It seems that often our minds and our emotions are the major motivators in our lives; but the most important aspect of our being is our spirit. And the all important thing for us is to align our spirit with the Spirit of God who lives is us. To align or to set the tone of our spirit is not small matter for sure. Apparently we are born with a certain spirit or ‘personality;’ and some say that cannot be changed. However, when we work with God as He works in us, we are transformed from the inside out. We are all unique and have our own personalities, but God is able to form us into His image. I say all of that to encourage us to turn our hearts, our minds, and our spirits to the Lord and to let our lips express the praise and adoration that is rooted in our spirits. We worship in spirit, but we also worship in truth. Certainly we are to use our minds as we read God’s word to learn truth, as God’s word is truth. The truth we learn from God’s word with the help of the Holy Spirit, is the truth we base our worship on. Many worship all sorts of gods but they are not worshipping in truth. God is seeking those that worship Him in spirit and truth-let us be the ones He finds! Let us not be caught up in the sounds of the instruments or in the talent of the musicians; let us worship our God with or without music, in church or out of church, at work or wherever-let our lips praise Him and acknowledge His name.
Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Blessings, Buddy

A CLANGING CYMBAL

4/7/2024

April 7, 2024 A CLANGING CYMBAL

1 Corinthians 13:1-2,13 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” “But now abide faith, hope love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.”
Romans 5:5 “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

We use the word ‘love’ so often, we have diminished it’s meaning. I would say that we all know that we should love others, yet true, genuine love-the kind we see in 1 Corinthians 13, is not all that common. It is possible for one to have human love, but be void of the love that comes from God. Human love is fickle and is pretty much a selfish love; and human love falls short of the love of God. The key point for us to beware of is that the love we see in I Corinthians is the love of God-and that He has “poured out His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” To love as God loves is a work of God in us-a miracle indeed. God does not tell us to try harder at loving as we should; He makes us new and gives us a new heart and this new heart is full of the love of God. As often said in previous blogs, we have the power of choice; we can walk according to our old self-the flesh-or we can walk according to the Spirit. As we see in the verse above, love is key; it’s greater than faith and hope. The love that God has poured into our hearts, when expressed, is the greatest, most obvious picture of the character and person of God. One may be the ‘person of the hour,’ the smartest, the best looking, a spiritual leader, may claim to have great faith and one who has the gift of prophecy, and has great faith, BUT if he or she does not have the love of God being expressed in and through them, they are NOTHING! Wow! I think the message is as clear as it can be; the greatest need we have is to experience the love of God. I would go so far as to say that truly knowing the love of God is us is a cure-all. His love does not exempt us from pain; but it does see us through the pains and the trials and it is manifested in our difficulties. It’s easy to act lovely when every one else is lovely or when everything is peachy; but it is in the difficult times that the love of God shines through. The love of God is tender, compassionate, and graceful; but it is also bold. Often love compels us to action; the love of God at work in us sometimes moves us out of our comfort zone. The love of God works in such a way in us that it causes us to put others ahead of ourselves. That’s exactly what Jesus did.
1 John 4:16, 7-12 “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Blessings, Buddy