SHINING LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Joni Eareckson Tada has stated, “Gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.”

Jesus prayed a very fitting prayer over His disciples in John 17:15-21, which I believe applies for all believers, for all times. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

We live in a time where Satan doesn’t even hide anymore and we still don’t see him. 

People are in need. The world is dark, yes. But the light of Jesus, His message, His saving message of hope and salvation and transformation, can pierce, illuminate, and completely overtake any darkness there is. People are in need, yes. And the devil isn’t hiding anymore with his attacks.

Where is the church? It is time we shine the light in every dark crevice there is on this planet. 

In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus told His disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” 

-- Author Unknown

#6351

GOD GIVES PERSEVERANCE

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”  (Hebrews 12:1b-2a NIV)

Clearly, we need perseverance in order to run the race God has set before our lives. We especially need perseverance to keep the faith and keep running when the world feels out of control. Importantly, though, you and I do not need to be the source of that perseverance. In fact, we shouldn’t be. We can’t run very far or keep going very long on our strength alone.

That’s why God gives perseverance to His followers. As we determine in our minds to keep the faith, He fills us with all that we require to keep going – to keep running.

There is an amazing promise found in the book of 2 Peter that I want to make sure you know about: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (1:3 NIV). Right there in black and white, God has promised to give you everything you need to live an authentic, impactful life as a member of His kingdom. And one of those things you need is perseverance. 

-- David Jeremiah in “Keep the Faith: How to Stand Strong in a World Turned Upside Down”

#6024

RESPONDING TO GOD’S GIFT

“Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent Me. I have made You known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for Me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”  (John 17:25-26 NIV)

"Responding to God" is a concept that many, if not most, find difficult to grasp.  Human nature and institutions have presented almost insurmountable obstacles to this process.  The free will that God has given mankind permits a focus on immediate and physical needs, often at the expense of long-term and spiritual needs.  Many do not even consider the possibility of an ultimate or eternal need. 

Every single human being causes harm or disappointment to others at various times.  The injury is often in the failure to take an appropriate action.  Mankind has always been plagued with thoughtless and destructive behaviors.  Governments, social organizations, and religions have evolved focusing on these behaviors and attempting to ameliorate them.  Rules, laws, moral codes, and commandments have proliferated with elaborate systems of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and punishments.  Who could satisfy every demand?  The criminal and immoral usually don't care.  Those who try to do good still face the guilt associated with failing to meet every expectation.  The good and the bad, to various degrees, are all subject to guilt and the anxieties associated with it.  Mankind was given free will and a deep-seated need for God, but not perfection.  We, in fact, seem to be prisoners of our imperfection.

Christians believe that God provided the solution to this condition over 2,000 years ago.  To demonstrate His love for humanity, He sent His Son, in essence Himself, into the world.  Jesus came to destroy the barriers separating men and women from God.  He brought a simple message of forgiveness and reconciliation.  Through Jesus, every human being was given a clear and direct way to God.  He prayed, "Righteous Father, I have made You known to them… in order that the love You have for Me may be in them." The appropriate "response" to God is simply to accept this gift.

-- Larkin Spivey in “God in the Trenches” 

#5914

THE ANSWER TO OUR DEEPEST NEED

If we are honest, we would have to admit that we all do things that we know are wrong.  Sometimes we do things for which we are deeply ashamed.  More than that, there is a self-centeredness about our lives which spoils them.  Jesus said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean'." (Mark 7:20-23)

Our greatest need is for forgiveness. Just as a man who has cancer needs a doctor whether he realizes it or not, so we need forgiveness whether we realize it or not. Just as with cancer, the man who recognizes his need is far better off than the person who is lulled into a false sense of security.

By His death on the cross Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God.  In this way He supplied the answer to our deepest need. 

-- Nicky Gumble in the Alpha Course booklet "Why Jesus?" 

#5819

DEMONSTRATING THE GOSPEL

Jesus said to His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  (Mark 16:15 NIV)

Anyone wanting to proclaim the glory of Christ to the ends of the earth must consider not only how to declare the gospel verbally but also how to demonstrate the gospel visibly in a world where so many are urgently hungry. If I am going to address urgent spiritual need by sharing the gospel of Christ or building up the body of Christ around the world, then I cannot overlook dire physical need in the process. 

-- David Platt

#5585

AMBASSADORS FOR CHRIST

“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”  (2 Corinthians 5:20 NKJV)

The Church is in the world to save the world. It is a tool of God for that purpose; not a comfortable religious club established in fine historical premises. Every one of its members is required, in one way or another, to co-operate with the Spirit in working for that great end; and much of this work will be done in secret and invisible ways. We are transmitters as well as receivers. Our contemplation and our action, our humble self-opening to God, keeping ourselves sensitive to His music and light, and our generous self-opening to our fellow creatures, keeping ourselves sensitive to their needs, ought to form one life: mediating between God and His world, and bringing the saving power of the Eternal into time. We are far from realizing all that the human spirits can do for one another on spiritual levels if they pay the price; how truly and really our souls interpenetrate, and how impossible and un-Christian it is to “keep ourselves to ourselves.”

-- Evelyn Underwood in “The Spiritual Life”

#5451

TRANSFORMED BY THE SPIRIT

“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”  (1 Corinthians 2:13 NIV)

Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers, creator and host of television's "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," once gave an address describing the time he was a student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and attended a different church each Sunday in order to hear a variety of preachers.

One Sunday he was treated to "the most poorly crafted sermon I had ever heard." But when he turned to the friend who had accompanied him, he found her in tears.

"It was exactly what I needed to hear," she told Rogers.

"That's when I realized," he told the audience, "that the space between someone doing the best he or she can and someone in need is holy ground. The Holy Spirit had transformed that feeble sermon for her -- and as it turned out, for me too."

-- Victor Parachin in “Christian Reader”, Sept/Oct 1999


#4722

THE ANSWER TO OUR DEEPEST NEED

If we are honest, we would have to admit that we all do things that we know are wrong.  Sometimes we do things for which we are deeply ashamed.  More than that, there is a self-centeredness about our lives which spoils them.  Jesus said, "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean'." (Mark 7:20-23)

Our greatest need is for forgiveness. Just as a man who has cancer needs a doctor whether he realizes it or not, so we need forgiveness whether we realize it or not. Just as with cancer, the man who recognizes his need is far better off than the person who is lulled into a false sense of security.

By His death on the cross Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and brought back into a relationship with God.  In this way He supplied the answer to our deepest need.

-- Nicky Gumbel in the Alpha Course booklet "Why Jesus?"


#4675

ACCEPTING A HELPING HAND

“You guide me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” (Psalm 73:24 NLT)

When a steamship enters the harbor and seeks to dock, they call for a "pilot" to come aboard and steer the vessel to port...

We have all seen pictures of beautiful luxury liners steaming into New York harbor. They are splendid, gleaming, smooth, and self-sufficient -- until they get close to land. Then tiny little tugboats come alongside and gently nudge them toward the dock. These tiny boats ease them in the right direction so that their docking is safe and secure.

These ships are no less magnificent because they accepted help from a friendly little tugboat. We are no less magnificent if we, too, accept a helping hand [when we are in physical, emotional or spiritual need.]

-- Ted Menten in “After Goodbye”


#4246