What Kind of Light Are You?

Matthew 5:14-16(NKJV)

14“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 

15Nor 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. 

16Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

That is an inspiring passage.  As Christians we are a light to the world.  Pretty cool! 

But then I had this thought.  What kind of light am I?  There are many kinds of lights out there.  What kind of light am I and what does my light tell people?

One of the most common lights that we come in contact with every day is the traffic light.  As we all know, there are 3 different colors: red, yellow, and green.

Now we all want to be that green light for God.  We want to draw people to Him.  But is that they type of light we are putting out based on the example we set through living our daily lives?

What if we are putting out yellow light.  As we live our lives people aren't really sure what we believe and what we stand for.  Are we sending confusing signals. 

Or what if we are putting out red light.  People see the way we live our lives and think to themselves, "if that is what being a Christian is then no way do I want that!". 

So while we are a light unto the world let's try to remember that we need to be conscious of the light we are projecting!

Fishers of Men

Matthew 4:18-20(NKJV)

18And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 

19Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 

20They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Any fishermen out there?  As Christians we are all called to be fishers of men.  So what does that mean?  We are all called to reach out and bring people to Christ.  How do we do that?

Great question.  When I read the phrase "fishers of men" it triggered this thought.

Do all fishermen catch fish the same way?  Now it would make sense that there are different tactics to catch different kinds of fish because they have different environments and they have different diets.  But what about the same kind of fish?

There are actually many different ways to catch even the same kind of fish.  Take bass for example.  You can fish for them with night crawlers, minnows, spinners, plugs, etc.  You can cast and drift.  You can cast and retrieve.  You can troll.  How do you decide?

You go with your strengths and preferences.  As an example, with bluegills and sun fish I like to use a floating fly and a torpedo bobber.  Why?  Because I almost always catch fish that way.  In addition I think it is more fun than using a worm and a hook suspended under a bobber.

So what does all of this have to do with Jesus?  Simple.  Go fish!  It doesn't matter how you do it, just do it!

Perception vs. Reality

One of the things I am continually amazed at is the perception vs. the reality of being saved or not and rejecting Christ.  There is this perception out there that the God of the Old Testament who dished out punishment is retired and all that is left is the lovey dovey Jesus sitting around giving everybody hugs and singing Kumbayah, whether they accept Jesus or not.

Nothing could be further from the truth!

Matthew 3:7-12(NKJV)

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 

8Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 

9and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 

10And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 

11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit £and fire. 

12His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Jesus will be cleaning house as the saying goes.  Who's side will you be on???

Power Steering or Old Fashioned Manual?

You're probably wondering what the heck I am talking about?  Especially if you are younger.  I think all cars manufactured today come with power steering, just like all cars today come with power brakes and air conditioning.  That wasn't always the case.

In the old days all three were a luxury.  And to drive a car without was like wrestling.  Especially if the car was sitting still.  To turn the front wheels to the left or right took two hands and lots of muscle. 

In fact if you want to feel what it was like go out and try to turn the wheels on your car without turning the engine on.  Now imagine driving like that!

OK, still wondering where I'm going with this aren't you?

I read Matthew 2 today.  It tells the story of how God directed Joseph through his dreams.  Here is an example.

Matthew 2:13(NKJV)

13Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

And the amazing thing is that Joseph did it.  He didn't question, he just did it.  Not just once.  He did it repeatedly throughout chapter 2.   When God told him to go somewhere or do something Joseph did it unquestioningly.  And that was what made me think of power steering vs. manual steering.

That's clear as mud isn't it?  Let me explain.

There are some people like Joseph who seek God consistently and listen and do what God tells them to do.  In other word God is able to direct their lives with power steering.  Those people make it easy for God.

On the other hand there are people that question and resist God every step of the way.  Even though God is trying to help them, they are making it difficult because they are operating with manual steering.  God can still help them but it takes a lot more effort and it takes a lot longer. 

So the question today is which are you?  Power steering or manual steering?  Are you doing all you can to make it easy for God to lead you?  It starts by asking Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.  To be the leader of your life.  Have you done that yet?

If not, why not do it right now?  Just have a quiet conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

The Old and The New

I'm frequently struck by the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Some times it is hard to believe that they are part of the same book.  The Old Testament has so much violence and deception and the New Testament is all love and peace. 

One of the things that is consistent in both books is the pain that it takes to explain the genealogies.  I've been reading the Old Testament exclusively for a few months and today I felt lead to start the NT again so I am back to reading a chapter of each a day again.  My OT reading for today was 1 Chronicles 1. 

The weird thing was that both Matthew 1 and 1 Chronicles 1 start with a listing of the genealogies.  I had never noticed that before.

Anyway it is good to be back in the NT again and I look forward to seeing what new insights the Holy Spirit has in store for the coming weeks.

Never, Never, Never, Never Give Up!

 

The above quote is from Winston Churchill.  Now compare that to the actions of King Jehoiachin, King of Judah. 

2 Kings 24:10-12(NKJV)

10At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 

11And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against the city, as his servants were besieging it. 

12Then Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers went out to the king of Babylon; and the king of Babylon, in the eighth year of his reign, took him prisoner.

He gave up.  It appears that he surrendered without a fight.  How pitiful is that?  He was part of God's chosen people.  Now granted, he had not walked in the way of the Lord but still he was part of God's chosen people.  Can you think of a better ally in all the world to have than God?  But he gave up, he surrendered!

So the  next time you find yourself in a tough situation remember Sir Winston Churchill's words and then turn to God, the best ally in the world.  The one ally who can deliver you from anything and who always has your best interest at heart!

Cleaning House

Ran across this verse and it surprised me.  This verse is speaking of King Josiah.

 2 Kings 23:25(NKJV)

25Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.

Scripture is telling us that this King was greater even than King David or King Solomon.  What did he do that made him so great?  He totally cleaned house.  He got rid of all the things that God's people had started to worship over the years.  Even the high places that King Solomon himself had installed.

I think this gives us each an opportunity to see if there is anything that we need to clean out of our house.  Now this isn't a guilt thing.  Don't feel that you have to find something to get rid of.  If life is good for you right now and there are no distraction then congratulations.  Enjoy!

This is merely an opportunity to take a current inventory as it were.  Just let God direct you and all will be well! 

We Don't Have To Take Anyone Else's Word For It!

2 Kings 22:8-13(NKJV)

8Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 

9So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” 

10Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

11Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 

12Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, £Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 

13“Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”

Now to put this in perspective, after two really evil kings in a row Judah is blessed with a new king who is described as doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 
 

So he was a King trying to do the right thing but then the priest finds the Book of the Law (didn't know it was missing).  When they read it to the King they find out that even though he is trying to do the right thing they are way off track.

How different it is today.  We can all have a copy of God's Word.  In print or electronically on our iPhone or iPad.  We never have to take any body's word for what it says we can read it for ourselves.  And the best part is that once you have accepted Jesus you get the Holy Spirit to guide you and help you interpret what you read.  

If your not in the habit of daily Bible study I invite you to give it a try.  It's another blessing that God has given us.  Take advantage of it!

Can You Ever Change God's Mind?

I don't know about you but I find this to be an interesting question.  Think about it, if God knows all and has the perfect plan for our lives then why would  He ever change His mind if we ask?  Doesn't that mean that His perfect plan wasn't so perfect after all?

Here is the passage from 2nd Kings that sparked this thought.

2 Kings 20:1-6(NKJV)

1In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.’”

2Then he turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord, saying, 

3“Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4And it happened, before Isaiah had gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 

5“Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. 

6And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.”’”

Well as you can see, it appears that you can get God to change His mind.  God had sent Isaiah to tell King Hezekiah that his life had come to an end.  Hezekiah prayed and begged and God changed His mind and let Hezekiah live an extra 15 years.

So doesn't that call into question God's omniscient and perfect plan?  In my opinion not at all.  God knows what the ultimate outcome will be but that doesn't mean that there isn't room for a wondering path on the way to that outcome.

 

As anyone who has ever been an employee knows, nobody likes to be micro managed.  Tell me what you want done and I'll make it happen.  And as far as the employer is concerned, as long as the final outcome is accomplished in the time frame established, he doesn't really care how it is accomplished, within reason.  Does that make sense?

Because of God's allowance of free will I imagine there is a certain amount of latitude in His plan for our lives in much the same way that an employer makes allowances for how the goal is accomplished as long as it is accomplished.

Think of it another way.  God the Father.  Did your parents ever tell you no?  Mine did.  Sometimes I was able to convince them to change a no to a yes and sometimes I wasn't but it didn't hurt to ask.  The thing you had to be careful of was going from respectfully asking to badgering.

Again I think it is the same with God.  He doesn't mind us asking Him to change His mind as long as we are respectful of the answer He gives us, whether He grants our request or not. 

So yes we can change God's mind on occasion but only if that change still fits within God's plan.

A Helpful Tool

One of the things that is weird about the Old Testament is that it isn't all in order.  It jumps around a bit.  That is sometimes hard for me to keep track of because I am such a linear thinking person.

Today in 2 Kings it talks about King Hezekiah seeking guidance from the prophet Isaiah.  To put a time frame to it, I think this is around 5-6 generations after King Solomon but that is just a rough estimate.  But reading that part reminded me of a tool that I have on my computer. 

This is a little chart that I found that gives the Timeline of the Prophets.  It tells when they lived ad it also tells who they were a prophet to. 

One of the things that amazed me about this chart is that there are several instances when there were more than one prophet alive at the same time.  For some reason that surprised me.  I had this image in my mind that God doled out the prophets one at a time.  I don't know why I thought that, I just did.

I hope you find this tool helpful.  Have a great day!

"You shall not fear other gods"

2 Kings 17:35(NKJV)

35with whom the Lord had made a covenant and charged them, saying: “You shall not fear other gods, nor bow down to them nor serve them nor sacrifice to them; 

Seems pretty simple.  Basically don't have anything to do with other gods.  Why did God's people have so much trouble following that simple rule?  You can go all the way back to Solomon and see that while most of the Kings of Judah were described as men of God they allowed the high places and the worshipping of Baal and things like that. 

Sometimes we can follow other gods without even realizing it.  God specifically mentions things like fortune telling, witchcraft, and astrology.  I used to have a Ouija board that I played around with when I was a kid.  I also used to read my horoscope on occasion just for kicks.  Same with fortune cookies.  That is until it dawned on me one day that those are some of the specific things that God was talking about not doing. 

 We already have the best in God, no need to look anywhere else!

The Patience of God is Astounding

I've been reading 2nd Kings.  I don't know about you but I find 1st and 2nd Kings a bit confusing.  It's giving the history of the Kings of Judah and the Kings of Israel.  All of their names start sounding so similar that after a while I am kind of lost.

The one thing that struck me about this today though is the amazing patience of God.  Some of the kings are good guys for the most part and some of them aren't.  You see passages like these two.

2 Kings 15:3-4(NKJV)

3And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, 

4except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. 

2 Kings 15:9(NKJV)

9And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his fathers had done; he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. 

But through it all God keeps giving His people another chance.  And aren't we grateful for that?  Amen!

Have a great weekend!

Puzzling To Me

One of the things that I find puzzling is that it seems that God sometimes expects us to be mind readers.  I don't get that.  It is one of those things that I am looking forward to asking God about some day.  Take a look at this Scripture.

2 Kings 13:14-19(NKJV)

14Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, “O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”

15And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows. 

16Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. 

17And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’S deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.” 

18Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped. 

19And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”

Here is the mind reader part that I don't get.  Elisha, a prophet, tells the King to "strike the ground" with the arrows.   Elisha doesn't tell the king how many times to strike the ground, just to strike the ground.  The King strikes the ground 3 times and gets yelled at.  "You should have struck five  or six times ".  

Well how was he to know that?  Especially if you think back to the story of Moses.  God told Moses to strike the rock to get water and Moses struck the rock more than one and he got in trouble for that! 

Confusing?  It is to me.  I'm sure that God has a good explanation and I look forward to hearing it some day.

Inherently Good Vs. Sinful Nature

As I read through the Old Testament, specifically in 2nd Kings right now, I am struck by the human capacity for deceit, treachery, and double crossing.  It calls to mind one of the main differences that Christianity has with a lot of the rest of the world.

There are a lot of people that believe in the inherent good in people.  They reject the Christian belief that man has a sinful nature from birth. 

Well as I read about all of the double dealing and back stabbing, even among God's own people, it is hard to see it as anything but a sinful nature.

As I was thinking about this issue the image of my grandson came to mind and it further illustrates our innate tendency towards sin, even at an early age. 

Rico is going on 9 months and he is crawling and exploring his world.  As part of that explanation he is learning what no means.  He is also learning the phrase "that's not to play with Rico.". 

The funny thing is that when he is touching something that he isn't supposed to touch, sometimes he will watch you out of the corner of his eye as he slowly reaches out and touches it again.  You can tell that he knows darn well that he isn't supposed to but he is pushing the boundaries.   At that age it is kind of cute but what struck me today is that it illustrates, at least to me, that the nature to sin is indeed in us from birth!

So what is the answer?  Jesus!  We know that we are doomed to sin.  And when we sin there is a price to be paid.  We will either pay that price ourselves or we can have Jesus pay that price for us.  All we have to do is believe that Jesus was God's son, that Jesus was crucified to pay the price for our sins, that Jesus rose from the dead and know sits at the right hand of God. 

Have you asked Jesus to come into your life?  Why not do it right now?  "Dear Jesus…."

Get Yourself Ready!

 

2 Kings 9:1(NKJV)

1And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. 

I like simple instructions that are easy to follow.  This seems pretty simple.  Get yourself ready!  Ready for what?  Ready for whatever God wants you to do for Him.

How do we do that?  First by asking Jesus to be our Lord and Savior.  Ask Jesus to come into your life and take over.

Then it's simply a matter of being in the word and praying.  If you need to do anything in addition to that, God will let you know.

Pretty simple isn't it?  Have a great week!

Arise and Go!

2 Kings 8:1(NKJV)

1Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” 

One of the things that is hard for people to get used to is the fact that while God will always meet us where we are at, it doesn't mean that we get to stay there.  I'm speaking both physically as well as spiritually.

From a spiritual standpoint we grow when we seek God through the study of His word and through prayer.  So part of the natural progression of studying God's Word is that we will grow spiritually.  We won't stay in the same place spiritually that we were in when we met God.

But sometimes God let's us know that we have to move on physically as well.  Are you willing to follow God's leading to that degree?  As you can see from the Scripture above, even though God blessed this lady where she was at, He then went on to tell her through the prophet Elisha that she needed to physically move to another area for 7 years.

Just rested assured that God always has our best interest at heart.  If God is telling you to move on in any way, I would suggest that you trust Him and do it!

Learn to Just Look Up and Smile

I've probably written this in the past but my favorite view or paradigm of God is God the Father.  I think God has a great way of raising us.  He knows when to instruct.  He knows when to step out of the way let us learn some lessons on our own.  He knows when to test.  And best of all He has a great sense of humor while He is doing it.

I'm am going to relate a story of my day so far but I want to make clear I am not doing it to say "Hey look at me, look how great I deal with this stuff".  That is not the intent.  The intent is to share with you how God has worked in my life and a lesson that I have learned from Him.

I happen to believe that the more open we are about our faith and the more we share it with others; God will occasionally  give us opportunities to prove that we really believe all of that stuff that we say.  In other words He will test us.  Are we just giving lip service or do we really believe. 

I am blessed with a very flexible schedule.  The church that we attend has multiple campuses and so the message is pre-recorded each week.  When the regular camera person isn't available then I am often asked to fill in.  Today was one of those days.

As I arrived at church and am walking across the parking lot I drop my iPhone.  When I picked it up I could see that the back was shattered.  Now I had a decision to make.

On the one hand I could get all bent out of shape and let it ruin my day.  I mean come on, I'm here at church on a Thursday morning helping out and this is the thanks I get?  What the heck?

Or I can just decide right then and there that in the greater scheme of things it is pretty inconsequential and no big deal.  I can look up and smile and say "Thank you God for giving me a chance to prove that I do believe what I say".  Which do you think I did?

Then shortly after I get home from church the electricity goes off.  Now that is really inconvenient.  I am watching my grandson at noon and I had a bunch of stuff "that had to get done" before he arrived.   Without electricity I have no computer, no internet, no phones, and nothing is getting done.

So again, twice in the same day, I have a decision to make.  Get upset or just trust God.

Which do you think I did?  Trusted God of course!  And because I did, God has blessed me with a great day.  I took Rico to the park and got to play with him.  Pushed him in the swings.  Took him down to the stream and let him walk in the water.  All in all, pretty cool.

And what about that stuff that "had to get done?".  God has a better handle on what needs to get done and when than any of us do.  When He steps in with a different plan for the day than what you started with, just go with it.  If you do I believe you will be truly blessed!