What does the first day of school remind you of? New friends and experiences? Or feeling alone or overwhelmed with something
unknown? For many people, one of these feelings describe that momentous occasion.
The feeling of being alone is scary but imagine standing before God... alone! No one to defend your life. This is when it would be nice to have a supporter, a voice for you, someone who could testify on your behalf. In legal terms, that's called a witness. But it's used a lot in Scripture as well. In fact, the idea of a witness is packed all throughout the Bible and is actually part of the entire plot.
God becomes our witness towards our sinful lifestyle, but also a witness to our faith in Him. "As God as my witness" is a term that echoes the fact that God stands in the gap for us. A great place to see an allusion to this is in the letter to Philemon. Philemon was most likely a wealthy man who had a runaway slave, Onesimus, who had become acquainted with Paul while he was in prison. At some point, Onesimus realized he needed to do the right thing and go back to Philemon.
Paul stands in for or is a witness for, Onesimus. Hoping to help Philemon receive Onesimus back gracefully, Paul writes in Philemon 17-19, "If you accept me as your friend, then accept Onesimus back. Welcome him like you would welcome me. If he has done any wrong to you or owes you anything, charge that to me. I, Paul, am writing this in my own handwriting: I will pay back anything Onesimus owes. And I will say nothing about what you owe me for your own life…"
How glad Onesimus must have been to have a respected witness stand in for him. Consider the power of a good witness in life, do you have one?
Or are you one?
Friday, October 18, 2019
Friday, October 11, 2019
Light of Men
John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.” These are the words Jesus immediately spoke to those who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery. He had silenced them by His silence, and His actions compelled them not to kill the woman who committed a sin. In essence, He helped bring light to their hearts.
Jesus had said earlier in Matthew 5:14-16, “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.”
His demonstration of mercy towards a sinful person sheds light on God’s desire. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (NIV)
Deuteronomy 10:12-13, “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands…”
Nehemiah 9:17, “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore, You did not desert them, even when they [rebelled]”
Hosiah 6:6, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
For centuries before Jesus’ arrival, God had revealed the kind of heart that would make a difference in people. Therefore, God wanted His creation to love Him wholeheartedly. Jesus’ demonstration of mercy to the woman caught in a sin, was like shining a light on a better way to live – for the woman,
“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” But His response obviously shed light on her accusers as well – they dropped their rocks on the ground.
Light exposes the dark corners of our agendas and motives (John 1:4-5). That’s why Paul said in Ephesians 5:11, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” Jesus did that, many times; and each time pointed towards God’s heart and desire. We are called to know and understand His will, which is full of light.
Before God made all the things man (and animals) would need to sustain life on earth, He said, “Let there be light!” That’s where we must start. We serve as ambassadors of Christ modeling our actions after His, and by doing so we shed the light of God onto the world. 1 John 1:5-7, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Jesus had said earlier in Matthew 5:14-16, “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.”
His demonstration of mercy towards a sinful person sheds light on God’s desire. 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (NIV)
Deuteronomy 10:12-13, “Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands…”
Nehemiah 9:17, “You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore, You did not desert them, even when they [rebelled]”
Hosiah 6:6, “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”
Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
For centuries before Jesus’ arrival, God had revealed the kind of heart that would make a difference in people. Therefore, God wanted His creation to love Him wholeheartedly. Jesus’ demonstration of mercy to the woman caught in a sin, was like shining a light on a better way to live – for the woman,
“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” But His response obviously shed light on her accusers as well – they dropped their rocks on the ground.
Light exposes the dark corners of our agendas and motives (John 1:4-5). That’s why Paul said in Ephesians 5:11, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” Jesus did that, many times; and each time pointed towards God’s heart and desire. We are called to know and understand His will, which is full of light.
Before God made all the things man (and animals) would need to sustain life on earth, He said, “Let there be light!” That’s where we must start. We serve as ambassadors of Christ modeling our actions after His, and by doing so we shed the light of God onto the world. 1 John 1:5-7, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Obedience
“In the beginning…” God gave some quite simple commands to His creation – “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it...” (Genesis 1:28) And, “...of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)
However, it didn't take long for humanity to disregard His words. Soon enough they did what “seemed right in their own eyes,” which became a common theme for the people during… well, all of us! From Adam and Eve's kids to our own kids, obedience has been a struggle. Why? Consider every sin you can remember committing, did you know better? If so, why did you do it? Because of sin! The deceiver worms his way into our minds with “compelling reasons” to do what we want to – our will, not His be done.
Paul describes this in Romans 7:19, 23-24, “For the good that I [want] to do, I do not do; but the evil I [do not want] to do, that I practice... But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"
James also sheds some light on how this work in James 1:14-15, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
The Bible is filled with situations where people lived these verses out in their decisions – they were enticed by their own desires, they engaged in a battle in their mind that led them away from doing the will of God. One place, in particular, is a story about a prophet who shared with Jeroboam the consequences of dividing the kingdom. The prophet left that region to encounter another prophet who closely resembles Satan in the Garden of Eden. That false prophet lured the other one into a situation that ended up costing him his life. (1 Kings 13:11-34).
At the end of the day, we must obey the words of God. Sounds easier than it is, but ponder these words from 2 Corinthians 10:5, “[we should be] casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”
However, it didn't take long for humanity to disregard His words. Soon enough they did what “seemed right in their own eyes,” which became a common theme for the people during… well, all of us! From Adam and Eve's kids to our own kids, obedience has been a struggle. Why? Consider every sin you can remember committing, did you know better? If so, why did you do it? Because of sin! The deceiver worms his way into our minds with “compelling reasons” to do what we want to – our will, not His be done.
Paul describes this in Romans 7:19, 23-24, “For the good that I [want] to do, I do not do; but the evil I [do not want] to do, that I practice... But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?"
James also sheds some light on how this work in James 1:14-15, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
The Bible is filled with situations where people lived these verses out in their decisions – they were enticed by their own desires, they engaged in a battle in their mind that led them away from doing the will of God. One place, in particular, is a story about a prophet who shared with Jeroboam the consequences of dividing the kingdom. The prophet left that region to encounter another prophet who closely resembles Satan in the Garden of Eden. That false prophet lured the other one into a situation that ended up costing him his life. (1 Kings 13:11-34).
At the end of the day, we must obey the words of God. Sounds easier than it is, but ponder these words from 2 Corinthians 10:5, “[we should be] casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”