Light in the Growing Darkness

You are the light of the world….Jesus (Matthew 5:14)

Think for a moment about that statement…

What strikes you as you encounter this stark statement of Jesus?

Did you notice that it is a rather certain statement; that He said "we are" not "we might be"?

Light is so very important . Have you noticed that it even jumps out in the darkest night regardless of how far away it might be? The light of one single candle will bring a warm glow and visibility in a dark cold room.

The importance of light was evidenced in the beginning when God selected the time of light creation. The very first act within the account of creation was God’s statement, "Let there be light". Genesis 1:3

Fascinating, beyond comprehension is our God. Light was created on the first day of creation but the sun and stars were not created until day four. The power of light is beyond the vehicles that carry it.

1 John 1:5 states, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

You, undoubtedly, have taken note of the continual battle between darkness and light. Withdraw the light in any room, or in any society, and the darkness moves in. Contrary, interject light into the dark place and the darkness literally flees; it cannot leave fast enough.

John 1:5 says, "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it."
There is no compromise between light and darkness. They simply cannot exist in the same place at the same time.

You are the light of the world, Jesus said. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.

How secure is your basket? Perhaps we all should invest some "one on one" time with Jesus seeking His opinion on the size and security of our baskets.

The Reality of a Personal God

From time to time I come across things that someone has said that seem to be so profound and so revealing about truth. In addition, my words, in all likelihood, become a little routine after a while.

One of my "heroes" in the Faith is Dr. Francis Schaeffer. His words below resonate so deeply in my mind and heart. I pray that you will be deeply blessed as well. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about this or any other matter.

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I do believe the Trinity can be experienced as the personality of God becomes real to us--as we know His person and not just doctrines about Him. And (perhaps most important) this can be experienced when we in some small measure begin to know the reality of His individual leading as we in moment by moment faith truly desire that He, the infinite person, might lead us, the finite persons.

The spiritual steps which meant so much to me...centered largely around the moment by moment realization of the blood of Christ. I realized then in theory, but now as something deeper than theory, that there is a further step which is more profound in the reality of the universe: this is the reality of taking our place as creatures, willingly and in love, in the presence of the infinite Creator. If we would only stop desiring to be God and, in reality and practice, take our place as creatures, then I think we could get on.

I am not thinking of this in some "mystical" area where God becomes an abstraction, but in strenuously practical areas of history in which we walk. If we would only allow the Agent of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to lead each individual instead of living in the areas of rules which are man-made and quite apart from the absolutes laid down in Scripture.

If only we would be willing to have Christ be the true Head, and be willing for exotic leadership of the Holy Spirit in our individual and corporate lives--rather than stagnifing the Holy Spirit's leadership of yesterday, as seen in the lives of other men who lived in different historic circumstances, when the infinite eye of God would see today's history as requiring a slightly different or radically different approach; or even stagnifying how the Holy Spirit has led us individually in the past. Why should the Holy Spirit's leading of us today be what it was a year ago, when our historic circumstance is always in flux? To me these things are not an abstraction.

As one small practical application, why do we insist on continuing organizations just because they were useful last week, or last year?


-Francis A. Schaeffer, Letters of Francis A. Schaeffer, Crossway Books,

A Wise Proffessor

God Brews the Coffee *

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor at his home. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups that were porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He then invited them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress."

"Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. God brews the coffee, not the cups..........Enjoy your coffee!"~

The Author is Unknown ~

Faith to Move Mountains

"By this", Jesus said, "is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit." John 15:8

This statement puts many other things in perspective.

In Psalm 57 David prays:"Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul take refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until the destruction passes by. I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me."

In Psalm 138 he prays:"Though I walk in the midst of trouble You will revive me; You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting…"

The inter-connection between answered prayer and God’s glory is undeniable. His desire is that we exhibit our faith in prayer and He looks forward to giving us the answers we seek, particularly the ones that we need.

So much does God want us to “get” this that Jesus stated emphatically "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea',and dose not doubt in his heart but believes what he says if going to happen, it shall be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them and they shall be granted you." Mark 11:22-24

So critical in our faith in the equation that Jesus tells us to stand on the answer so much that we can feel it, taste it and see it. It is then that it shall come to be. Faith is a heaven opening key!

His track record is good. Why not take the next step that He is calling you to take? "Those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You." Psalm 9:10

Inside/Outside

Perhaps a quick memory, for others an introduction to a comics classic:

Dennis the Menace found himself in a familiar spot. Once again he sat on a stool facing the corner of the kitchen. “Time out” in the corner where he could be monitored was a common position.

As he took his place this time, while facing the corner, he was heard to mumble: “I may be sitting down on the outside but I’m still running around on the inside”.

You know what he's saying? It's just like that whenever I sit down to spend some quiet moments with God and His word. I'm sitting down on the outside but things are running around on the inside. Things may start out peacefully each day but it doesn't take long, most days, for things to begin to unravel. I may be driving quietly on the outside but I'm jumping up and down on the inside.

I have made this statement before. Some of the most wonderful words in all of scripture are the words of a young man named Elihu as he addressed the wrong thinking of an aquaintence named Job. You can find these words in Job chapters 32 through 42. The words of Job, upon coming to grips with the truth about God, are insightful: He said: "

(Until now) my ears have heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. I therefore despise myself and repent in dust and ashes. v. 5&6

We become so easily distracted that we fail to see Jesus. Our ears give us false comfort but it is only when we see God with our eyes that we truely believe.

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the HOPE of His calling, what are the RICHES of His glory of His inheritance in the saints (you an me)and what is the surpassing POWER toward us who believe!" Ephesians 1:18

Agree with me on the Ephesians prayer. Personalize it and pray it for yourself. Write it down and pray it for yourself regularly. Life is available if we begin to see Him!

Who You Are In Jesus

Jesus said: "Because you have seen Me, you have believed? Blessed are those who did not see, yet believed!" John 20:29

What do you believe that you haven’t seen?

Let’s take a look about what scripture has to say about us that we may fail to grasp:"Thanks be to God, who always lead us in His triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place." 2 Corin 2:14

"And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the debt certificate consisting of decrees against us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Colossians 2:13-14

"He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him upfor us all, how will He not also with Him give us all things?" Romans 8:31

"…we overwhelming conquer through Him who loved us…I am convinced that neither death nor life or angles nor principalities no things present nor things to come nor power nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us form the love of God which is in Christ Jesus." Roman 8:37-39

"God, being rich I mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…made us alive together with Himand raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…" Ephesians 2:4-6

"…His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the trueknowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."2 Peter 1:2

Like no one else, we have reason to give thanks and to praise our wonderful God! Invest a few moments in reading again God's promisess to you personally. Hold the vision of who you are in Jesus this week.

Too Wonderful to Imagine or Expect

A shepherd boy made king wrote from his experience about his God. David penned these words as he contemplated the felt presence of his God:

Were can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I go from Thy presence?

If I ascend to heaven, Thou art there, if I make my bed in the depths, behold Thou are there. If I take the wings of dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me and Thy (strong) right hand will lay hold of me. If I say "surely the darkness will overwhelm me and the light around me will be night",

Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee. (Psalm 139:7-12)

The gift that we call prayer is much more simple than we make it most of the time.

Oftentimes, we tend to handle prayer like a ritual or like a prescription. The gift that we have been given is more like a conversation. We are not making a heavenly phone call to a God in some far off place. We are merely discussing the ups and downs, the ins and outs of our lives with the ever-present God.

Even more intimate than this is the plentiful knowledge of this ever-present God. David states, "O Lord, Thou has searched me and know me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, Thou dost knowest it all". (v. 1-5)

We easily ascent to the understanding that God knows everything but we handle the details of our lives as if we were independent.

The illusion of independence is same spirit we discover in the garden of Eden when Adam chose his desires over God’s. We fool ourselves into thinking that what we do won’t matter.

Contrast your view of your life and your relationship with your Creator with the view that the shepherd boy had:

"Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, and laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it." (v.6)

So now, the only question that remains is which life will we choose: the existence of the fool or the life with God’s presence?