Let Jesus Shine Through the Church

Revelation 1:9-11 (NIV)
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

The Lord used John, a disciple of Jesus, to send some important messages to the churches that existed in various cities. These messages were important for they told the churches what they were doing right and most importantly what they were doing wrong. Jesus wanted to keep these churches on solid ground for they would be the light shining to the world illuminate the purpose of why Jesus died.

 

This morning The Pope sent this message to the world through Twitter, “At the end of the year, we pray that the Church, despite her shortcomings, may be increasingly recognizable as Christ’s dwelling place.” The Pope in his message acknowledged The Church is not perfect -- for it is filled with imperfect people. But the church does represent one who was and is perfect -- that is Jesus Christ. No other man lived a perfect life as Jesus did. It was because of His love for The Church that He freely gave His life so that all who believe in Him and repents from their sin will live an eternal life with Him in heaven. This is the church Jesus created and it is this church that shows others how they can also know Jesus and also experience the wonderful gift Jesus has for them.

Christmas is one of the times we remember Jesus because of His birth. Let us all ensure we give credit to our savior by giving Him the honor he is due. Some may say Happy Holidays, but I say to them Merry Christmas. I want them to know I am celebrating the birth of my savior who I love dearly because He gave his life for me.

There are many who will stand before God one day and God may ask this simple question, “Why should I let you into my Kingdom of Heaven?” Are you prepared for that question? I pray you know this – Jesus Christ lived a sinless life. Jesus Christ freely died on a Roman Cross as a sacrifice for sin. Jesus rose back to life defeating death and took His rightful place as King of all kings in heaven and here on earth. For those who truly believe in Jesus and are willing to repent of their sin and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Savior -- Jesus will be your advocate. For Jesus is the propitiation of sin who speaks up on our behalf and says, “This child is one of mine. They are an adopted brother or sister into the kingdom of heaven; therefore they belong here with us.” Knowing Jesus is taking up for you the answer should be obvious, “It is because of Jesus I am here and because of Jesus I can ask to enter heaven.”

Heavenly Father there are so many who do not understand or know your love, grace and mercy. Father you want to free people from sin and give them new and exciting lives. I pray Father these people would turn their lives over to you. I know it scary giving up control to another, but you Lord are perfect in every way and watch out after us as one of your children. Father let everyone experience your mercy, grace and love. Let them know the true Jesus and let them experience His grace mercy and love. Amen

 

Note this time of year I take off from writing to reflect on the Lord and enjoy time with my family. God bless each of you. Have a safe and Merry Christmas and I will resume writing after the first of the year.

A Just Cause

1 John 5:5 (NLT)
5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

The world represents sin and it is the world that lies in our way to heaven and is a great impediment to many. But he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and believes that Jesus came from God to be the Savior of the world and commits their life by repentance of their sin cannot be held back by this world. Christ has already won the battle over sin and we must stand firm with Christ in order to stand firm against the world.

 

 

It is hard for younger people to imagine (and getting harder for many of us older ones to remember) the conditions under which many African Americans lived throughout the South just over 40 years ago. Segregation, lynchings, African American churches and homes firebombed. Jim Crow laws even prevented "colored people" from attending the circus and playing pool with whites.

Yet civil rights leaders painfully, persistently, and peacefully protested the injustice of segregation. In doing so, they often broke segregation laws. All too often, protesters reaped a reward of fire hoses, police dogs and incarceration. [Civility Under Fire: Chuck Colson & Timothy George Revive MLK's Legacy]

I admire Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his work to seek civil rights on the behalf of all people. Dr. King had reason, facts, understanding, justice and most importantly The Gospel on his side. Dr. King battled the world reminding others what Augustine said, "An unjust law is no law at all." People may have thought they enacted laws for the good of the people when they actually enacted laws for their own selfish reasons.

Keep this in mind, we first must trust God and place our faith in His Son Jesus. Then we must allow Jesus to direct our hearts to take up for just causes; and not take up for causes just because we want them. We need to ensure what we do is right for all people without taking away rights unjustly.

Heavenly Father we pray for the world, our nation, our cities, and our homes. Father we ask that you would protect us from the sins of the world. We pray Your safety would abide with us. We pray that we would stand up for just causes that You Father would approve of. Keep us from the temptations of the world and deliver us from the evil that would try to consume our lives. Father let us all live together in peace and harmony. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.

Heal us Father

Mark 7:20-23(The Message)
20-23 He went on: “It’s what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness—all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution.”

The Pharisees—Jews in general, in fact—would never eat a meal without going through the motions of a ritual hand-washing, with an especially vigorous scrubbing if they had just come from the market not to mention the scouring they would give jugs and pots and pans that contained the food. When they observed Jesus and the disciples not being careful in following the ritualistic washings -- the Pharisees and religion scholars asked, “Why do your disciples flout the rules, showing up at meals without washing their hands?” The response of Jesus was the disciples focused on what was right and not what was for show. Then he told the people, “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

 

If a farmer doesn’t plant seeds, he will never harvest a crop. It doesn’t matter how weed-free his ground is; he must also plant and cultivate good seed. In the same way, we can only reap a harvest of purity and integrity by planting the good seed of God’s Word into our lives. I’m not talking about merely reading the Bible. I’m talking about allowing the Holy Spirit to plant the truths of Scripture deep into our hearts and minds through consistent Bible reading and memorization, meditation and prayer. To be effective, and to remain pure, truth must be planted in our hearts daily. [Gary Oliver, clinical director of Southwest Counseling Associates in Denver.]

Jesus told us where evil comes from -- it comes out of our own sinful nature. If the seeds of righteous are not planted within us then we are prone to all the things Jesus mentioned in verses 20-23 of Mark 7. I believed America and many other places in the world are not tending their fields. We have allowed our country to be overrun by the weeds of evil instead of keeping a clean field filled with the harvest of righteousness. These evils are now vomiting out of people in mean, cruel and hateful acts.

There is a way to clean up our fields and that is to let The Lord into our lives and allow Him to show us what is right and wrong. We need to have a close relationship with Him. We need to keep His word, the scriptures of The Bible, inside of us so we know what to do when the time comes. We also need His word within us to calm, comfort, and provide peace.

I was thankful to President Obama for praying for our country last week. I appreciate the words he spoke saying, “you're not alone in your grief, that our world too has been torn apart — that all across this land of ours, we have wept with you." I am also thankful for when The President prayed in Aurora saying, “Such evil is senseless. It's beyond reason.” He also said, “"What matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it's not the trivial things, which so often consume us in our daily lives. Ultimately it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another,"

Dear heavenly Father, I pray as a nation we would examine ourselves and weed out the sinful problems in ourselves. I pray we would put away violence, hatred, greed, depravity, deception, slander, bullying, murder and all other acts of evil. Father bring healing to this nation and fill it with abounding love for one another. May the acts of violence end and the fruits of love prosper.

Resolve disputes

Acts 15:36-41 (NLT)
36 Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.”  37 Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.  38 But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.  39 Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;  40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.  41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

These verses are about s second expedition designed by Paul and Barnabas to preach to the Gentiles, in which they quarrelled about their assistant, John Mark, and separated upon it, one steering one course and the other another.

 

"Barnabas" was actually his nickname, given him by the apostles. It meant "Son of Encouragement," and it was most appropriate. He was actually born Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus. He was probably one of many Jews became one of the earliest converts to Christianity. Unlike most Christians, Barnabas believed Paul's conversion story, and he smoothed the way for the former persecutor to be accepted by the Jerusalem church. In 48, Barnabas set off with his cousin Mark and Paul to evangelize cities in Asia Minor. Though Mark deserted the party early on, Barnabas and Paul preached, performed miracles, and endured persecution together. One early tradition, recorded by Clement of Alexandria, says Barnabas worked briefly with Jesus, being one of the 70 sent out to evangelize Palestine. Another tradition says he preached in Alexandria and Rome after leaving Paul, founded the church on Cyprus, and was finally stoned and then burned to death in about 61 in Syria.

Even among the best of friends sometimes disagreements arise. Barnabas had supported Paul’s claim of being converted to Christianity. Yet there came a time when Barnabas wanted to give his cousin John Mark an opportunity to travel with him and share the Good News of Christ. Yet for whatever reason Paul did not want John Mark to go and so to settle the dispute Paul set out on his own way.

Sometimes in life we have disputes and they need to be settles reasonably for we never know what the future holds. For in 2 Timothy 4:11 we find Paul saying the following, “Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.” Paul along the way saw John Mark’s commitment to the Lord and even his commitment to Pau himself. Had Paul burned his bridges with John Mark he would have lost a committed worker and friend to him.

Lord please help put aside disputes with family and friends. Lord help us to understand how to love the way you love us. Lord protect us from saying things against one another and to be like Barnabas who was ready to speak up on behalf of others. Father I pray we turn our attention to loving one another as you commanded us to. I pray father we learn to work alongside each other instead of going our own way due to conflict. Let us see the hope of the future and how our friendships can benefit one another for the purpose of spreading your message.

I pray these things in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost.

God did not give us the spirit of fear

2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

God has armed us against the spirit of fear by often speaking to us not to fear. "Fear not the face of man; fear not the dangers you may meet with in the way of your duty.’’ God has delivered us from the spirit of fear, and has given us the spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. The spirit of power, or of courage and resolution to encounter difficulties and dangers;—the spirit of love to God, which will carry us through the opposition we may meet with, as Jacob made nothing of the hard service he was to endure for Rachel: the spirit of love to God will set us above the fear of man and all the hurt that a man can do us;—and the spirit of a sound mind or quietness of mind, a peaceable enjoyment of ourselves, for we are oftentimes discouraged in our way and work by the creatures of our own fancy and imagination, which a sober, solid, thinking mind would remove and would easily answer. 2. The spirit God gives to his ministers is not a fearful, but a courageous spirit; it is a spirit of power, for they speak in his name who has all power, both in heaven and earth; and it is a spirit of love, for love to God and the souls of men must inflame ministers in all their service; and it is a spirit of a sound mind, for they speak the words of truth and soberness.

 

God encourages us to keep a sound mind and not give into fear. I know there are many shaken by the events of last week. The Sandy Hook Elementary School will without question be remembered for a long time, but we must not allow the fear that was generated by the incident control our lives.

An NPR report this year stated, “School violence in the U.S. reached a peak in 1993, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That year, there were 34 homicides by students and 13 ‘serious violent crimes’ — rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault — per 1,000 students at primary and secondary schools. By 2010, the latest figures available, those numbers had decreased to two homicides and four violent crimes per 1,000 students.” [Violence In Schools: How Big A Problem Is It? by Scott Neuman, March 16, 2012]

Obviously the Sandy Hook Elementary School incident is an event out of the norm. I know many of us have shed a tear and felt compassion for those affected by this horrific incident. Some may want to make drastic and immediate changes and while changes may be needed let’s make sure we do them with a sound mind and not out of raging emotions.

Journalists cover people in trauma; they experience trauma and fear and even generate fear in others.  We have to remember many of the reports we heard were inaccurate because of the heightened stress. At times we didn’t know who had been shot or even who the shooter was. This story will take weeks to unfold. You will hear many sad stories. Pay attention to your own emotions. Be honest with yourself and others. When it is time to take a break, talk to somebody about your experiences. Remember what an airplane stewardess tells you -- If you do not have your mask on, you cannot help anybody else. If you are fearful it will be hard to reassure and put others at ease. So please take care of yourself and know God had given you power, love and self-discipline to see yourself and others through troubled times.

God be with those who have suffered. God comfort the afflicted. God give hope and reassurance. God protect. God we pray for those who seek to do us harm that you would intervene. Let your power fill our hearts and souls that we can face fear and not let it defeat us. Amen

Prayer of Jesus

John 17:20 (NLT)
20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. 22 I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began! 25 O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. 26 I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”

Chapter 17 of John tells of one of the final prayers of Jesus. In this prayer Jesus prays for those who belong to Him both present and in future tense. The verses above begin where Jesus mentions those would ever believe in Him (future). Jesus prays that those who belong to Him might be kept close to Him, that they might be sanctified, that they might be united and that they might be glorified.

 

 

In 1974, Philippe Petit, a tight rope walker, with the assistance of his crew extended a steel cable between the twin towers of the World Trade Center while it was still under construction. He walked the quarter mile distance 8 times amazing a crowd below. He told a Newsweek magazine reporter it never occurred to him to use a safety net and then he added, “I never fall. But yes, I have landed on the earth many, many times.”

Psalm 91:9-12, “If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.”

This is what Jesus considered for you and me. He wanted us to be with Him and The Father. He desired we would always be kept close to Him so nothing would overcome us.  He would even go as far as ordering the angels to protect and watch over us. Even though we might fall -- the angels would keep us from falling into the world where we might be lost.

Christ often prayed for the welfare of others – might we also do the same?

The Truth

Matthew 2:7-12 (NKJV)
7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

The wise men appeared to inquire of Christ.  These men were Gentiles and not from the commonwealth of Israel. It was these Gentiles who came to ask about Christ. These men were scholars. They came from the east, possibly from the land of Arabia. The presents they brought were the products of that country; the Arabians had done homage to David and Solomon as types of Christ. Jethro and Job were of that country. These men had followed a star to reach their destination. Stars were commonly worshiped in this area and even their gods were named for the stars. The stars that had been misused came to be put to the right use, to lead men to Christ. Now approximately 2 years later they were in the land where they expected The Christ to be. Their inquiry was made to the king of the land in expectations the king would know where “The King of the Jews” would live. Herod though feared their inquiry for it meant his throne might be in jeopardy. He sought to have The Christ child disposed of; but these wise men became aware of Herod’s intent and departed back to their country after paying homage to Jesus.

 

Appearing this time of year are manger scenes depicting the birth of Christ. Often there are three wise men depicted presenting gifts to Jesus in the manger soon after his birth. From the historical documents this is incorrect for the wise men appeared around 2 years after the birth of Christ, which would have supported Herod to then be the king. These manger scenes also depict three men for the three gifts that were given, but some ancient documents say there were possibly 14 men. Travel during this time was difficult and often done in large groups so that they could protect and support one another. Most likely this group was closer to the fourteen and more than the three.

If you are playing Christmas trivia and asked who was present at the manger it was Joseph, Mary, Jesus, shepherds of the area and the animals. The wise men were not present as we have been made to believe. If asked how many wise men were there, the answer is unknown, but probably more than three.  If asked where the wise men presented their gifts it was at the home of Jesus.

We always have to be careful in life to ensure we know the truth. Often things are presented as the truth when they are only close representations of the truth.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” At least we have Jesus who is the truth, presents the truth and lived by the truth. Always be ready to put your trust in Jesus -- a truth we can always believe in.