Here's your Monday morning blues.This song is from Clapton's CD From The Cradle. This is some fine slide guitar playing.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Real Turkeys
It's 6pm Sunday night I'm getting ready to watch the Detroit Pistons play the Timberwolves. When the boys were young we would go see the Pistons at the Pontiac Silverdome where we could get tickets for $5.00 each. These were the years prior to the Bad Boys winning their two championship's. My favorite holiday is coming up this week Thanksgiving. The family gathers at my mom's house for a unbelievable meal. The only sad part of this is the Detroit Lions. They lost again today rushing out to a 17 to 0 lead in the 1st quarter only to be outscored 38 to 3 the rest of the way. Turkey day tradition has always been watching the Leos, but they are so bad and they play against the Titans who lost their 1st game today to the Bret Farve Jets- go Jets! I like Bret Farve so I think I'll root for the Jets the rest of the season. Sadly the turkeys people will be eating on Thursday wont be the only turkeys getting stuffed.
The Merit in One Drop of Christ's Blood
John Bunyan meditated on the marks of a person who is coming (has come) to Christ for salvation. I have taken the liberty to update the language where I thought it would help with readability.
Do these things characterize your life?
1. Are you burdened with your sin, recognizing it as an exceedingly bitter thing?
2. Do you run from your sin as you would a deadly serpent?
3. Do you recognize and flee from the insufficiency of your own righteousness in the sight of God.
4. Do you cry to the Lord Jesus to save you?
5. Do you see more worth and merit in one drop of Christ's blood to save you, than in all the sins of the world to condemn you?
6. Are you tender of sinning against Jesus?
7. Is Jesus' name, person, and undertakings more precious to you than the glory of the world?
8. Is faith in Christ precious to you (as a means to connect you to Christ)?
9. Do you savor Christ in his Word, and do you leave all the world for his sake?
10. Are you willing (with God's help) to run in harm's way for his name?
11. Are his saints precious to you?
Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ, Works, p. 279. by John Bunyan
Do these things characterize your life?
1. Are you burdened with your sin, recognizing it as an exceedingly bitter thing?
2. Do you run from your sin as you would a deadly serpent?
3. Do you recognize and flee from the insufficiency of your own righteousness in the sight of God.
4. Do you cry to the Lord Jesus to save you?
5. Do you see more worth and merit in one drop of Christ's blood to save you, than in all the sins of the world to condemn you?
6. Are you tender of sinning against Jesus?
7. Is Jesus' name, person, and undertakings more precious to you than the glory of the world?
8. Is faith in Christ precious to you (as a means to connect you to Christ)?
9. Do you savor Christ in his Word, and do you leave all the world for his sake?
10. Are you willing (with God's help) to run in harm's way for his name?
11. Are his saints precious to you?
Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ, Works, p. 279. by John Bunyan
Friday, November 21, 2008
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter
"You can be joyous. You cannot be a jackass."
Mayor Nutter advising city residents on celebrations after the Philadelphia Phillies won the world series, their first in 28 years, on October 29.
Mayor Nutter advising city residents on celebrations after the Philadelphia Phillies won the world series, their first in 28 years, on October 29.
Cheapening The Gospel
"We have tried to make the Gospel popular but it was never meant for entertainment. When we call in the world, the flesh and the devil to put Christianity over, we have cheapened it instead of communicating it"
Vance Havner
Vance Havner
Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters At The Newport Jazz Festival 1960
Watch the whole thing and see Muddy dance towards the end. James Cotton is playing harmonica and Otis Spann is playing piano. When I played with The Sam Lay Blues Band ten years later,Lucille Spann Otis's widow was our lead singer. We played this song every night because Sam did his famous double shuffle. My favorite version of this song is on the album "Fathers And Sons" with Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Sam Lay and Mike Bloomfield.
The Sovereignty Of God In Salvation
"O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out"
Romans 11:33
Friend; was there not a time when you walked in the counsel of the ungodly, stood in the way of sinners, sat in the seat of the scorners, and with them said, "We will not have this Man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14)? Was there not a time when you "would not come to Christ that you might have life" (John 5:40)? Yea, was there not a time when you mingled your voice with those who said unto God, "Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?" (Job 21:14, 15)? With shamed face you have to acknowledge there was. But how is it that all is now changed? What was it that brought you from haughty self-sufficiency to a humble suppliant, from one that was at enmity with God to one that is at peace with Him, from lawlessness to subjection, from hate to love? And, as one ‘born of the Spirit,’ you will readily reply, "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10). Then do you not see that it is due to no lack of power in God, nor to His refusal to coerce man, that other rebels are not saved too? If God was able to subdue your will and win your heart, and that without interfering with your moral responsibility, then is He not able to do the same for others? Assuredly He is. Then how inconsistent, how illogical, how foolish of you, in seeking to account for the present course of the wicked and their ultimate fate, to argue that God is unable to save them, that they will not let Him. Do you say, "But the time came when I was willing, willing to receive Christ as my Saviour"? True, but it was the Lord who made you willing (Ps. 110:3; Phil. 2:13) why then does He not make all sinners willing? Why, but for the fact that He is sovereign and does as He pleases! A.W. Pink
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Making Your Blues Go Away - Part 1
It is safe to conclude that the “blues” any kind of blues are common to man. Most of us feel “blue” some of the time, some of us feel “blue” most of the time. Our emotions sometime seem circumstantially determined. The cross currents that move in our personal air space determine our emotional forecast. One moment we’re sunny, the next partly cloudy. Our emotional weather map changes in a moment. Some people have blues fronts pass through on a regular basis while there are some who live in a continual blues funk. The rise and fall of our emotions remind us of our humanity. Whatever else we are (Christian, Leader, Father, Mother, Husband, Wife, Our Position) we have to remember that we are dust. Dust is blown about by even the slightest breeze. James calls our life “a vapor that appears for a little time”, a mist (James 4:14). God remembers we are dust, “For He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).
Depression revolves around four core symptoms:
1. A gloomy mood— where you feel very sad or dejected, hopeless, melancholy or sullen, this has to do with our emotions.
2. Pessimism—this is where we are expecting the worst outcome in any circumstance; the practice of looking on the dark side of things. The root of this has to do with the lies you tell yourself, this can come from not knowing the truth or knowing it but not believing the truth.
3. Self criticism—is the act of finding fault, or disapproval, emphasizing your faults or short comings. The lies you tell yourself resulting in self condemnation.
4. Delay or confusion has to do with circumstances when things don't happen as soon as we think they will.
Depression encourages us to withdraw from things, activities and people. When the depression is severe enough it encourages us to withdraw from life itself, in extreme case's it can result in suicide. Depression is a shroud that covers the soul. To the depressed no one seems enticing; nothing seems exciting, even God seems to be distant. To the depressed God may be in the heavens but His presence is no longer felt. Worship feels like a mockery, praise feels like hypocrisy, relationships feel empty and nothing satisfies. Like a weather front, depression can be both minor and major. A minor depression is a partly cloudy or rainy day. A major depression is a cloudy or rainy, stormy weather that lasts and lasts (like winter in Michigan) where there is no sun for days.
Depression usually revolves around a sense of loss. We may feel insignificant which is a loss of worth. We may feel insecure which is a loss of confidence. We may feel blah which is a loss of satisfaction. We may feel anxious which is a loss of peace. Or we feel empty which is a loss of hope, you feel like you've lost something. Depression spreads through the human soul like a thick fog. The fog slips under the door of the soul and in moments it blankets the entire room. We are going to look at seven things in Psalm 102 that will help you overcome the blues from a biblical perspective.
Depression revolves around four core symptoms:
1. A gloomy mood— where you feel very sad or dejected, hopeless, melancholy or sullen, this has to do with our emotions.
2. Pessimism—this is where we are expecting the worst outcome in any circumstance; the practice of looking on the dark side of things. The root of this has to do with the lies you tell yourself, this can come from not knowing the truth or knowing it but not believing the truth.
3. Self criticism—is the act of finding fault, or disapproval, emphasizing your faults or short comings. The lies you tell yourself resulting in self condemnation.
4. Delay or confusion has to do with circumstances when things don't happen as soon as we think they will.
Depression encourages us to withdraw from things, activities and people. When the depression is severe enough it encourages us to withdraw from life itself, in extreme case's it can result in suicide. Depression is a shroud that covers the soul. To the depressed no one seems enticing; nothing seems exciting, even God seems to be distant. To the depressed God may be in the heavens but His presence is no longer felt. Worship feels like a mockery, praise feels like hypocrisy, relationships feel empty and nothing satisfies. Like a weather front, depression can be both minor and major. A minor depression is a partly cloudy or rainy day. A major depression is a cloudy or rainy, stormy weather that lasts and lasts (like winter in Michigan) where there is no sun for days.
Depression usually revolves around a sense of loss. We may feel insignificant which is a loss of worth. We may feel insecure which is a loss of confidence. We may feel blah which is a loss of satisfaction. We may feel anxious which is a loss of peace. Or we feel empty which is a loss of hope, you feel like you've lost something. Depression spreads through the human soul like a thick fog. The fog slips under the door of the soul and in moments it blankets the entire room. We are going to look at seven things in Psalm 102 that will help you overcome the blues from a biblical perspective.
Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues
This song is from Dylan's "Bringing It All Back Home" album. This album also contains other great songs like Maggie's Farm, Mr. Tambourine Man, Gates Of Eden and It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.
Election: Its Defenses And Evidences by Charles Spurgeon
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance. And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit.”- 1 Thessalonians 1: 4- 6.
At the very announcement of the text some will be ready to say, “Why preach upon so profound a doctrine as election?” I answer, because it is in God’s word, and whatever is in the Word of God is to be preached. But you will say, “But some truths ought to be kept back from the people, lest they would make improper use of it.” That is Roman Catholic doctrine, it was on that very theory that the priests kept the Bible from the people, they did not give it to them lest they should misuse it. “But aren’t some doctrines dangerous?” Not if they are true and correctly handled. Truth is never dangerous, it is error and silence that are filled with peril. “But don’t men abuse the doctrine of grace?” I grant you that they do; but if we destroyed everything that men misuse, we would have nothing left. Are there to be no ropes because some fools will hang themselves? Likewise, must all knives be discarded and denounced, because there are some who will use dangerous weapons for the destruction of their adversaries? Certainly not. Besides all this, remember that men do read the Scriptures and think about these doctrines, and therefore often make mistakes about them; who then will set them right if we, who preach the Word, hold our tongues about the matter?
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Believers Influence In The World: Light - Part 7
So far we have looked at:
The Fact - You are the light
Light's Influence - The World
The Three Fold Application of light:
Lights Position - on a hill or lampstand
Light's Nature - its a guide, it exposes
Light's Purpose - to reveal God
The Decision - let your light shine and lastly:
The Motive of Shining: “To glorify your Father in heaven”
The psalmist wrote, “Not to us o’ Lord not to us but to Your name be glory” (Psalm 115:1). We can have no higher motive than this. We are do everything for God's glory. God alone deserves glory so in order to live as a light the result of your shining must give glory to God.
I must guard my life against anything that would oppose and cut off the shining. I must shine for my heavenly Father’s praise and glory. This is what it means to bear much fruit. Jesus said "The only way in which you can bring glory to my Father is to bear much fruit, and to show yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8 Barclay).
Heaven is a real literal place and God is a real person. The Greek literally reads “The Father of you, the one in the heavens”. This is the Father of all who are His true children. Following is a prayer you can use to help you apply this teaching:
“Heavenly Father, give me the grace I need that will enable me to occupy my place in this world as salt and light, during these days of corruption and darkness. Keep me faithful, guard my life against all that would cause the salt to lose its flavor and all that would hinder the light from shining — so that my life give's praise, honor and glory to you, whose I am, whom I love and whom I serve, In Jesus name, Amen!
The Fact - You are the light
Light's Influence - The World
The Three Fold Application of light:
Lights Position - on a hill or lampstand
Light's Nature - its a guide, it exposes
Light's Purpose - to reveal God
The Decision - let your light shine and lastly:
The Motive of Shining: “To glorify your Father in heaven”
The psalmist wrote, “Not to us o’ Lord not to us but to Your name be glory” (Psalm 115:1). We can have no higher motive than this. We are do everything for God's glory. God alone deserves glory so in order to live as a light the result of your shining must give glory to God.
I must guard my life against anything that would oppose and cut off the shining. I must shine for my heavenly Father’s praise and glory. This is what it means to bear much fruit. Jesus said "The only way in which you can bring glory to my Father is to bear much fruit, and to show yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8 Barclay).
Heaven is a real literal place and God is a real person. The Greek literally reads “The Father of you, the one in the heavens”. This is the Father of all who are His true children. Following is a prayer you can use to help you apply this teaching:
“Heavenly Father, give me the grace I need that will enable me to occupy my place in this world as salt and light, during these days of corruption and darkness. Keep me faithful, guard my life against all that would cause the salt to lose its flavor and all that would hinder the light from shining — so that my life give's praise, honor and glory to you, whose I am, whom I love and whom I serve, In Jesus name, Amen!
There Is No Such Thing As Fortune And Chance
That this distinction may be the more manifest, we must consider that the Providence of God, as taught in Scripture, is opposed to fortune and fortuitous causes. By an erroneous opinion prevailing in all ages, an opinion almost universally prevailing in our own day, viz., that all things happen fortuitously, the true doctrine of Providence has not only been obscured, but almost buried. If one falls among robbers, or ravenous beasts; if a sudden gust of wind at sea causes shipwreck; if one is struck down by the fall of a house or a tree; if another, when wandering through desert paths, meets with deliverance; or, after being tossed by the waves, arrives in port, and makes some wondrous hair-breadth escape from death - all these occurrences, prosperous as well as adverse, carnal sense will attribute to fortune. But whose has learned from the mouth of Christ that all the hairs of his head are numbered, (Matt 10:30) will look farther for the cause, and hold that all events whatsoever are governed by the secret counsel of God. With regard to inanimate objects again we must hold that though each is possessed of its peculiar properties, yet all of them exert their force only in so far as directed by the immediate hand of God. Hence they are merely instruments, into which God constantly infuses what energy he sees meet, and turns and converts to any purpose at his pleasure.
John Calvin - God's Providence Institutes (1:16)
John Calvin - God's Providence Institutes (1:16)
What The Little Bird Said To Luther
From Spurgeon's, "WAITING ONLY UPON GOD"
You know what Luther said the little bird said to him.
He sat upon the spray of the tree, and he sang-
"Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow;
God provideth for the morrow."
And it chirped and picked up its little grain, and sang again.
And yet it had no granary; it had not a handful of wheat
stored up anywhere; but it still kept on with its chirping-
"Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow;
God provideth for the morrow."
You know what Luther said the little bird said to him.
He sat upon the spray of the tree, and he sang-
"Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow;
God provideth for the morrow."
And it chirped and picked up its little grain, and sang again.
And yet it had no granary; it had not a handful of wheat
stored up anywhere; but it still kept on with its chirping-
"Mortal, cease from toil and sorrow;
God provideth for the morrow."
| |
Obama's Heterodoxy
Steven Waldman:
The most detailed and fascinating explication of Barack Obama's faith came in a 2004 interview he gave Chicago Sun Times columnist Cathleen Falsani when he was running for U.S. Senate in Illinois. The column she wrote about the interview has been quoted and misquoted many times over, but she'd never before published the full transcript in a major publication.Read the whole thing.Because of how controversial that interview became, Falsani has graciously allowed us to print the full conversation here.
Some reactions (click their names to read more of their thoughts):
. . . from a political point of view, whether the President is a Christian, Jew, Muslim, whatever, should make no difference. But I believe it is useful to have an idea of what theological commitments we might have in common. And after reading this interview, I would say that Obama and I share very few beliefs. . . . In fact, nowhere in the interview did I ever get the impression that Obama subscribes to even the most basic beliefs that are typically associated with being a Christian.Rod Dreher:
Unless Obama was being incredibly and uncharacteristically inarticulate, this is heterodox. You cannot be a Christian in any meaningful sense and deny the divinity of Jesus Christ. You just can't. . . . People think you can make this stuff up as you go along, and that nobody has the right to define authoritatively what any of it means. It's the Church of Christianity without Christ. It's Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, so let's call it what it is -- but not what it is not, which is Christianity.Daniel Larison:
Ultimately, the inquiry into Obama’s faith does not tell us much that we didn’t already know, which is that he is a liberal Protestant with an accordingly poor grounding in theological orthodoxy. I have to wonder how much power this critique has unless it is made as part of a general argument for theological conservatism in public life. Would cultural conservatives be open to this kind of critique when it is one of theirs being criticized, or would they repeat the arguments marshalled in defense of Romney?Ross Douthat:
Given the muddled way in which most Americans approach religion, and the pervasiveness of heterodoxy, I suppose I'm basically with Alan Jacobs: I think that figuring out exactly what sort of things Obama believes about God and Christ and everything else, and how those beliefs may affect his Presidency, is ultimately a more profitable pursuit than arguing about whether he should be allowed to call himself a Christian. Or put another way: I expect my Presidents to be heretics, but I think it matters a great deal what kind of heretics they are.posted by JT at Tuesday, November 18, 2008 7 comments links to this post
Third Degree - Eric Clapton
This song was written by Eddie Boyd and Willie Dixon. I did get to hang out with Willie Dixon for about a week in New York City. Clapton recorded it on his From The Cradle CD. This song is about being falsely accused and having alot of trouble. Job said: "Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward" Job 5:7.
Losing My Mind
Its very early Wednesday morning 12:45am. I just got done formatting an external hard drive for the family computer. I am not good with this stuff. I don't do plumbing electrical painting fixing landscaping working with tools, you name it I'm not good at it. Our family computer got some kind of bug or virus so a friend of mine wiped the hard drive clean but was able to save all the music and photos. I ordered the hard drive from ecost.com to save money it is recertified. But it was in the wrong format. What do I know for formats! I was running a program windows one live care and trying to back up the hard drive. My computer told me the format was fat32 and that was not good for windows I needed to change it NTFS, what do I know for NTFS? I was following the instructions that I had to write out because the printer is not working yet because I cant find the disk that came with it. I follow the instructions and get to a question What is the volume of the drive? I dont know. I tried it twice and got nowhere. So I went to my computer on windows and clicked on the new drive to try to get information. The info was in a pdf format but the computer didnt have adobe on it. So I went to adobe to download the software but because I was using firefox there were other directions I had to follow, are you kidding me? It takes forever to download adobe because of my slow good for nothing at&t dsl. I watch some Letterman finish the install of adobe. Now I am reading and trying to follow instructions. They tell me to go to some support site and read how to format the drive. Again I had to write down a page of instructions because the printer doesnt work. I work through the instructions and reformat the drive, yea! Then I go back into windows one care to back up the hard drive. This only took 1 & 1/2 hours, I finished about 12:30am. Hey I didnt even tell you about the leaking faucet in the bathroom that didnt have a shut off valve for the hot water, and i'm trying to figure out the pipes in the basement, I think i'm losing my mind.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Believers Influence In The World: Light - Part 6
The Decision: “Let your light shine”
The light we have been lighted with is real — it does shine and will keep on shining if we don’t cover it. Literally “You must let your light shine”. Every Christian is a light (lamp). There are four things necessary in order for a lamp (Christian) to give light.
1. First the lamp must be lighted and only God can light you. The light does not originate within us because salvation is by grace alone. God saves us and places the light of His life inside us when we are born again.
2. Secondly it must be set to shine for a useful purpose, it cannot be hidden. In the same way God sets every member in the body as it pleases Him so that every member has a purpose. Every member is called and gifted and is to use their gifts for God' glory, we are "created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
3. Third the lamp must be fed with the proper oil which is the Holy Spirit. The oil of self won’t work. Every Christian must recognize the need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
4. The wick must be trimmed in order for the flame to burn its brightest. This includes cutting off anything that would hinder the brightness of the flame. In order for believers to bear fruit they must be pruned.
The world needs to see our light. “The people which sat in darkness saw a great light” (Matt.4:16).
The light we have been lighted with is real — it does shine and will keep on shining if we don’t cover it. Literally “You must let your light shine”. Every Christian is a light (lamp). There are four things necessary in order for a lamp (Christian) to give light.
1. First the lamp must be lighted and only God can light you. The light does not originate within us because salvation is by grace alone. God saves us and places the light of His life inside us when we are born again.
2. Secondly it must be set to shine for a useful purpose, it cannot be hidden. In the same way God sets every member in the body as it pleases Him so that every member has a purpose. Every member is called and gifted and is to use their gifts for God' glory, we are "created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).
3. Third the lamp must be fed with the proper oil which is the Holy Spirit. The oil of self won’t work. Every Christian must recognize the need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
4. The wick must be trimmed in order for the flame to burn its brightest. This includes cutting off anything that would hinder the brightness of the flame. In order for believers to bear fruit they must be pruned.
The world needs to see our light. “The people which sat in darkness saw a great light” (Matt.4:16).
Perseverance Of The Saints
The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints does not maintain that all those who profess the Christian faith are certain of heaven. It is saints - those who are set apart by the Spirit - who persevere to the end. It is believers - those who are given true, living faith in Christ - who are secure and safe in Him. Many who profess to believe fall away, but they do not fall from grace for they were never in grace. True believers do fall into temptations, and they do commit grievous sins, but these sins do not cause them to lose their salvation or separate them from Christ. The Westminster Confession of Faith gives the following statement on this doctrine:
"They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace: but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved."
Boettner is certainly correct in asserting that this doctrine does not stand alone but is a necessary part of the Calvinistic system of theology. The doctrines of Election and Efficacious Grace logically imply the certain salvation of those who receive these blessings. If God has chosen men absolutely and unconditionally to eternal life, and if His Spirit effectively applies to them the benefits of redemption, the inescapable conclusion is that these persons shall be saved. The following verses show that God's people are given eternal life the moment they believe. they are kept by God's power through faith and nothing can separate them from His love. They have been sealed with the Holy Spirit who has been given as the guarantee of their salvation, and they are thus assured of an eternal inheritance.
David Steele & Curtis C Thomas from The Five Points of Calvinism (pg. 56)
"They whom God hath accepted in His Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace: but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved."
Boettner is certainly correct in asserting that this doctrine does not stand alone but is a necessary part of the Calvinistic system of theology. The doctrines of Election and Efficacious Grace logically imply the certain salvation of those who receive these blessings. If God has chosen men absolutely and unconditionally to eternal life, and if His Spirit effectively applies to them the benefits of redemption, the inescapable conclusion is that these persons shall be saved. The following verses show that God's people are given eternal life the moment they believe. they are kept by God's power through faith and nothing can separate them from His love. They have been sealed with the Holy Spirit who has been given as the guarantee of their salvation, and they are thus assured of an eternal inheritance.
David Steele & Curtis C Thomas from The Five Points of Calvinism (pg. 56)
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
Being born in 1950 in Detroit I was exposed to a lot of good music. I listened to Motown but I also became a Beach Boys fan. This song is from their album Pet Sounds. I have always loved this song.
Monday, November 17, 2008
The Believers Influence In The World: Light - Part 5
The Three Fold Application Of Light
We looked at light's position and light's nature today we look at:
Light’s purpose — “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven” (v.16).
The purpose of being light is to shine before men, the objects of shining. The only purpose of lighting a lamp is in order to give light to all in the house. We are to shine in the world of men, human beings just like us who need the redemption Jesus provided. We cannot force them to believe but we want them to see something in us.
Light gives direction, like a airport beacon guide planes, light does not shine for itself but for others. The light is not to spotlight self but to show others the way. Our goal is that people will see God, that they will see our heavenly father, and glorify Him.
Men should see your good works. In the Greek there are two words for good: 1) “agathos” — which defines a thing as good in quality. 2) “Kalos” — used here and means that something is not only good but beautiful and attractive. There is to be something attractive about the good works we do. I believe its not just the attractiveness of the works but the spiritual attractiveness of the person doing the works.
Light can also be used to warn, like a lighthouse warns ships of the danger of hidden rocks and helps them avoid shipwreck, believers are to warn unbelievers about the danger of sin. The light can't stop people from doing things that are harmful to them but it can expose the lies and darkness behind what there doing. We are not to shine in a controlling and condemning way but we are to expose the hidden works of darkness.
There is nothing so useless in God’s universe as a formal Christian who has the name but not the life. Some people know just enough about Christianity to spoil everything else but not enough to be of any positive value. People like this don’t think of themselves as worldly or heathen but never really enter into the life of the church. To their amazement, they will eventually find themselves shut outside the door. History proves this out. There are places where there were once strong churches and they are there no more. Jesus warned of this in Revelations 2 & 3. A hidden light is a useless light. If we hide our light because we’re afraid of offending others or because we’re indifferent and lacking in love or for any other reason, we are being unfaithful to the Lord.
We looked at light's position and light's nature today we look at:
Light’s purpose — “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven” (v.16).
The purpose of being light is to shine before men, the objects of shining. The only purpose of lighting a lamp is in order to give light to all in the house. We are to shine in the world of men, human beings just like us who need the redemption Jesus provided. We cannot force them to believe but we want them to see something in us.
Light gives direction, like a airport beacon guide planes, light does not shine for itself but for others. The light is not to spotlight self but to show others the way. Our goal is that people will see God, that they will see our heavenly father, and glorify Him.
Men should see your good works. In the Greek there are two words for good: 1) “agathos” — which defines a thing as good in quality. 2) “Kalos” — used here and means that something is not only good but beautiful and attractive. There is to be something attractive about the good works we do. I believe its not just the attractiveness of the works but the spiritual attractiveness of the person doing the works.
Light can also be used to warn, like a lighthouse warns ships of the danger of hidden rocks and helps them avoid shipwreck, believers are to warn unbelievers about the danger of sin. The light can't stop people from doing things that are harmful to them but it can expose the lies and darkness behind what there doing. We are not to shine in a controlling and condemning way but we are to expose the hidden works of darkness.
There is nothing so useless in God’s universe as a formal Christian who has the name but not the life. Some people know just enough about Christianity to spoil everything else but not enough to be of any positive value. People like this don’t think of themselves as worldly or heathen but never really enter into the life of the church. To their amazement, they will eventually find themselves shut outside the door. History proves this out. There are places where there were once strong churches and they are there no more. Jesus warned of this in Revelations 2 & 3. A hidden light is a useless light. If we hide our light because we’re afraid of offending others or because we’re indifferent and lacking in love or for any other reason, we are being unfaithful to the Lord.
Trusting In God's Word
For feelings come and feelings go
And feelings are deceiving
My warrent is the Word of God
Naught else is worth believing
Through all of my heart should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token
There is one greater than my heart
Whose word cannot be broken
I'll trust in God's unchanging Word
Till soul and body sever
For through all things shall pass away
His Word shall stand forever
Martin Luther
And feelings are deceiving
My warrent is the Word of God
Naught else is worth believing
Through all of my heart should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token
There is one greater than my heart
Whose word cannot be broken
I'll trust in God's unchanging Word
Till soul and body sever
For through all things shall pass away
His Word shall stand forever
Martin Luther
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