Tag: word of God

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Light of the world

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 NIV

When we first look at this verse, many people focus on the ‘light of the world’ part of it. I want to focus on the ‘I am’ part of the verse to begin with. When God was speaking to Moses on the mountain at the burning bush, He told him to tell the Israelites that I AM sent him. That’s because I AM was the explanation of Who God was and still is. God is and has just always been. Jesus is using I AM in the same way here, He is and has always been.

When He added ‘the light of the world’, He was conveying that He was the way to salvation. The Jewish people considered light to be goodness, intellect and salvation. He is in essence saying ‘I am and have always been and I am the salvation you need.’

For the Gentiles that may not have had the idea of goodness connected to light, it is important to acknowledge that when Jesus spoke these sentences into existence, it was during a festival. Festivals, back then and even today, are known for the different lights that are present throughout them. Most people like going to festivals at night because the lights create a welcoming environment. There were not as many different styles of lights in Jesus’s time as there are now, but still the idea of light is welcoming. You can see everything that is lit, there are no surprises because you know what is in front of you.

When the Israelites were in the desert, God provided a pillar of fire to lead them during the night as they were walking. Jesus wants everyone to know that as ‘the Light of the world’, He illuminates everything and is the One we should follow. He is telling us that He is not just any light but the light.

Jesus illuminates the darkness that is present everywhere in our world. By following Jesus we will not walk in darkness any longer. If we choose to step away from Jesus we will return to the darkness, but as long as we choose to follow Him, remain close to Him, we will walk in light.

The question then is, do you choose light or darkness, Jesus or the world?

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First or last?

“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” Matthew 20:16 NIV

This is a very vague statement that is made by Jesus when He tells the parable of the workers in the vineyard. This is the last verse for that parable. There are several interpretations of this statement. All of these interpretations have one thing in common and that is that they are all based on the individuals Jesus is talking about having accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Some people believe that the statement is meant to let everyone know that regardless of what we, as humans, have decided is worthy of reward, that in the end it is up to God and His grace. He will decide who gets what rewards, and who gets those rewards first and who gets them last. Those who we believe are the least deserving of rewards in the kingdom of heaven, may actually be first to receive God’s grace because God chooses to give it to them first. Others who we believe are the most deserving of rewards may be last to receive them. It is all God’s decision.

Other people believe that Jesus is telling those who are poor, by the world’s standards, that they will be rich in heaven and those who are rich, by the world’s standards, that they will have less riches in heaven.

The third interpretation that some people believe is that Jesus is telling the Israelites that even though they were the first to be included in God’s family, they were among the last to come to faith through Jesus. Gentiles believed in Christ as the Messiah before the Israelites came to believe in Jesus and who He was.

It is all up to interpretation and could mean all three of them. Only Jesus knows what He meant when He said it. No matter what it means, the only way we enter heaven is through believing in Jesus, accepting His gift of salvation and declaring Him to be our Lord and Savior.

So have you done that?

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Seek First

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 NIV

As with a lot of the direction and guidance given by Jesus, this verse is misunderstood and misquoted a lot of the time. There are people who use this verse to say that God will provide any materialistic thing you ask for if you seek Him first. That is not what this verse means at all.

Even though the meaning of “these things” in this verse is our basic needs such as food and clothing. Jesus has taught His disciples and believers that we are not to live with our minds filled with worry about how we will make sure we have food and clothing but instead He tells us to trust God the Father. By looking at the beginning of the verse, we need to realize that seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness first, is what our minds should be focused on.

When we use our time to explore God’s word, ask for His will to be done in our lives, trust that He is in charge and wants what is best for us, we come to realize how much God values us. This should be our priority, making sure that we are open to hearing what God wants us to do to fulfill His will and then being obedient to the call to do our part. By making this our priority, we are not just adding it to our list of priorities for the day or week or month, but we are to live with this priority of seeking God as our main priority.

The idea of seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness means deciding to live in a state of continual repentance because of our sin. This can lead us to live a life that is devoted to God. Seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness is making sure our heart is in the right state. One that is devoted to God, that wants what God wants for us. God will make sure that we have what we need to fulfill His will as long as we are sincerely seeking to do His will for our lives. Our motives matter.

Take time today to examine why you ask God for the things you ask God for. Are they things that will fulfil His will or your will?

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Being a good friend

“A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.” Proverbs 20:19 NIV

This is a straightforward verse. It is not a verse that many people want to think about because no one truly likes to be called out on a negative behavior. Gossip is a very hard behavior to deal with. This is a behavior that our enemy, the devil, has figured out how to manipulate so that we may not even realize we are behaving in that manner until we are in the middle of it.

When we are told something in confidence that we feel led to pray about, our inclination can be to ask other Christians to help by praying as well. This is a wonderful idea, however, this is when we have to be extra careful in what we say. If we ask others to pray for another person and do not give their name or situation, I believe that is fine as God knows the person and circumstances.

When we decide we are going to give a small amount of information about the person or circumstance, we should know the personality of the one we are asking to pray. Some people are fine at being asked to pray and not having any information about the request. Some people are better at praying for others when they know the name of who they are praying for and unfortunately there are the people who have a challenge focusing on the prayer because they want to know the rest of the information.

Our enemy is sneaky and will take this good hearted desire to help others, praying for them and having a group of people pray for another individual, and he places the thought that maybe telling just the person what is going on will help them to really pray specifically for the need. The challenge is that often times that little amount of information can be turned into incorrect information that is spread around or the person who came to you in confidence doesn’t really want anyone else to know any of what is going on. Truly keeping the information to ourselves is important. We can ask others to pray for someone without giving any information beyond, the person needs prayer.

As much as we are to not be a person who gossips, we are also to keep in mind what we know about how well another person can keep a confidence when we decide to talk about issues others are having that we have been asked to pray for. So, as the new year begins, if you have a resolution about controlling your tongue, this verse may prove to be helpful when you are searching for biblical backing.

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Taking a break

Good morning, I will be taking the week off from posting my blog. I will post again on January 1, 2025. So I leave you with this passage for the last week of 2024.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12 NIV

As we close out the year, I encourage you to seek Jesus as the shepherds did that first Christmas after the angels told them about the wonderful gift the world had just been given. Please let the announcement of “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:12 NIV fill you with excitement and awe that Jesus was willing to come down from His heavenly throne and save us. We celebrate this marvelous, miraculous event each year as we wait for the second coming of our Lord and Savior, please don’t let it become comfortable and mundane. I pray that we each keep this celebration exciting and anticipatory as we wait anxiously for our Lord to return to us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

I will post again on January 1, 2025.

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The First Christmas

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2:6-7 NIV

It is here!!!! The first Christmas. Jesus is born, He is wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger. Mary gives birth in a stable not a fancy hotel, with Joseph to help her, not handmaidens. A manger is a feeding trough, which fit since He was born in a stable surrounded by animals. A very humble beginning to a life that would be filled with serving others as He modeled what God’s Kingdom looks like.

Mary and Joseph knew that Jesus was the Messiah and they knew from prophesy that He would have to suffer at some point in His life. They had no idea the extent that they would also suffer, as His parents, watch Him go through all that He was going to have to endure. I believe none of that mattered at that moment, because they were holding their baby boy. He was not only the Messiah, He was their son and they took raising Him very seriously.

Without the event that we celebrate today, there would be no Easter. There would be no crucifixion that took the sins of the world away for those who believe, and there would be no resurrection. I am so thankful that we are able to celebrate this event today.

Have a Merry Christmas and always keep your focus on Jesus.

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They arrive in Bethlehem

“While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,” Luke 2:6 NIV

They finally make it to Bethlehem and as with most pregnant women, all that walking and possibly the bumpiness of the ride on the donkey, labor begins. Mary has told Joseph that the time is very close and he goes to find them accommodations so Mary can give birth in private. However, there are no rooms available anywhere because there are a large number of people in Bethlehem. Many families had ancestors from there and had traveled just as Mary and Joseph had, to be counted.

Joseph is checking everywhere and finally a man tells Joseph that he has some room but it is with his animals behind the house. At this point, it has to be better than Mary giving birth to the Messiah on the side of the room or outside the front door of someone’s home. Imagine the conditions of this area where the animals were. It was a stable or barn area, there was hay and dust, possibly mud from the animals. Joseph did his best to make a space for Mary that was clean and acceptable for her to give birth.

This is the Messiah, the Savior of the world, being born into our world and it is happening in a stable where the animals are watching. Jesus was born in a very humble environment, not in a palace surrounded by guards, linens and handmaidens but in a stable surrounded by animals, cloths Mary brought with her and Joseph. This would be the perfect way for our Lord and Savior to begin His life on earth, humbly. He came as a humble servant not a conquering king.

Jesus’ birth, the first Christmas is tomorrow. Let’s celebrate as Mary prepares to give birth in Bethlehem to our King, our Lord, our Savior, thereby fulfilling prophesy about where the Messiah was to be born.

If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior, I implore you to reconsider your decision and ask Jesus to come into your heart. He gave up being a King as He sat in Heaven with God the Father to come to our world as a helpless baby to save us. Who does that? JESUS does!!!!!!

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The journey continues

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Luke 2:4&5 NIV

This journey took between 4 and 7 days. According to maps from Mary’s era, there were some towns along the way to possibly find places to stay in but there were also long sections of the travel paths that were simple open and not settled. On those sections of the road, there were not many places to stay, so at night they had to either find shelter under a tree, in a cave or sleep out under the stars.

There are not many women who are 9 months pregnant who sleep well in the beds we have in our time, so can you imagine sleeping on the ground and then having to get back up the next morning, to begin walking again. Mary was carrying the Messiah, the Savior of the world, but she did not have it easy.

When the angel came to Mary, she gave up certain things about her future that she may have had planned such as the wedding to Joseph, the friends who would celebrate with her, the house they were going to have. Joseph gave up the plans of being the biological father of ALL of his children but took Jesus as his own and raised Him as if he was Jesus’s biological father. I wonder how much of this they both thought about and maybe even talked about on this long journey.

When we talk about this part of the account of Jesus’s birth, we should also remember that they were not the only ones going to the town their ancestors were from, everyone was, as the decree when out to the entire Roman world. This means that the roads would have been crowded with travelers going in all directions. Other people from Nazareth would have been making the same trip and some of them knew that the baby Mary was carrying was not Joseph’s. It is fair to believe that there were comments and looks from them as they passed Mary and Joseph on the journey.

There were also no restaurants to stop at when it was lunch time or supper time. All of that had to be packed in the items they brought along. For Mary, that meant having to figure out how to cook the meal and not take up so much time that the journey took longer. Traveling in our time takes some planning, but traveling in Mary and Joseph’s time took not only planning but preparation and organization to be successful and eat meals while traveling.

Christmas is 2 days away, have you thought about how much you are willing to give up to follow God’s will and plan for your life? As we think about everything that Mary and Joseph did to follow God’s plan for their lives and fill prophesy, may today would be a good day to take some time to think about what you are willing to do for God.

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The journey has begun

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Luke 2:4&5 NIV

Mary and Joseph, along with a lot of other people, begin their journeys to the towns they were originally from. Research shows that Bethlehem was a 4 to 7 day walk from Nazareth. For those who have been pregnant, please remember what it was like when you were 9 months pregnant. For those who have not been pregnant, please imagine, if you will, carrying around a 20 pound bowling ball around in front of you everywhere you go. Your back hurts, your feet swell, you become hot then cold then hot again. You are tired and just want to sit down.

Now I would like everyone to imagine being told that you have to go on a journey to a town around 90 miles away. Remember that there were no cars, buses, trains or airplanes to take you, you were going to have to walk or ride an animal if you were lucky. There were also no luggage racks to carry your belongings that you would need while you were gone, so most likely it was packed onto the animal you owned so you didn’t have to carry it. That is why I wrote that if you were lucky you could ride the animal you were taking since it was probably packed down with your belongings and not able to withstand any more weight.

So, let’s look at Mary and Joseph again. Mary is 9 months pregnant, which means it was probably a slow and long journey. She probably walked as much as she could and then Joseph most likely carried what needed to come off of the donkey so Mary could ride on the donkey for a while.

Throughout the years, between when Mary and Joseph made this long journey to Bethlehem and now, we have created this idea of a simple journey from one town to the next. This may have been because we were given very few details about that journey. However, I encourage everyone to think about what the landscape looked like in that time and how difficult a 90 mile journey was on a woman who was 9 months pregnant.

Nothing about the birth of our Savior was easy. He gave up a lot to come to earth, and His earthly parents gave up a lot to have Him and raise Him just as God the Father had planned. As we are now one day closer to Christmas, please keep in mind what Mary and Joseph went through in order to fulfill God’s will in their lives and bring the Savior in to the world.

My question is……Are you fulfilling God’s will in your life?

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Where is your hope?

“Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.” Psalm 146:5 NIV

Verses 3 and 4 in this chapter are filled with warnings about placing hope and trust in anyone other than God. We are not perfect, we all have sinned, we all break promises at some point in our lives and we all are bound to make mistakes, but God does not. God doesn’t break promises or make mistakes for He is perfect.

The author of this psalm is warning in the verses 3 and 4 about this but then is able to turn this psalm from a psalm of sadness or negativity into one of hope and assurance. Blessed are those whose help is in God. Blessed, not cursed. This is wonderful.

The word ‘blessed’ in the Bible means to find favor with God and to have inner peace. This peace is a peace that no one else can offer or anything else can produce, it only comes from God. When we place our hope and source of help in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, we are placing it in the only place that is guaranteed.

When we look to God for our help and place our hope there as well, we are favored by God because He wants us to come to Him for help. He wants us to place our hope in Him because He is our creator and wants to be close to us. He will not force Himself on us because being loved by us when we have no choice is not truly being loved. Love comes as a freewill choice of the person giving it. God made it that way so when we choose to love Him, it would be because we want to love Him not because we have to love Him.

Where do you place your hope?

Where do you go for help?

I pray both of your answers are…God, but if they are not then I invite you to change where you place your hope and where you go for help. I invite you to choose to place your hope in the One True God. Lord over everything, in heaven and on earth, our Creator. Ask God to be your Lord and Savior, accept Him into your heart. Know that the place you can go to for help is the only true place where you are guaranteed to be heard. God hears you and wants you to willingly come to Him for help. God wants to help His children.

Where do you want to place your hope?

Where do you want to go to for help?