Light In The Darkness

"Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous."
Psalm 112:4 (NKJV)

We have all been in situations where we did not know what to do.  Whether it was a question about the future, our family, our job, or if it was a question about how to best handle a problem we were dealing with, we have all had that feeling of not knowing what to do.  Just like everyone else, I have been there too, and it is not a nice place to be.  When it seems like we are in the dark, when we do not really know what to do, one thing we can be sure of is that we are not alone.  God knows about our situation, and He wants to help us, and He will.

Our life as a follower of Jesus should be just that, following Jesus.  But what does it mean to follow Jesus and allow God to guide us in our life?  Does following Jesus mean that we always know the way that we are going, or are we walking by faith and following God's direction?  If we are following Jesus, if we are doing the will of God and being led by the Holy Spirit, does that mean we are doing our best to figure things out for ourselves, or are we looking to God, the wisdom of His Word, and the leading of the Holy Spirit to give us the direction and help we need in our life?

Psalm 112:4 talks about light rising up in the darkness for the righteous, but what does that mean?  If we are in some natural darkness, we need some light to see where we can and should go.  If we seem to be in some spiritual darkness, because we do not know where to go, or how to do what we need to do, we can trust God to give us the light, wisdom, and direction that we need.   We have to trust God and get light and understanding from His Word, and by the Holy Spirit, to do what we need to do, and not just try to figure something out on our own.  Even when it seems dark, God will give us light.

Don't Lose Your Smile

"that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."
1 John 1:3-4 (NKJV)

The other day, I saw a group of young children on the way to their school.  One thing I noticed is that several of the children were talking with each other, laughing, smiling, and playing around as they walked along.  Of course, not every child was doing that, but several of them were.  As I saw these things, I thought to myself that while so many of these children are smiling, it usually happens that when the children become adults, they seem to lose their smile.  This seemed a bit sad to me, and I thought that none of us should ever lose our smile.

When we are happy, and when things are going great, we smile.  One reason we might say that children laugh and smile so easily is that they are not dealing with a lot of the things in life that we all have to deal with as we become adults.  But, as Christians, we should never lose our smile, because our life is not based on our circumstances and the things we deal with in life.  Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength, and if that is true (and it is), then Christians should have a smile on their face no matter what the situation may be.  

In 1 John 1, the Apostle John wrote that he wanted believers to have fellowship with each other and that their joy would be full.  John made two important points here: having proper fellowship and focusing on what has been written in God's Word will help us be full of joy.  It is easy to look at life and our circumstances and lose our smile and lose our joy, but if we stay in proper fellowship with God and we stay focused on God's Word, we can have joy in the midst of the challenges of life.  Our joy, and our smile should not depend on our outward circumstances, but on our relationship with God.

Even Snails Don't Quit

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,"
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Recently, as I was out for a run on a trail through a forest, I saw a snail moving across the path I was on.  The snail was not going very fast, and I wondered how long it would take that snail to make the journey across the path, which was a dangerous thing for it to do as the snail could easily be crushed by someone.  But then I had another thought; no matter what, that snail is not going to quit.  That snail had a goal, and it was going to do everything that was necessary to get to the other side of the path and to where it was going.

One thing we all know is that life is not always easy, because we all face challenges.  We are all making our way through life, and hopefully doing what we can to live out the plan God has for us.  It is easy to have great ideas about what we want to do in life and how we want to serve God, but it can be just as easy to quit when things get difficult.  The real test comes when we are challenged to quit.  But rather than just quitting when things get hard, and things will get hard, we need to be committed to doing whatever it takes for us to reach our goals.  

In places like Hebrews 12, the Bible talks about our running the race that is set before us.  Our life and the things we do in our relationship with God are all a part of that race.  We must run our race with endurance, and we must never quit.  Starting a race is easy, and it is something anyone can do.  But finishing a race well is something else.  We need to keep moving forward in the race that we are running for God, and no matter how difficult it may get, and no matter how long it takes, we never quit, but we keep going until we reach our God given goals. 

Whose Directions Do You Follow, And Give?

"The former account I made, O Theophilius, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,  
until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen."
Acts 1:1-2 (NKJV)

Imagine building something, working on a project, or going to some place, and you need information to be successful in what you want to do.  Whose direction and guidance would you want to have for these things?  Would you look for information from anyone other than someone who has knowledge and understanding about what you wanted to do?  It would be foolish to ask someone about building something or about work on a project who had never done those things, and it would not make sense to ask someone for directions to a place that they had never even heard of.

At one time or another, we will all need some information and directions, and we may even be the one who is asked to give that information and those directions.  As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit living in us, and He can help us with the information and directions we need for our own life and for the information and direction we may need to give to other people.  If we are just making things up on our own, following traditions, current trends, or doing things based on what someone else has done, we may end up giving information that will only be of minimal value.

In Acts 1:2, it says that Jesus gave His disciples commandments through the Holy Spirit; Jesus was not making things up on His own or just sharing what some other person had taught Him.  In the same way, through God's Word and by the Holy Spirit, God will give us what we need to know, and what we can use to help others.  We may have some nice ideas, and maybe even a good amount of wisdom and experience, but rather than just following and giving out directions from things we come up with on our own, we need to follow and give guidance from the Holy Spirit; that is the best way to do things.

More Questions Than Answers?

"As I urged you when I went into Macedonia - remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 
nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith."
1 Timothy 1:3-4 (NKJV)

When we have questions, we want answers, and when we don't understand something, we normally want to have that thing explained to us.  It would be very strange for us to ask someone a question, and instead of them answering our question, they only ask us a different question.  It would be very unusual for us to talk to someone about something we do not understand, or even take a class to learn about something, and at the end of the conversation or class we are more confused about that thing than we were before.

No one really wants to be completely ignorant and not know things.  There may be some things we are not interested in, but generally speaking, in life, and especially as Christians, we want to learn about things that are relevant to us and things that will help us be successful.  It would be sad to attend a church, some special meeting, or even a Bible school, and when the service, meeting, or school is over, we understand even less about what we are taught than we did before, and we actually have more questions than answers.

In 1 Timothy 1:3-4, Paul encouraged Timothy to teach correct doctrine and to avoid getting involved in "fables and endless genealogies" because those things cause disputes.  The Greek word that is translated as "disputes" here means "a searching or seeking" of something.  Paul told Timothy to teach the things that bring godly edification rather than things that just bring up more questions.  We should teach things that build people up and not confuse them, we should teach things that edify and help people rather than just leaving people with more questions than answers.

Your Results May Vary

"For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,  
so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."
Romans 12:4-5 (NKJV)

Sometimes when a product is advertised, and they tell you about all the wonderful things you can do with that product, they will also say something like, "your results may vary."  They are saying that you can buy their product for the intended purpose, but the results you get with the product may look different than what you saw in the advertisement.  This does not necessarily mean that something is wrong, but as you use the product, exactly what happens in your situation may be different than what you saw in some advertisement.

Every Christian is a part of the Body of Christ, and just like with our natural body, there are many different parts of the Body of Christ.  Each part is important and each part has a specific function.  So it should not surprise us when we see other believers, other parts of the Body of Christ, doing things differently than we do and even seeming to have success in some ways that we do not.  Just as we cannot compare how one part of our natural body is doing by looking at another part of our body, in the Body of Christ we all have different parts to play, and that is how God designed it.

In Romans 12:4-5, Paul explained that there are many parts in the Body of Christ, and we do not all have the same function.  If we compare our life and what we do for God with other believers, we may wonder what is wrong with us.  But we can be doing everything right and our results in doing what God has asked us to do may look different from what we see in others.  We need to understand that God has a plan and purpose for each one of us, and we need to be faithful doing what God has called us to do, even though our results in serving God may vary from what other Christians are doing.

Under Construction

"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.  Amen."
Hebrews 13:20-21 (NKJV)

Right now, there are two building projects going on close to where I live in Germany.  Sometimes, when I go by these places and I look at what they are doing at the construction site, I have some idea what is happening, and a basic idea of what the end result will be.  But there are other times that I look at what is happening, and I have no idea what is going on.  However, I am confident that there are building plans somewhere that the workers are following and the end result of the construction will be exactly what it was designed to be.

Often, when we are looking at some type of construction project, we do not always understand exactly what is happening, or how what is currently being done will bring the right end result.  This is also how things work in our own spiritual growth process; God is working on us, and other people, in ways we do not always recognize or understand, but God has a plan.  We all need to grow and develop spiritually, and God is the One who is working on us and in us, even when we do not see or understand what is happening.

God is working in us, developing and maturing us to help us succeed in life and to be equipped to do the things He has planned for us to do.  We don't always see or understand what God is doing, but as Hebrews 13:21 says, God is working to develop and mature us, and He is doing things in our life that are well pleasing in His sight.  We may not recognize exactly what is happening while we are under construction, but if we allow God to work in us, the end result will be exactly as He has planned, and even better than we might expect. 

Who Directs Your Steps?

"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way."
Psalm 37:23 (NKJV)

Have you ever planned to go somewhere, maybe even a place you have been before, but when you think you should be at your destination, you realize that your directions were wrong and you are not where you wanted to be?  You may have had a good idea about where you needed to go, and even a good plan on how to get there, but your directions were based more on what you thought was right than actual, accurate information.  In a situation like this, if we do not check our directions, we can think we are going to the right place, but we will never get there.

We are all going somewhere in our life.  But the question is, what direction are we going and what is setting the course for our life?  There are many reasons people do things, and if we are doing things for the wrong reasons, or even if we have the right reasons but we are going the wrong way, we will end up with problems.  Sometimes Christians are looking for some "new and exciting" doctrine or a "special" meeting to make a difference in their life, but they are looking in the wrong place for what they need.  They are directing their own steps and not allowing God to guide them through His Word and the Holy Spirit.  

Psalm 37:23 talks about God directing our steps, but is it God who is really directing our steps?  Just desiring to go the right direction in life and do the right thing is not enough, we have to be sure that the course we are following is actually going to lead us to where we need to be, and we are not just on a nice path that really leads to nowhere.  If we are the one who is setting our own course in life, then we are not following God's direction and we will not end up where we should be, or where God wants us to be.  We need to allow God to direct our steps. 

If You Cease Listening, You Will Stray

"Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge."
Proverbs 19:27 (NKJV)

Starting something is important, but continuing with that thing is even more important.  Whether you are learning a new skill, a different language, or starting an exercise routine, getting yourself started is usually easier than continuing to do that thing.  This is the reason many people do not keep some New Year's resolution or follow through with a good idea or desire that they have.  Once we begin doing something, we must find a way to keep ourselves involved in that thing, because if we do not, we will end up far away from our original intent, and whatever gains we might have made will be lost.

Hebrews 2:1 talks about paying attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away.  Drifting away from something can easily happen if we do not keep the thing that could drift connected to something else.  We have to pay attention to what we have heard from God in His Word and by the Holy Spirit so that we do not drift away from those things.  One way we can prevent drifting away from what is right is to continually listen to the instruction we receive through God's Word so that we keep ourselves anchored to the truth.  

Proverbs 19:27 warns us about the dangers of not continuing to hear instruction and then straying from the words of knowledge.  If we continue to hear instruction, we will not stray from "the words of knowledge," but if we stop listening, it is easy to stray off the path of the truth and get into error.  We need to be in a continual process of reading and studying the Word of God for ourselves, as well as hearing good Bible based teaching that will remind us of, and add to, the godly instruction that we already have.  If we do not keep listening to the truth, we will stray, and if we stray, we can drift away.

What's In The Well?

"The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked."
Proverbs 10:11 (NKJV)

Most people today only need to turn on a faucet to get some water.  But in the past, most people had to go to a well to get the water they needed.  When someone digs a well, their goal is to get some water, not just dig a hole in the ground.  It would be strange for someone to say they were digging a well, but when they finished, all you could get from the well was dirt.  Or it could be that for some reason a well might become contaminated, and while there would still be water in the well, the water drawn from the well would not be drinkable and the well would be worthless.

One topic that we see in the Bible, and especially in the Book of Proverbs is the importance of the words that we speak.  The next time you read the Book of Proverbs, pay attention to what is said about our words, our mouth, and our tongue.  These are all intending to show us the value of our words and how important it is for us to say the right kinds of words.  The words we speak can help or hurt people, our words can encourage or discourage people, and our words can lift people up or put people down.  We need to speak the right kind of words.  

Proverbs 10:11 says that the mouth of the righteous is a well of life.  But is it just because someone is righteous, because someone is a Christian that their words are automatically positive and helpful, or is it more about the content of what is being said?  As Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, it is from the abundance of what is in our heart that we will speak.  This means we must fill ourselves with good things, especially with God's Word, to be sure that what is in our well, what comes out of our mouth, will be a blessing and help to others.  What is in the well of our heart that is then coming out of our mouth?

Walking In Love - The Best Is Yet To Come

"bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NKJV)

Some people have a negative view of the future, while some people are more optimistic about the future, and this can be the same with how we view others.  We can see and expect the worst in people, or instead of just thinking everyone is crazy, we can look for the best in people and have a positive view of others.  While this does not mean that we just blindly trust everyone and anyone, we do not have to automatically believe the worst about others and have a negative view of life, but instead we can look for the best, and hope for the best in people and the situations we deal with.

If we meet someone for the first time, should we automatically distrust them and expect that they will create problems for us, or should we be open to the possibility of them being a good person who will be a positive influence in our lives.  Walking in love towards someone does not mean we just accept whatever they do, but it does mean that we should be able to bear and endure whatever is going on, and we should believe and hope for the best in that person.  While we may look for the best in our friends and close relationships, that attitude should be one we have towards everyone. 

If we really care about someone, we are quick to forgive their mistakes and we expect them to do better the next time.  But should that attitude only be limited to people we love and already know?  In 1 Corinthians 13:5, it says that love "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things".  If we are always looking for the worst in others, never expecting that they will amount to anything, then we are not walking in love. God believes the best about us and expects the best for us all the time; we too should believe the best of others, and of ourselves, expecting the best is yet to come.   

Do You Only Walk When The Sun Is Shining?

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Galatians 6:9 (NKJV)

On most days, I will go for a walk, and depending on the weather, there might be many other people out walking, or only a few.  A while ago, it was unseasonably warm and sunny, and there was a noticeably larger number of people out walking.  Usually, I see the same people when I am walking, but on this day, I did not recognize most of the people I saw.  It was likely that some of them were only walking because of the nice weather.  Walking is a good form of exercise, but while it is a good thing to do, most people will only do it when the conditions are most favorable.

Some people have the idea that things in life, including following Jesus, should be fun, and easy all the time.  While that sounds nice, we know that it is not reality, because there will always be challenges in life.  Doing the right thing, when it is easy and there is immediate gratification, is what people want, but not everyone wants to put in the time and effort to do what is right when the reward is somewhere down the road.  We all like to do things that have less effort and more reward, but we all know that is not always the way things are.  

Galatians 6:9 tells us that we should keep on doing what is right, and not get weary when doing it, because there is a reward.  It is easy to walk in the sunshine and do what is right when the conditions are favorable.  But we need to keep on walking with God, even when it seems like the sun is not shining.  If we are persistent in doing what is right, we will move from the challenging and seemingly darker place to the victorious bright place where we want to be.  Real success comes when we are willing to do what is right, and then doing it, no matter what the conditions are. 

Having Peace In The Right Place

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
Romans 5:1 (NKJV)

Have you ever been in the wrong place?  Maybe you were looking for a classroom in a school and by mistake you went into the wrong room, or maybe you were driving somewhere, and you turned the wrong way into a one-way street.  When you know you are in the wrong place, you do not have any sense of peace, but rather you feel a bit anxious, because you know something is out of place and you want to get out of there.  Being in the right place is a good thing, and being in the wrong place makes us uncomfortable.

So many Christians are trying to do the right things in their life to please God.  This is a good thing to do, if we do it for the right reason.  We need to be in the right place in our life with how we live, to please God, as the Bible talks about, but we also need to realize that we are already spiritually in the right place with God.  Through Jesus, and by our accepting His sacrificial death on the cross, we become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), and that means we are right with God. 

Romans 5:1 says that we have been justified, made right with God, by faith in Jesus Christ.  We are no longer separated from God by sin, we are no longer enemies of God, but we are a part of His family, all because of Jesus, and that is a place of peace.  Yet so many Christians are still not certain about their standing with God, they are not at peace, and they are still trying to do things that they think will put them in the right place with God.  But through Jesus, we are in the right place, our position with God is secure, and we can be at peace. 

Leading The Way, Or Just Pointing?

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
Philippians 4:9 (NKJV)

Once when I was in the Frankfurt airport, traveling to the USA, a woman behind me in the passport line asked about what we needed to do there, and where the security lines were.  As I talked to her, I found out that this was her first time flying back to the USA from Germany, and she was not sure what to do.  So, I explained some things, and then I encouraged her to just follow me through the airport to the gate where the flight that we were both going to take was.  Since I already knew the way, it was easy for me to help her, and she was very thankful.

To give someone directions, you could write something down, point out the direction they need to go, or explain what they should do and lead them to where they needed to go.  Any of these methods can be successful, but the most successful way would be to not only tell them or show them where they need to go, but to actually lead them there.  This is exactly how we need to do things as we follow Jesus and help others along the way.  We not only need to tell them how to follow Jesus, and "point" the way, but we should also then lead and guide them along the way. 

The Apostle Paul wrote several letters that are a part of the New Testament, and we can see from the Book of Acts that Paul was an effective speaker.  Paul wrote and taught about what Jesus did for us and how we can have a living relationship with God.  But Paul was also a leader and an example to others.  He told the Philippians to do what they had learned, received, heard, and saw from him.  We need to be like Paul, and rather than just telling others what to do, or pointing them in the right direction, we need to be a living example of someone who follows Jesus, and help lead others in the way they should go.

Billboard Christianity?

"For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God,"
Acts 20:27 (NKJV)

Billboards are usually advertisements and sometimes announcements of some kind.  But billboards are not a textbook, a complete set of instructions on how to do something, or an in-depth study of any material.  Billboards are meant to convey a simple, brief message.  If all you knew about a product or thing was what you saw on a billboard, your knowledge of that thing would be very limited, and you might even misunderstand something about that product or what is being shown you, because you only see a very small part of what is being represented by the message on the billboard.

People sometimes have problems because of their limited understanding of a thing.  If you only know a little bit about a topic, the little bit that you do know may give you a wrong impression about the entire scope of the topic.  This is also very true concerning biblical truth.  Many people take things out of context, they only have a limited understanding of a Bible topic, or they might even have a misunderstanding of something in the Bible, because they have never taken the time to really study everything God's Word has to say about that subject. 

In Acts 20:27, Paul told the leaders of the church in Ephesus that he had declared the whole counsel of God to them.  Everywhere Paul went, he talked about the plan of God, what Jesus has done for us, and how we need to live a life that pleases God.  Paul was careful to tell the people the "whole counsel of God," so that people would be well-developed, mature believers.  We too need to be sure that we are not just focusing on our favorite topic or taking things out of their context, but we need to have a good understanding of all that God has said, to fulfill the will of God in our lives, and also to help others.