Points of Light

Growing up in the Texas Panhandle, I had ample opportunity to notice the sky. I can remember lying in the grass at night and looking up at what seemed like billions of individual stars. Sometimes I would look for the constellations, but not too often. In my naiveté, I just assumed that everyone had the opportunity to look at the same sky I saw over my yard. It wasn’t until I moved to the city that I realized what a blessing it was to be able to see what was really above me. Most likely you will only see the brightest of the stars and miss the sheer enormity of God’s nighttime light show.

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

1 John 2:7-9

The words of the first verse of this letter are a beautiful testament to the experience of walking with Jesus. “¹The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life.” It is worth noticing that John felt it worth recording the intimate nature of his relationship with Jesus. It sets the tone for one of the most intimate of the books of the Bible. Its tone is that of family relationships and the nurture of children through their formative years.

John starts off this passage with a disclaimer. He tells the reader that this is not going to be the revelation of some new information. From the beginning, God has taught those whom He has chosen to love each other. After all, six of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationship with each other. It that is the case, why is he bothering to bring it up at all? Aside from the fact that he is operating under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, there is a new twist to the old story. The words that have been passed down from generation to generation have taken on an entirely new form. These words have been made flesh in the form of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of the things that mankind has been waiting for as they stumbled around in the darkness of sin have now been made manifest in one Man.

How does this fundamental truth impact Christians and churches today? John tells us that this commandment – to love one another – is now not only true in Christ, but is also true in us. We have become carriers of the true light that causes darkness to disappear. Notice that I said carriers. Just as a person can carry the germ that causes a disease without any outward sign of the disease itself, we can carry the light of the Word of God without anyone knowing it. Unfortunately, that is the case with many Christians today.

In much the same way as the beauty of the stars is hidden behind the pollution of the artificial light of this world, the light of Christ in us can be totally covered up by the pollution of sin in our lives. If we don’t take care to keep the mirrors clean, the reflected glow of God’s presence cannot be seen by those around us. John is telling us in this passage that the key to being the light God intends is our relationship with each other. If we carry a grudge or harbor resentment for a brother or sister, our testimony is lost in the sin we carry.

The world we live in is filled with pollution – both physical and spiritual. Just as we can only see the brightest of stars, the world can only see those who reflect the True Light of Jesus the brightest. Polish up those mirrors by staying in step with God. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

We serve an awesome God!!!!

Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor.

Proverbs 18:13

Chronic Worship

To live one’s life in an attitude of constant adoration and reverence toward God.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual [or reasonable] act of worship.

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that the only reasonable response to God’s mercy and grace toward us is to give ourselves totally to Him? When Paul uses the word “bodies,” he is speaking of the entirety of our beings – the instrument of life. We have built a box around worship that allows us to reach in on Sunday and pull out our “sacrifice” to offer to God. This attitude violates two fundamental attributes of worship. The first is that true worship is an attitude of the heart – not an action of the will. The second is that this attitude of worship is not restricted by time or space. Our God is just as awesome in the office on Tuesday afternoon as He is in church on Sunday morning.

The dictionary defines the word chronic as “always present” or “habitual.” That is how we should think of our worship. It’s not something we do or say, it is who we are. Why is it so important for us to exist in a state of chronic worship? Jesus tells us in His encounter with the woman at the well.

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24 NIV)

Once again we see that worship is part of us. We worship in our spirit – our essence – our very breath of life. But there is another reason for us to assume an attitude of chronic worship. Jesus says that God is seeking true worshipers. Imagine if you can a holy God, surveying His creation, looking for someone who is actively worshiping Him. Would He find you worshiping Him in spirit and in truth? How about if it happened on Monday morning when you had to get up and get ready for work - or maybe on Thursday while you are fighting traffic on the way home from soccer practice?

It is my heart’s desire that He always be able to find me worshiping Him.

Praise is a heart lifted joyfully to a loving and merciful God.

Worship is a heart bowed in reverence and adoration before a holy God.

It takes both to maintain our walk with Him.

Proclamation

Have you ever stopped to think about where your information comes from? Most people depend on the television, the internet, or a friend. Too often, we don't even stop to think whether or not it is reasonable, much less true. The consequence of our readiness to accept what we see on television or the internet, or hear from a friend, who probably heard from a friend, is that there is considerable false information spreading around the globe at the speed of light.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

1 John 1:3-4

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear." The problem of information (or misinformation) dissemination has been with us since the world began. Given our advances in technology, we can spread bad information at speeds that Ben Franklin could scarcely imagine. For example, we depend on things like our driver's license or social security number to prove that we are who we say we are. In today's environment of picture perfect photographic reproduction or other means of "identity theft," one's proof of identity is not even safe.

John tells us that he can make a proclamation that no one can refute. He knows that he knows that he knows God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son. Now that is a strong statement. How can he be so sure? In the second verse of this chapter, John says, "…which we have looked at and our hands have touched." He wants everyone to know that this proclamation is based on irrefutable physical evidence. Multiple witnesses saw the same thing and touched it just to make sure their eyes weren't deceiving them. Now that they had this information, they wanted to share it with the world.

As Christ-followers, we are to share this Good News. Matthew 28 tells us to go and teach and baptize, so why is it so difficult for us to share the Gospel? For most people, it is the fear of rejection. We are afraid of what people might think of us. The apostles faced death and yet they continued to proclaim. It wasn't out of obligation, but confidence and pure joy that they made their proclamation. They just couldn't help it.

Maybe we need to regain the joy of our salvation. This passage should go a long way toward that goal. "We write this to make our joy complete," says John. Our witness completes the circle of salvation. We may not all be able to knock on doors or stop somebody in the street and tell them about Jesus – but we should be prepared to if God so leads. That preparation starts in the heart and spreads through our actions. We need to fellowship with Jesus so our actions draw people to Him. When our relationship is strong our witness will be fruitful.

We serve an awesome God!!!!!

A man's pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.

Proverbs 29:23

Farming

When I was growing up, we had a garden plot across the road from our house. It was one of the perks that came with my Daddy's job. Every day, there was work to be done in the garden. If it wasn't tilling, it was planting. If it wasn't watering, it was harvesting. Maintaining a garden is a daily operation. The key to the success of our garden was to do everything in its time. You had to allow the soil and the seeds to dictate the schedule.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Psalm 1:3

Many scholars count the first Psalm as one of nearly fifty that remain anonymous. While we may not know the name of the author of this Psalm, we can infer that he is familiar with the cycles of nature. In that time, most all households at least maintained a garden and much of the work in that garden was done by the children as they were growing up. Parents used this time to teach their sons and daughters the secrets of nature and the joy of planting and harvesting.


The psalmist in this verse begins by acknowledging that the orchard needs to be planted near a continuous source of water. Otherwise, the crops would wither on the tree and all the preparatory work would have been in vain. If the tree or other crop has adequate water and farmer understands when to plant and when to harvest they could be assured of an adequate crop. The Psalm says, "Whatever he does will prosper."


If we look at this passage, we see one of the causes of "crop failure." The psalmist says the key is that the fruit of the farmer's labor will come "in season." If the farmer harvests the crop too early, it will usually produce less than it could and will have less nutritional value and taste than it should. If one waits too late, he will find rotted fruit that is good to no one. This time period is not set by the farmer, it is a cycle of nature that God has ordained – and each crop has a different season.


The Christian life is much like the tree that the psalmist references here. We will go through seasons in our lives – seasons that produce different fruit. If we try to do things according to our own convenience or because we think we know the best way to produce fruit, we will find ourselves with little to show for our labors. Our "Farmer's Almanac" is the Scripture and the Holy Spirit is our expert in the field. If we follow their lead, "whatever we do will prosper."


God has a field for every Christ-follower to manage and in due time He will show it to us. If we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our ministries, we can be assured that His harvest will prosper. The problem with most of us is that we don't listen to what God is saying or we just know that we have a better way. The end of the season of the harvest is rapidly approaching. Have you been a good steward with what God has put in your path? As long as Christ tarries, there is time to work the field that God has given you.


We serve an awesome God!!!!!

A man's pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.
Proverbs 29:23

Pleasing God

I can remember talking to my mother around Christmas or Mother’s Day, trying to get her to tell me what she wanted as a gift on these occasions. She would always smile and tell me that all she wanted was for me to be everything God wanted me to be. I never understood why she would say something like that until I had kids of my own.

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.Ephesians 1:3-5 (NLT)

The book of Ephesians is filled with teachings concerning the Christian life and the worship of a holy and merciful God. As was his custom, Paul is writing to this church to encourage them and remind them of the miraculous work of Jesus. This opening passage is filled with praise for a God who would choose to work in and through the lives of sinful man.

Paul opens this passage with a word of encouragement for the heart of all believers. He tells us that we have been blessed with spiritual blessings. Most Christians probably understand that concept – God has given us the Holy Spirit as our guide and teacher. What we sometimes fail to get our hearts and minds around is the rest of the story. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. Think about it! There is no blessing available to the angels in heaven or to Christ, at the right hand of God, which is not available to us! We are magnificently and totally blessed as children of God.

Amazingly, it was God’s choice to make these blessings available to us. We did nothing to deserve them – He wanted to give them to us. Not only that, He decided to do this marvelous work long before we, or the world we live in, even existed. It has always been part of His plan to create man and give him the opportunity to become joint heirs with Jesus Christ, His Son. He included in the grand plan for the universe the opportunity for sinful man to be made righteous in His sight through the blood of His Son. Jesus died that we might be able to receive these blessings.

Why would an all knowing, all-powerful, ever present God choose to create a people who continually rebel against everything He stands for? Better yet, why would that same God choose to sacrifice His only Son as a way for these men to become part of His family? The answer is in the last six words of this passage – “And this gave him great pleasure.” It brings joy to the heart of God to see His creation acknowledge the Creator.

As Christians, we should strive with every fiber of our being to bring honor and glory to the Father. This scripture tells us that He receives great pleasure when people accept His invitation to become part of His family. If we want to please God, we will be continually about reaching one more for Jesus.

We serve an awesome God!!!!!

But all who listen to me will live in peace,
untroubled by fear of harm.”Proverbs 1:33

Prime the Pump

Very few people today have ever seen a manual pump – the kind with the handle that you had to pump before you could get water. Some of these pumps had a tendency to dry out between uses so you had to keep some water handy to pour into the pump before you could get water out. This is called “priming the pump.” Without the priming, you could pump all day and never see a drop of water. With priming, the water started to flow after just a few pumps on the handle.

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Ephesians 3:16-19 (NLT)

Paul was not only an apostle, an evangelist, and a teacher; he was also a prayer warrior. He understood the power of prayer and his responsibility as a Christ-follower to “pray without ceasing.” In this passage, Paul prays for the church at Ephesus, even thought he is suffering the pain and torment of prison. As he writes this letter, he describes to us the prayers he lifts up. The verse prior to this passage says, “When I think about the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees.” This passage tells us that Paul didn’t just bow before God; he was led to lift up his brothers and sisters in Christ.

The sequence of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians bears examination. First of all he prays that the church would receive “mighty inner strength” through the Holy Sprit. Paul knew that living the Christian life was not a walk in the park. Sometimes it is difficult to stand up for what you believe in the face of persecution. Once one has this inner strength, Paul says that we should start cleaning our house. As Christians, we have a houseguest in our innermost being. Jesus Christ in the person of the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts. Paul is telling us that we need to get rid of all those things in our lives that make Jesus uncomfortable. In other words, we need to confess those sins we have been trying to hide for so long. We should be a house that Jesus feels at home in.

As the Holy Spirit is given freedom in our lives to teach us the deeper truths of the Christian life, we begin to understand just how much God loves us. His love is so wide that there is not a place on this earth or a situation that we can get ourselves in that He is not already there. It is so long that it we can never deplete it. It is so deep that it can touch the depths of our souls and pull us from the deepest pit. God’s love is so high that it reaches into Heaven itself and it is so deep that it touches the very depths of our souls and can pull us from the deepest pit in which the Devil tries to throw us. The love of God is amazing. Paul prays that we will experience this amazing love, even though it is something that we will never understand this side of Haven.

As a result of this increased understanding of our position in Christ, Paul tells us that we will be able to live a life filled with the power of God. What an incredible promise! We will be so energized that, through the power with which we have been filled, we will be able to do all the things that God has planned for us in this life. Nothing will be beyond our ability to accomplish. That is what God has for those who follow His plan.

Church, where are we in the sequence of God’s plan for us? Are we “filled with life and power”? Maybe we have just begun to experience the love of Christ. Could it be that we have yet to appropriate the “power to understand” the scope of God’s love? If not, have we at least cleaned our house so that Jesus would feel at home in it? Surely we have gotten to the point that we have tapped into the unlimited resources of God to receive the inner strength to start this process. Think about it. Our ability to be the light and salt this world needs depends on our position in God’s plan.

We serve an awesome God!!!!!

Say to wisdom, "You are my sister,"
and call insight your intimate friend,
Proverbs 7:4

Hugs

I come from a long line of huggers. On my Dad's side of the family, hugging was an art form. Everyone had their own technique. When we all got together, you could be sure that you were going to spend a good bit of your time with someone's arms wrapped around you. It always started with Grandma. No one came in the house without a hug from Grandma. As the day progressed, you would get a hug (sometimes many) from everyone there. When you think about the fact that my dad had nine brothers and sisters, and they all had spouses and children – that's a lot of hugs. But – there was one person who was the king of hugs – my Uncle Bunk. His hug would pick you up off of the floor and squeeze the air out of you. That was no mean feat when you consider that most of the men in the family were well over six feet tall and in pretty good shape. When you got your hug from Uncle Bunk, you knew the day was going to be good. You felt loved – and safe.

There is a passage of Scripture in Numbers 11 that talks about the Israelites right after they had left Egypt. They had groaned under the weight of their oppression. The Egyptian Pharaoh had made it his goal in life to keep God's people so beaten down that they would not even have time to think about Him – but God still heard their prayers. He sent Moses to lead His people out of their bondage and into a land that He had prepared for them. When Pharaoh finally sent the Israelites out of Egypt and into freedom, there was much happiness. However, in a short while, the people began to complain.

First of all, they were hungry. Their supplies were running low and God's people started to whine. They didn't take into account the fact that God had just brought them out of slavery – carrying huge amounts of gold and other valuables that the Egyptians had freely given them as going-away gifts. So, God in His infinite love and mercy gave them the food of the angels – manna. This amazing gift was just what they needed to keep their strength up for their journey, but they wanted more. "Where's the beef?" - seemed to be their cry. They wanted meat.

Moses started calculating how much meat it would take to fill 600,000 men and their families. When his computer crashed trying to come up with the numbers, he gave up. It just didn't seem to be possible. Moses and all the people had forgotten one thing – they worshiped the God of the mountain, the all powerful one – El Shaddai. While all of this was going on, God looked down at Moses and said, "Don't you think I can take care of this issue? Haven't I taken care of you all these years? Do you think my arms are too short to reach you now?" (Numbers 11:23 paraphrase). Even while He is being The Almighty God, His arms can still reach down and give us a hug when we need it.

There is something about a hug that can't be measured. Sometimes what we need is a touch so we know that God is there, and He is in control. There are other times when we need to know that we are secure – safe in the arms of a loving God. We need an "Uncle Bunk" hug – one that wraps itself around you and seems to squeeze the breath out of you – but you like it. You like it because you feel protected and you know he is not going to hurt you. When you have had an "Uncle Bunk" hug, it stays with you. You can feel his arms around you for years. So it is with God. When He reaches His arms down to you, you never forget the feeling.

There are a lot of people in need right now. Food banks and pantries are already running low. Those of us who can, need to help as God has given us increase.

There is one thing that we can all give and that is love. Show someone you love them. Give them an "Uncle Bunk hug" and a "God bless you." Let God use you to brighten someone's day or comfort a grieving heart. God can use the simple act of a hug to change lives and brighten days for all eternity.

The Journal

As I sit here, writing these words, I am amazed at the way God works in the lives of His children. I am not a theologian or a Bible scholar – I am a seeker. My goal each day is to draw nearer to Father and deepen my relationship with Him. Likewise, this is not a how-to or a self-help book - it is more a journal. The entries represent time spent in the Word searching for the truths that are promised to everyone who will seek His face.

Most of the thoughts you will find on this site are the result of a passion for worship and the conviction that I needed to better understand what worship is. Some time back, I started playing guitar with the praise band at the church I was then attending. Having performed in several groups before, I thought it would be an easy transition. Very soon, I became aware of the fact that I was part of something I had never before experienced. I felt a sense of wonder at the way God was using the people He had put together for this ministry. It was then I realized that He was sending me back to His Word to understand what worship was all about.

An interesting thing happened as I began to study. Being an analyst by profession, I embarked on a systematic study of all scripture that related to worship and read every book I could find on the subject. Then I said, “OK God – enlighten me.” As you might expect, nothing happened. While I was analyzing the outcome of my endeavors, I started reading the Bible through. To my amazement, the words on the pages started to speak to me in ways I had never experienced. Scriptures I had read since I became a Christian as a child spoke to my heart and I began to understand that worship was not a time and place, but a relationship with the only one worthy of our worship.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I know the One who does. While I am not ashamed of anything on these pages, I realize that these words represent a point in time in my journey. If they can be a source of encouragement, or a challenge to seek a closer walk with Father to anyone who reads them, then to God be all the glory. By the way, if Jesus delays His return, I am happy to say my journey will continue. That is the wonder of walking with Father. There is always more to see and learn.

We serve an AWESOME God!!!!!!!