True Light

There is a car I meet every morning on my way to work. It is an old police car that the driver probably bought at an auction. The insignia, lights, and siren are gone, but the front push bar is still there. Every time I see him my heart jumps a little and my foot lifts off the accelerator out of instinct. As soon as I realize it is him, I breathe a sigh of relief and motor on. He’s not trying to pretend to be a police officer, but he sure gives the initial impression of one.
Paul warned the Christians in Corinth about false prophets and teachers. He was concerned that they were listening to those who were preaching “a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached to you: (2 Cor 11:4). They were being fooled and falling away from Christ. He said these teachers were “false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostle of Christ” (v. 13). And behind it all was the devil himself: “satan, [who] masquerades as an angel of light” (v. 14).
What is satan’s M.O.? He knows that most people will turn away from total darkness, but they are also afraid to live in the bright, holy light of God. But they will happily live in the “almost” light – as long as they can see what they want to see. The almost light fools people into believing that since they are not in darkness they are good enough. They don’t steal, they don’t kill, they don’t tell big, whopping lies, they don’t (openly) hate their neighbor. They pay their taxes, feed their kids, drive (close to) the speed limit, and let the dog inside when it’s raining. They might even go to church on Easter and Mother’s Day. They are good people. The almost light is good enough.
But the Bible says that being good isn’t good enough. John said “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jn1:5). Not even a trace. He is pure light. Holy light. The kind of light that hurts your eye if you’re used to the almost light. In fact, Paul said “[God] lives in unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16). Unless you are in Christ. Because Christ makes us holy. Christ makes us “sons [and daughters] of the light” (1 Thess 5:5).
Beloved, if you are a believer, if Jesus has brought you out of darkness then you are a child of the true and holy Light. Don’t listen to the fakes and don’t settle for anything less.

Identity

“Who am I?” “What is my identity?” Identity is the big push in our culture. But that’s nothing new. In the sixties wives and mothers were walking away from their families to “discover myself.” As psychology took a firm grip in the seventies, “knowing ourselves” became the cultural cry. I’m not sure we ever discovered anything worthwhile, we just turned all of our attention inward and brooded.
But identity is not entirely a bad thing. I believe it is important to understand who we are. Identity that recognizes one’s gifts and talents can encourage a lifelong goal. I was advised years ago by a wise friend to consider myself a writer and it spurred me to take writing seriously. We encourage Joy to think of herself as a dancer, a worship leader, or a preacher as she shows interest in all of those things. Yesterday she was a circus performer doing tricks on her trapeze. She is at that fun stage of self-discovery.
But identity has also become sorely twisted by the world as many allow sexuality or fantasy to shape who they are. Men choose to identify as women and women choose to identify as men – or as neither. High school students are identifying as animals. “This is who I am! You must accept me and accommodate me in my identity!” Worst of all, laws are being enacted demanding that the rest of us go along with their delusions.
The church is no exception. “Who I am in Christ” is a major theme in religious circles. It permeates popular Christian music and studies. It is big business for producers of kitschy Christian wall art, coffee cups, and t-shirts. Mind you, it’s not a bad thing for us to recognize that we are loved, saved, redeemed, chosen, blood-bought children of God. It really does give us Joy and hope and peace. As long as we remember why we are who we are.
I am loved because “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16). I am saved because the name of Jesus has power to save (Acts 4:12). I am redeemed because God is merciful (Rom 9:16). I am chosen because the Lord is gracious (Eph 1:11). I am a child of God because He claimed me as His own (1 Jn 3:1). I know who I am in Christ because my identity is Him. Don’t look within to find your identity. Look to the One who claimed you and saved you and made you His own. That, Beloved, is who you are.

Doctrines of the Faith: The Spirit in You

he Holy Spirit is one of the least-known persons of the Holy Trinity. He is not as “visible” in the Scriptures, but He is all over the scenes and people of the Bible. We know He works continually to advance the Kingdom of God in the world. But how does He work in the believer? Here is a very small sampling.

The Spirit enables us to know the truth about God.  1 John 5:6 says, “It is the Spirit who bears witness because the Spirit is truth.”  The Spirit is the conduit of Truth. He imparts truth and opens our hearts and minds to receive it.

The Spirit enables us to serve God. Paul said,  “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord works all of them in all men” (1 Cor 12:4-6). The good works we do for God are initiated by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit, and brought to completion by the Spirit. 

The Spirit is the evidence that we belong to Christ.  John declared, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.” (1 John 4:2, 15). The Spirit also produces fruit in our lives which is further evidence that we belong to Christ.  “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).  These fruits reflect the character of God and are only possible when we are surrendered to Christ and filled with His Spirit.

The Spirit is our Teacher:  “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26). He instructs us as we study the Scriptures and helps us put into practice what we’ve learned.

The Spirit is our “prayer partner.” He prays for us when we cannot pray for ourselves: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express,” (Rom 8:26). I have depended on the Spirit so many times when I couldn’t find the words to express my heart.

The Holy Spirit is vital for the Christian.  In fact, if you do not have the Spirit you are not a Christian (Rom 8:9). Beloved, you can’t do this Christian life without Him. Thankfully you will never have to.

If the Truth Offends . . .

According to Scripture, my job as a Bible teacher is to make you mad. My brothers will tell you I’ve been practicing for this my whole life. The writer of Hebrews said, “Let us spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (10:24). The word “spur” means “to incite, irritate, or provoke” and it comes from a root word that suggests a sharp disagreement. “But wait a minute,” you say, “I thought we were supposed to always get along and be at peace with one another.” We are. But sometimes peace requires confrontation. The church suffers greatly because we are not willing to confront uncomfortable issues like what a Christian should look like. The writer pointed to two specific things: Love and good deeds.
Jesus said that love would be the distinguishing mark of His followers (John 13:35), and His Apostle John went a step further (on someone’s toes) and said if you don’t love fellow believers in Christ, that’s a good indication that you are not in Christ (1 John 2:9-11). Love is non-negotiable for the Christian.
We are also called to do good deeds. Paul said that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). But James said that faith without works is dead (James 2:17). Who’s right here? Both. Salvation comes by faith in the grace of God and is evidenced by good works. No, you don’t have to go to Calcutta and join Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity to prove that you are a Christian. Simple acts of love, kindness, gentleness, and compassion are good fruit in the believer’s life. Hate, harshness, rudeness, and indifference are evidence that one is not a Christ-follower. If there’s no good fruit there is no root in Christ.
Love and good deeds are the identifying marks of the Christian. If they are absent, then Christ is not present. If that makes you mad then take it up with God – He’s the one who said it first, not me. Also, you might need to re-examine your relationship with Him.
The writer of wisdom said, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (Prov 27:17). Sharpening iron involves rubbing it with an abrasive stone to grind the edge. Sometimes we need kind words and other times we need a gritty whetstone. I’m called to give you both, Beloved. I love you too much to not tell you the whole truth – in love – even if it makes you mad.

The Command of Love

I’m looking at the “Love Chapter” – 1 Corinthians 13 – Paul’s discourse on all things love. I realize that love, as the Bible defines it, is not something we are to seek – it is something we are to give. It is something we do, not something we demand. I cannot find one verse in all the Bible that tells me to spend my life looking for love. What I find is Jesus saying, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12). Did you know that this is the only time in the Gospels that Jesus prefaces His words with “This is my command . . .”? He said it two more times – in John 13:34 and 15:17. I believe He means it.
I’m reading Paul’s words and weighing my actions this week against them.
“Love is patient . . .” Well, I blew that one. Multiple times.
“Love is kind . . .” Not as much as I should have been.
“It does not envy . . .” Um, maybe I should stay off Facebook.
“It does not boast . . .” I got this one – I am proud of how humble I am!
“It is not rude . . .” I am a Southern woman; we are not rude – but we can be quite insistent.
“It is not self-seeking . . .” Sometimes we have to look out for ourselves, at least that is what modern psychology says, right?
“It is not easily angered . . .” Well, this is getting uncomfortable.
“It keeps no record of wrong . . .” Sigh.
“It does not delight in evil . . .” Whew! Finally, one I can claim.
“But rejoices with the truth . . .” Sometimes the truth is a bitter pill to swallow.
“It always protects . . .” I do try to be a protector.
“Always trusts . . .” Ouch.
“Always hopes . . .” Lord, forgive me.
“Always perseveres . . .” I got nothing.
I clearly have a long way to go. But I found some good news. John wrote “Let us love one another, for love comes from God. We know and rely on the love God has for us” (1 Jn 4:7, 16). This is the only way we can obey Christ’s command. The love that Paul endorsed is holy, enduring, perfect love that comes from God alone through His Holy Spirit. When we are filled with God’s love first we become a conduit and it changes our hearts as it flows through us to others. And that, Beloved, is the kind of love that never fails.

Take What God Has Given You

“Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess” (Numbers 33:53). This was God’s word to the Israelites when they came to the edge of the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the wilderness. They were about to take possession of the territory that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob long ago – land was already inhabited by powerful people who would not surrender without a fight. The Israelites would have to go in and take what God had given to them.
The Holy Spirit nudged my heart, “What has God given to you that you need to take possession of?” Let’s see what the Scripture says.
This past year has been full of turmoil and anxiety for me. But Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27). That means I don’t have to search for His peace, He had already given it to me.
I confess that I have said, “I don’t think I can do what You expect of me. It’s too hard.” But His Word says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness” (2 Pet 1:3). God has prepared us for life in His Son.
I have always tended to be melancholy – I don’t naturally “bubble over,” but Jesus has given me Joy – His Joy. He said, “My Joy may be in you . . . that your Joy may be complete” (Jn 15:11). And He told the Father that we have been given “the full measure of [His] Joy” (Jn 17:13).
“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” (Jn 15:9). From Genesis to Revelation the Bible speaks of God’s unfailing, abiding, lavish love which He freely gives to you and me.
“I have given them your word” (Jn 17:14). Jesus came to earth as the Word of God made flesh (Jn 1:14) so that we could know God’s heart.
“I have given them the glory that You gave me” (Jn 17:22). Read it again. This is incredible! Jesus has given you and me His very own glory. He has exalted us in Him before the Father.
And this is the greatest gift of all – “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son” (1 Jn 5:11). Words fail me. It is too wonderful for my finite mind.
All of these are ours in Christ. Not just will be. Are. But we must lay hold of what has already been decreed for us as God’s children. Beloved, it’s time to take what belongs to you by God’s grace and favor.

Before and After

Some time ago I ran across some old photos of myself. I laid them out in the progression of ages from about 3 to my high school years, watching myself grow taller, with a variety of hairstyles and some very strange fashion sense. I saw something else. Somewhere between 10 and 18, the girl in those photos took on a dark demeanor and I remembered my past – things that had been done to me, and things I did to myself. Glancing up into the mirror on my dresser, I thought about how much I physically looked like the girl in the pictures, but I no longer recognized those dark eyes. I heard a whisper in my heart, “That is because that’s not who you are anymore. Then you were a victim and a rebel. Now you are Mine.”
In Ephesians 5:8, Paul wrote, “You were once darkness . . .” Then he gives the contrast: “. . . but now you are light in the Lord.” He was using words to paint a before and after portrait.
One of Satan’s favorite ploys is to assault us with our past, to tell us that we will always be who we were and there is no point in trying to resist those old familiar sins. “You know deep down, you still want it. You haven’t changed. You are bound to your past. You are bound to your sin.” But if you belong to Jesus Christ, you are free from your past. You are a child of light, purified from all your sins (1 John 1: 7). Where you were once held captive to sin, you are now bound up in God’s love. You have the power to say no to sin.
In Philippians 3:13, Paul gave the secret to walking in our new identity: “One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on…” We can forget what is behind us because “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Ps 103:12)”
Beloved, I want so much for you to understand that because Jesus Christ has completely removed all your transgressions; you are a new creation in Christ, no longer bound to a painful, sinful past or those dark desires. You have light in your eyes, and God’s love shines on your face. Because you are not who you once were. Now you are His.

All About Love

Love. Paul called it “the most excellent way” (1 Cor 12:31). It is also the most demanding.
1 Corinthians 13 is all about love. When we consider this chapter, we tend to go right for the “Love is patient, love is kind . . .” (v. 4f) and it is good to know what love looks like in action But verses 1-3 hold the core truth: the greatest spiritual gift requires the greatest degree of humility. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
Paul shines the spotlight on the most Christ-like behavior we can convey: self-sacrifice. He declares that giving ourselves to others is the ultimate expression of love. Jesus was the flesh-and-blood example of perfect, holy, eternal love because His motivation was perfect, holy, eternal love. In contrast to Jesus’ sacrifice, Paul warns us that if we surrender all that we have, including our very lives, but are not motivated by love, our actions gain us nothing of eternal significance. But oh, how we will be remembered in history.
Love and humility are the twin sisters of Christian discipleship – you cannot have one without the other. Jesus gives us the perfect example in John 13:1-5, as he humbled Himself to wash His disciples’ nasty feet. Verse 1b says: “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them with a perfect love to the end” (NASB).
I want to love with as near to “a perfect love” as is humanly possible. But that’s the problem – it’s not “humanly possible.” So how do I do the impossible? John said, “We know and rely on the love God has for us” (1 John 4:16). I can only love like Christ if I allow God’s love to flow through me to those around me. That’s why anything done for the sake of appearance is “a resounding gong or a clanging symbol.” It’s a lot of attention-grabbing noise – but it’s not love. And if it’s not love, it’s nothing.

Advent 2023: Christmas is . . .

Despite what my family and friends claim, I love Christmas. I just don’t like what Christmas has become. Beautiful Christmas hymns give way to the ka-ching of the cash register. With all the nicely wrapped boxes, there’s no space left for the manger and the baby under our festively decorated trees. “Merry Christmas” is for sale on blankets, dishes, doormats, toilet seat covers, and ugly sweaters. Every celebrity offers their version of “songs of the season,” delivered in over-produced T.V specials. And do not get me started on cheesy “Christmas” movies. The entertainment industry has done a good job of redefining Christmas for us. Ask most people what Christmas means and the answers are usually:
“Christmas is about caring.”
“Christmas is about sharing.”
“Christmas is about family.”
Christmas, according to the secular world, is about very different things than the biblical story.
Or is it? Maybe that’s good common ground for telling the true Christmas story.
Christmas is about a God who cared enough about His lost creation to offer a rescue plan that would cost His One and Only Son His very life (John 3:16).
Christmas is about Jesus Christ who was obedient to the Father’s will to share His glory with once-sinful men (John 17:22).
Christmas is about the Father in heaven lavishing His love on us and adopting us into His family “that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
For all the ways that we identify Christmas, it always comes back to the Baby in a manger. But we must also look ahead to see to rest of this Baby’s life. We must see the Man on the Cross, otherwise, the story is incomplete – and that is where the culture misses the heart and soul of Christmas. This Baby came to die, otherwise we are without hope. The wise teacher had to go to the grave, else His great words have no power for us. His greatest miracle was more than healing broken bodies and casting out demons, it was rising three days after His last breath.
Beloved, when you tell the Christmas story about a God who cared and shared and calls us His own – be sure to tell the whole story about how He accomplished it all. Tell them that Christmas means more than trees and presents and bad Christmas movies. Christmas means life, forgiveness, and eternity. Above all, Christmas means love.

Advent 2023 – Christmas Wish List

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
What do you want for Christmas? Jewelry? Clothes? Something for your house? A car or a cruise might top your list. How about a Red Ryder carbine-action two-hundred-shot range model air rifle? (Say it with me: “You’ll shoot your eye out!”) When I was a kid all I wanted was paper and pencils. Or you might prefer the one-size-fits-all cash gift. Then again – maybe your Christmas list is less tangible – something that can’t be wrapped up and put under the tree.
If you wish for peace, Jesus said “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). Peace in our hearts only comes through Jesus Christ. Maybe you’ve lost your Joy. David wrote, “You will fill me with joy in Your presence” (Psalm 16:11). Joy is found in Immanuel – the God who is with us. If you need hope this Christmas, hear God’s words in Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” In the Lord’s hands, we have hope – for this life and for all eternity. Do you wish for love? “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God” (1 John 3:1). Not just a little, not even a “bushel and a peck,’” but poured out on you lavishly, without measure and overflowing. If freedom tops your list you can find release – the Psalmist says “O Lord, truly I am your servant . . . You have freed me from my chains” (Psalm 116:16). The blood of Jesus breaks the chains of this world. Maybe you just want a little rest this Christmas. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Just sink back into His arms and let Him carry your burdens and you.
Whatever you long for this Christmas, you can find it in Jesus. There is nothing on your list that He cannot provide. He is the greatest Gift of all and your heart’s deepest longing. This gift is more precious than jewelry, toys, or clothes wrapped in paper and ribbons. He is peace, joy, hope, and love wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.