Lightning Bugs
Thank You, Father, for Your presence at our worship services today. Prayer is a powerful tool that You encourage us to take full advantage of. May our prayers be based on Your will for our lives. Amen.
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Prior to going to bed the last few nights we have heard fireworks going off. For the most part, we can’t see them in that we have trees on three sides of the house. But as the night has settled and the revelers have as well, I have the privilege of seeing numerous lights lighting up the darkness. They are lightning bugs! Or some call them fireflies.
Throughout a good part of the summer, I have my own personal light show lying in bed looking out my window. They may not be big but they are flashy!
As I read up on them a little, I discovered that they are very energy efficient. No man-made light source can claim to be entirely energy efficient, but a firefly’s glowing tail uses 100% of the energy it produces to emit light. By comparison, the average incandescent lightbulb releases 90% of its energy as heat and 10% as light.
Wouldn’t that be a great goal for us? In Matthew 5:14-16 (AMP) Jesus proclaims,
“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.
We are the “light of [Christ] to the world”! But if we truly examine ourselves, how efficient are we? Oft times the light we give off is weak. Other times aspects of our personalities – anger, greed, selfishness, laziness – can detract from the light we show. That “heat” can negatively impact those seeking out God’s light. We overshadow what they need to find!
Lord Jesus, help us to spend more and more time with You so that we can become more and more efficient in putting forth Your light. As John the Baptist is quoted as saying in John 3:30 (NLT), He [that is Jesus] must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. Amen!
(By the way, if you’d like to see a closeup of a lightning bug in flight click here – I never realized that they looked this amazing!)
July 7th, 2019, 3:05 pm
A Starting Point
Father, not many give You credit these days, and even though we have lost our way on many fronts, I give You praise for all You have enabled our country to do to bring honor and glory to Your Name and Kingdom. We were who we were because Your hand was with us. May we once again humbly bow before You. Amen.
Mark 12:28-34 (<<click to read the passage)
We have this awful tendency to make everything so extremely complicated but in reality…it’s not that difficult. My Life Application Study Bible says that “by Jesus’ time, the Jews had accumulated hundreds of laws – 613 by one historian’s count.”
That’s a lot with which to keep up! And the religious leaders of His day didn’t just expect scholarly types to abide by them but everyone who considered themselves a Jew was to abide by them, as well!
Many today struggle trying to be good enough. Countless followers of Christ diligently work at keeping all their “do good” plates spinning – they don’t dare let any fall! Numerous individuals outside the Body of Christ, don’t even try – too many dos and don’ts, too much to keep track of. They just feel like they would never be able to rack up enough “good” points to balance out all the “bad” points they’ve accrued over the entirety of their lives.
We make it complicated but…it’s not that difficult.
Jesus, our Lord, and Savior, when asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” (v28b) basically condensed all the dos and don’ts to four words – love God and love others. Now it’s a challenge to flesh those four words out but it’s is by no means undoable.
First of all, He accepts us right where we are – no self-improvements required. He loves us. He knows us. He totally understands us. (He did make us, after all!) That, in itself, gives us a starting point to love Him! And that then gives us a great starting point to love others!
Here is what the Amplified Bible footnote has to say about love:
The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.
If we apply this concept to our love for God and others, everything else falls into place. Let’s get to lovin’!
July 4th, 2019, Thurs, 9:49 pm
Insatiable Desire
What a storm we had last night! And Father Your glory was mightily displayed! Lightning blazed throughout the clouds – what a sight to behold! We also had enough rain to fill our rain gauge – 5 inches! We’ve never seen that at home before. It was pretty crazy but not a lot of damage and nothing that can’t be fixed. Thank You for Your watchcare over us through the night!
Mark 12:18-27 (<<click to read the passage)
I AM…not I WAS!
One of the greatest travesties of our world is that so many don’t think twice about there being a God. For many, they are a god unto ourselves with the mindset that if they get anywhere in this life it is up to them. There is no need for any supreme being! …or so they think!
But look at where that has gotten us! Our world is replete with violence and hate. We have the mentality that we have to look out for number one – and that is us! Now, of course, some don’t live their lives that way but in the big picture many more care only for themselves and if they can get away with it, they don’t care for anyone else.
Unfortunately, even amongst those who hold themselves to be followers of Christ this mindset is rampant. “I’ll go to church. I’ll give enough to say I’ve given. But don’t expect anything else! I’m busy. There are more important things that I need to accomplish than this…this…stuff!”
We live as though we follow a God who WAS…
I proclaim today that the only way He is a God who WAS, is if He used to mean something to us…but does so no longer. We follow, and do so reluctantly, with the sole purpose of using our “relationship” (if we can even really call it that) as a “get out of Hell free” card.
But truly, truly I say to you, He most assuredly is an I AM God! He is a vibrant, living God who is all out for us! He yearns for us to love Him, for he most assuredly loves us! He will never make us love Him or guilt us into loving Him. His love is genuine and ours must be as well.
And regrettably, that is a big part of the world’s problem! We don’t live the reality of having a relationship – a real relationship – with the I AM God. The Old Testament prophet Joel proclaimed, “But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Joel 2:32)
That is a statement of truth but the Apostle Paul asks in Romans 10:14,
But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?
Lord Jesus, help us take to heart that You are the I AM God! Give us an insatiable desire to tell this Good News so the world may hear, that they may believe and be saved when they call on Your name! Amen!
July 3rd, 2019, Wed, 6:38 pm
Prevailing Patience
A psalm to end the day,
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. Psalm 9:1
Mark 12:13-17 (<<click to read the passage)
Patience…long-suffering… aren’t we all glad that God has these character traits? Once more the Pharisees come to Jesus in yet another doomed attempt to trip Him up. Can’t you seem Him just shaking his head? Here we go again…will they never learn?
They may have been a hopeless lot but honestly, I don’t believe that Jesus ever gave up on the religious leaders. Even though they were determined to get rid of Him, He still loved them. Even when He laid into them for their arrogant behavior, I don’t think He had lost patience with them so much as He was trying to get it through their thick skulls what was at stake. He loved them…no doubt about it.
Lord Jesus, my finite mind cannot begin to count the times You’ve shaken Your head at me. But time after time, your long-suffering prevails. Your undeserved grace is extended. Your unearned mercy is generously given out. And forgiveness – not the “lets-see-if-you-can-do better-next-time” type of forgiveness – but the He has removed our sins from us “as-far-as-the-east-is-from-the-west” kind of forgiveness (Psalm 103:12).
Humbling, isn’t it?
And even more so, when we think of all the people we don’t like – or dare I even say hate? People who don’t believe as we do, who don’t act as we do, who say and think things which we wouldn’t – all of “those” people…Jesus loves them, too. The long-suffering prevails, the grace is extended, the mercy is there to be given out. And no matter what, if they – as we – would turn from their rebellious ways, He would remove their sins with the “as-far-as-the-east-is-from-the-west” kind of forgiveness, too.
Lord Jesus, help me to be humbly grateful for what is given to me by Your almighty hand. May I be grateful that it is not the back of Your hand across my face but it is an extended hand to gently see me back on the narrow way once more. Thank You…
July 2nd, 2019, Tues, 8:50 pm
Cornerstone
Father, there are so many things for which to be thankful. It is way too easy to complain about life’s inconveniences but we are abundantly blessed. Help us to curtail our grumbling. May we find ample reason to bring glory to You each and every day for you are worthy to be praised! Amen.
Mark 12:1-12 (<<click to read the passage)
Wikipedia states: “The cornerstone…is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.”
My Life Application Study Bible also says, “The cornerstone was used as a base to make sure the other stones of the building were straight and level.”
What do we build our lives upon? Many of us do the best we can with what we have. We build on what our parents taught us or what we have learned from the “school of hard knocks”. We quite often get by with what many would consider a healthy dose of common sense. But my sermon this past Sunday dealt with the issue of common sense being a poor foundation to build upon. We must not forge ahead in our own understanding.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
The only way we will make the best – not just “good enough” – life decisions, is to trust in the Lord’s direction. And to do so we must build upon Him as our sure foundation. That is the only way we can be assured that we are straight and level.
Jesus may be rejected by many but read once more the verse quoted by Jesus Himself from Psalm 118:22-23 (NLT),
The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
Writing of Jesus our Cornerstone brought a song to mind (surprise!) – back when I was in high school it was pretty popular. Here are the lyrics for the song Cornerstone. May we cling to the truths found in these words. (Also, here is a nice rendition sung by a youth choir – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLd_I4mmpno)
Jesus is the cornerstone
Came for sinners to atone
Though rejected by His own
He became the cornerstone
Jesus is the cornerstone
When I am by sin oppressed
In the stone, I am at rest
When the seeds of truth are sown
He remains the cornerstone
Jesus is the cornerstone
Rock of Ages, cleft for me
Let me hide myself in Thee
Rock of Ages so secure
For all time it shall endure
‘Til His children reach their home
He remains the cornerstone
‘Til the breaking of the dawn
‘Til all footsteps cease to roam
Ever let this truth be known
Jesus is the cornerstone
The words and music of Cornerstone were penned by Lari Goss in 1976 © 1976 Bridge Building Music, Inc.
July 1st, 2019, Mon, 10:11 pm