Daily Light - July 30, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation

and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ..."

Revelation 1:9

I was brought up being told that I had to share. I really didn't mind sharing. I have never been that much of a hoarder. However, to this day there is one thing that I don't like to share, and my family can tell you very quickly what it is. When we have some ice cream in the house, I love to make me a bowl and enjoy it. Ice cream is one of those joys of life that just can't be replaced by anything else. For some reason, though, my ice cream bowl always seems to attract every one. When Susan and I were first married, she tried to just share mine instead of getting her own. I finally told her that I would make her very own bowl if she would just leave mine alone. Then the children came along and would stand around my chair as I would eat my ice cream with their mouths open like baby birds. They know better now. The other night I looked down at my feet and there stood the dog. Of course, she didn't get any. My ice cream bowl is sacred. I will share every thing else, just leave that alone.

In my twisted and strange mind I thought about that when I read this passage. John was saying to the churches that received these letters that they needed to share. What they were going to share was far different than ice cream though. They were sharing with him in three spiritual things. Notice that they were sharing this by relationship (brother) and it seems by choice (companion). John and these churches were identifying together for Christ no matter what it may cost them. They were first sharing in tribulations. Jesus told His disciples that in this world they would face troubles, and they did. Each of them were martyred for the cause of Christ. The early church suffered greatly at the hands of the enemy. Even today many are persecuted for their stand with Christ. We share with them in that suffering through prayer and encouragement not knowing what tomorrow holds for our own lives and the freedoms that we enjoy in our own country. Secondly, John shared with the churches a kingdom. This kingdom is one that is not made with hands. A kingdom is a place of authority and power. It is only as good however as the King. We thankfully serve together the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is supreme and above all, and we share this kingdom with Him and with one another. One day we will rule and reign alongside of Christ, but now we are to have dominion and authority over sin and hell through His name. Thirdly, we share in the hope (patience) of Jesus Christ. We will face tribulations. We do live in anticipation of that great Kingdom to come. However, we do not hope in vain. Our hope is in Christ Who will fulfill each and ever promise He has made. He told us that if it was not so He wouldn't have told us. There is a future destiny for the children of God, and we will share that joy for all eternity. We will live in peace together with Him. There will be no death, sorrow, tears, or parting. Eternity with Christ and all of its joys will be shared with our brothers and sisters and most of all with our mighty and eternal God. Who knows? Maybe by then I will be humble enough to even share my ice cream.

May you share in the joy of hope with your fellow believers today!

Daily Light - July 29, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city.

And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe."

Acts 14:20

I have never had a "near death" experience. My hope is that my first "near death" experience will take place when I am much older and actually "near death." Paul, however, tasted death in a way that many have not known. From other Scriptures many believe that it was during this time that he was given the revelations that he later writes about in one of his letters. Of course, the reason that he was being stoned to the point of death this time was because he was simply preaching the Gospel. The same crowd that at one moment wanted to lift up Paul as a god for performing a miracle now wanted to kill him for preaching the message of Christ. This would be called religious schizophrenia. People really do not know what they want or need; they are just looking for whatever makes them feel good.

While all of that is true, I could not help but focus on Paul's reaction after he was left for dead. Stoning was a cruel and awfully violent way to die. There was almost a science to it. These were no mere pebbles that were thrown at Paul. A person would be violently carried outside the city gates, thrown down, and large rocks with their jagged edges would be hurled at their head and their body. Of course it took several throws on average to exact out the punishment of death. Paul gave every indication that he was dead. As a matter of fact, his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ had already gathered around his body to mourn his death. Suddenly, Paul opened his eyes as best he could; surely they were bloodied and bruised. He stood to his blood stained and dusty feet and walked right back into town.

There is only one word that comes to my mind when I think of this: PERSEVERANCE. God had a purpose for Paul's life, and he was not giving up until it was accomplished. They could leave him for dead, but as long as there was the breath of God in his body he was not going to stay down. How many of us have that same resolve? Remember that God has a purpose for your life as well. Don't give up until it is accomplished. Others may give up on you. They may even set you aside and say that you will never amount to anything. Get up and walk right back into the battle for Christ. Only God knows when He is through with you, and it will be obvious when that day comes. Stand strong and straight. You will get your share of bruises in your lifetime. There will be others that stand around you wondering what could have been. However, don't stay on the ground. Get back up and walk right into the teeth of the enemy with this knowledge: If God is for you, who can be against you?

May you persevere for Christ's sake!

Daily Light - July 28, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"And he said to them, 'Look at me and do likewise;

watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do.'"

Judges 7:17

There is a definite need for spiritual leadership today. This need is literally found in every facet of our lives. Our homes need true leadership. Men need to step up and be the spiritual leaders that God has called them to be. Ladies need to be the examples of godliness for our future generations. Parents need to realize that in order for their children to follow Christ they are going to have to give them a pattern to follow. We need leaders in the church. God gives us each a special role to play in the body of Christ, and we need to take those responsibilities seriously. We need leaders among our young people. Teenagers and college students must recognize that especially in their youth there is a need for them to show others the right way, the way of Christ. We also need spiritual leaders in our places of business. The greatest lessons of ethics are taught in the Word of God, and we must learn them to show those with whom we deal every day how to live like Christ.

Gideon had been given a seemingly impossible task. He had to take an army of 300 men and defeat the mighty Midianites. He and his men were in every way outnumbered. There was no humanly possible way for victory. This is exactly what God intended. When we think of being leaders in this world, it can seem like the task is as great now as it was for Gideon then. I am sure that Gideon was completely overwhelmed. Yet, in our passage above he was telling the men to follow him and do exactly as he did. That sounds pretty confident! Where did this confidence come from? Gideon was following the directions of God, and He knew that God was not going to fail him. Therefore, because he was following God, he could feel confident to tell others to follow him. That is the key to spiritual leadership. Some seem to think that leadership is making all of the decisions yourself and then coercing or demanding people to follow you. That may be the way the world leads, but that is not the pattern that Christ lays out for us in Scripture. We will never become great leaders until we learn to become great followers. Our ability to lead people depends solely on our ability to follow Christ. When we are following the Lord with our heart, soul, and mind, we can then be sure that the direction that we are going is right.

Gideon's 300 did follow him even though his plan seemed wildly absurd. They won the battle in the most incredible fashion. They better than anyone knew that day that Gideon followed God, and they benefited from following God's leader. Be a devoted follower of Christ so that you may spiritually lead others into battle.

May you follow Christ today so that you may lead others tomorrow!

Daily Light - July 27, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Mark 15:34

I was recently reading about the crucifixion of our Lord, and there were so many phrases where I saw His suffering. We often talk about the fact that Jesus has experienced what we have, and therefore He is able to sympathize with us. I began to think about those that have been martyred for Christ and knew that they could relate much better than I could.

There were people who gave false witness against Jesus. Even today in many countries Christians are put on trial, and witnesses appointed by the government or some other group accuse them of things they have never done. I saw where they unmercifully beat Jesus and mocked Him while they did it. Thousands of followers of Christ have endured torturous beatings and have been mocked by even their own family members. Jesus was vehemently denied by one of His closest followers. There have been numerous stories of how Christians stood alone against their accusers and no one would stand with them, because they feared for their own lives. The crowd around Jesus chose a proven criminal to be released to insure His death. Even today there are many that call evil good and good evil. I also read in these accounts of the crucifixion where Jesus breathed His last breath. I once again think of the thousands that have had their lives taken from them simply because they named Jesus Christ as their Savior, Lord, and God.

There is only one thing that none of these martyrs for Christ experienced that Jesus did. When Jesus had on Him all of the sins of the world, the Bible tells us that He became sin for us. At this moment, we are told that the Father turned His back on His Son. This is the evidence that God cannot be acquainted with sin. This is the reason for the great anguish of Jesus in the garden as He prayed. There has never been one believer, one martyr, or one follower of Christ that has been forsaken by God. He promised us that He would never leave us, and He has been faithful. In the cold prison cells, Christians have experienced the presence of God and the joy that has accompanied it. Even while suffering torture, these martyrs have heard the Spirit of God speaking directly to their hearts. While taking their last breaths, these dear saints have seen heaven opened in preparation for their first steps into glory.Jesus has truly experienced for us all things, even that which we will never know. Thankfully, Jesus went to hell and conquered death and the grave. He is now at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. He truly knows what you feel and even more. Praise Him, Jesus our blessed Redeemer!

May you know His everlasting love today!

Daily Light - July 26, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

John 3:30

The word must appears several times in this famous chapter of the Bible. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he "must" be born again. Jesus also says that He, the Son of Man, "must" be lifted up as a sacrifice for the sins of man. This third "must" has a different person speaking. It is now John the Baptist, and he is proclaiming that in his life Jesus must increase, and he must decrease. There is obviously a lesson of true humility in this passage. Humility is not about having a low opinion of myself. It is thinking of others and lifting them up above myself. John is essentially saying that he needs to make more of Jesus.

Does the thought of John the Baptist making more of Jesus stagger you? Think about it for a moment. Even when he was in the womb he was praising the Messiah. He spent most of his life out in the barren wilderness proclaiming that the Messiah was coming and all needed to repent. We often describe him as the man that seemed to resist all of the comforts of this world. I know that if my diet consisted of locusts and wild honey that I would not call that luxury. His clothes were fashionably made of animal skins that he had probably made himself. If anyone knew what it was to humble himself for Christ's sake, it was John the Baptist. Many came out to seem him as simply a spectacle and a side show. He was not respected by the religious elite. I am sure that they considered him as strange as his message of repentance. However, John never backed off of that message. He wasn't preaching to please people. He was preaching to please the Lord that he loved to serve. Even when Jesus came to be baptized by him, instead of embracing the honor and privilege, he saw his unworthiness. How could he baptize the Messiah when he didn't even feel worthy to loose His sandals?

With all of that in mind, this is the man that says he must decrease! When I think of that, how much more must we need to decrease? How great is the need for us to start making more of Jesus? This is not at first something that we do publicly. If you decide to put your humility on public display, I think that you missed the definition of humility. Humility starts in our private relationship with the Lord. We must begin to make more of Him in our personal relationship. It is through our time of prayer and praise that we exalt Him as He is worthy. Once we have learned to naturally exalt Him privately, we will know better how to exalt Him publicly. Don't concentrate on being humble; concentrate on making more of Jesus.

May you decrease today while He increases!

Daily Light - July 23, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one,

I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

John 21:25

The old hymn says to "count your blessings, name them on by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done." Never has there been a more accurate statement. God's blessings on us are numerous. Most of us live each day with blessing upon blessing. We have been so blessed that let's admit it, we have become used to it. Every once in a while God does something over and above what we could have ever imagined, and we are reminded of how incredible He is to us. But, think about it for a second. God gives us all that He does, and there is not a thing that we have that we deserve.

John traveled for 3 and a half years with Jesus. He saw the most astounding of miracles. He was there at the moment that Jesus turned the water into wine. He saw them pour the water in and serve the wine to the master of the feast. I imagine that when the master of the feast proclaimed it to be the best wine he had tasted, a smile slid up John's face because he knew the truth. Surely he thought, "This is the most incredible thing that I have ever seen!" It only became more incredible from there. He personally served the bread and fish to the five thousand. Every time that he went back to Jesus to feed the next row, Jesus smiled into John's doubtful and amazed eyes as He handed him the bread. John was there the day that he saw Jesus weep as He stood at the grave of a friend. Death is irreversible, or so he thought. Even with all of the doubts and objections, Jesus still called Lazarus from his cold, stenchful tomb. John watched as Lazarus came hopping out all wrapped up in the cloth which had prepared him for burial. He knew at this point that nothing was impossible for Jesus, except for maybe His own resurrection. Of course, Jesus proved Himself to John there as well.

As John ends this last of the Gospels written, he recognizes the enormity of what he has seen. There are not enough books and not enough space to contain the power of God. That could be said about each of our lives. God's daily supply is hard to fathom. There are things that you once rejoiced in that you have completely forgotten about. You have become so acquainted with God's blessings that they are just part of the every day now. Let's be reminded of God's power and goodness in our lives. Let's count our blessings one by one and be surprised by what God has done.

May you recognize the hand of God's blessing today!

Daily Light - July 22, 2010

Daily Light from the Lighthouse

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;

for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

Psalm 23:4

Have you ever noticed that it seems that death comes in groups? Often, when I hear about one person passing away there is another one right behind it. Yesterday was that way. I received two phone calls just a couple of hours apart to let me know that people that I know or am acquainted with had passed away. One of them was expected and the other was a complete surprise. Unfortunately most of us have felt the sting of death in our lives. We know today what these families are feeling. However, I also have been told that both of these individuals knew Jesus Christ as their Savior. They both had a personal relationship with Jesus based on what He did for them on the cross of Calvary. Therefore, immediately when they took their last breath, they were absent from this earthly body and in the very presence of the Lord.
The psalmist wrote that we will most definitely walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Have you ever noticed the confidence that he has in walking through this valley? He doesn't see death as a definite end to dread, but instead he calls it merely a shadow. While the thought of the unknown may terrify many, the believer does not live in the unknown. We live with the knowledge that for those who know God there is no fear in death. No evil can overtake me even in death when I am safely in the arms of Jesus. I walk through this valley in His presence. I am simply following Him through a path that He has already foreordained for my life. It is He that protects me from the evil one. It is He that keeps the enemy from snatching at my soul. There is no greater security than knowing that I am safely in His presence even during the most dreaded and fearful day of my life humanly speaking.
John Newton, the writer of Amazing Grace, saw life and death completely different than most. His last words were reported to be: "I am still in the land of the dying; I shall be in the land of the living soon." We of course will weep when we lose a dear saint of God. We will weep more for us than we will for them. They are safe now. They are comforted beyond imagination. They are today in the land of the living.
May you be comforted by the presence of God.