light

IT IS EITHER BLACK OR WHITE

Do you feel the days are growing darker spiritually? To some there seems to be a line in the sand that is evident. This line is dividing the darkness from the light. It is becoming increasingly apparent. You are either on one side of the fence or the other.

Others feel that those who are standing for Biblical righteousness are the ones making this divide. If only people would love or be more tolerant. And so instead of a division between the dark and the light, they see the division between those who love and those who judge.

I know God is the embodiment of love. 1 Corinthians 13, states that faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest is love. It also states that if you don’t have love, you are just a clanging cymbal or in some translations a loud gong.

You see the “clanging cymbal” version of Christianity when people throw words of condemnation towards other people in a condescending nature such as toting signs that read: YOU ARE GOING TO HELL. Unfortunately, that is how some people envision Christianity and why many walk the other way. They believe it is full of judgement.

Then there is the other side of the Christian coin that states since God is love we need to accept all lifestyles. We need to embrace our differences and become tolerant.

This is where there is a bit of a gray confusion in the body of Christ. What does God mean by love?

Do we just accept everything, or do we need to interpret the Bible literally? How is a believer to act in these times of change in our society? Are we to make a stand? Or are we simply called to love and accept everything?

What is love anyway?

I love my kids, but I also set boundaries because of that love. I tell them there are rules because I love them. I never allowed my kids to play in the middle of a busy street. Why? Because I KNEW that there was a great possibility that they may get hurt or killed. Seems like common sense, right? But when it comes to boundaries with the Lord, we make so many exceptions.

God sets boundaries, not because he isn’t the God of love but because he IS. He knows that certain lifestyles will lead to death. He knows that certain choices will lead to death. Does he give us our own will? Again, yes. But he longs for us to stay in his boundaries so we can encounter victory.

In John 8 Jesus encounters the woman caught in adultery. He doesn’t condemn her, but he also says, “go and sin no more.” He didn’t accept her lifestyle, he accepted HER.

He was setting boundaries for her benefit.

Jesus would not have endured such a great sacrifice of being tortured, going to the cross, going into the depths of hell to take the keys of sin and death to only say…hey, stay in your sin and don’t worry about the consequences. He did all that BECAUSE he DOES love us.

So, we shouldn’t be a loud gong or cymbal and scream insults. We ARE to walk in love, but a love that shows the truth that sin causes. If only we could see into the spiritual realm to understand the powers that fight for our souls.

The spiritual world is filled with the demonic and the angelic. What we see isn’t all that there is in this life. You don’t just hear this from believers, it is heard from people involved in witchcraft or the occult, as well. There is power in the supernatural, both for good and for evil. Scriptures states that the same POWER that raised Christ from the dead lives in us (those who have accepted him as their Lord and Savior –Romans 8:11)

Wow, that is intense! But most people don’t even touch that part of reality. They are too focused on the reality that is visible, the reality that allows them to enjoy the pleasures of this world.

Yet in II Timothy 3, Paul states in verse 5 that people will have a form of godliness but deny its power. In other words, people would prefer to just be neutral. They may go to church but they don’t live like there is any power in the Holy Spirit. They refuse to even make a stand for righteousness.

If you only live by what you see in the natural, you may not understand the depth of what Jesus did on the cross, or the importance of making wise choices or understand people who stand up for the truth of the word of God.

Go IS love, however he neither flirts with sin nor wants us to walk down that path—BECAUSE of his love.

My prospective?

The days are getting darker, and evil is getting louder. And the divide between right and wrong seems to be getting wider. I do not want to throw out words of hate and condemnation as a clanging cymbal, nor do I believe we should sit quietly by and tolerate sin. God never did.

People’s eternities are in the balance. We need to pray for direction to lead them to truth and hope.

God is full of mercy and grace, yet his love and the sin of death will never be able to live together in perfect harmony.

Where there is darkness, the light becomes so much brighter. The best place for God’s glory to fall is in that darkness, like a seed that is planted in dark soil. It will grow into a strong healthy tree of life.

The days may seem like they are darker.

But: HERE COMES THE SON!

 

There are many emotions that are rocking our world lately. We have seen another shooting in America, another tragedy on our soil. It goes without saying that many different opinions follow these tragedies. This follows the crazy weather patterns that seemed to plague our country last year. And of course the ring of fire that is always sure to bring shaking to our world. We often hear of earthquakes and volcanos in that ring, and recently there has been shaking outside of it. But when I heard that the great legend, Billy Graham passed, I felt that an era had passed and all the other things filling the news suddenly became silent. I meditated on the thought of this man, known as the American Pastor, passing on into eternity. I thought about the great celebration that he was experiencing. Then I began to think what this means for us that are still sojourning in this world.

Does his death represent more than a great man who had succumb to age and illness in this dying world? The Lord tends to use natural circumstances to help us understand spiritual meanings. An example took place during the last plague that the Egyptians encountered. The angel of death passed over the Children of Israel, as well as the Egyptians. But the Children of Israel obeyed the Lord by placing the blood of a spotless lamb on the sides and the tops of their doorframes. (Exodus 12: 12-13) This represented the blood of Christ that would later be shed for our sins.

Then again, during the “last supper” (which was also during the celebration of Passover) Jesus shared a last meal with his disciples. During this time, he demonstrated the suffering he would endure and the blood he would shed for our sins. He expressed that things would be different, a new covenant, a new era.

“After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them. saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying ‘This cup is the NEW covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:17-20

So how is this similar to the death of the American Preacher? In my spirit I feel that a door has closed regarding the way things use to be done regarding spreading the Gospel. Now a new door will be opened regarding sharing the Gospel. In times past great leaders went before us, preaching the gospel and spreading the truth. Many people flocked to these great leaders and came to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Today is a different era. I feel the new era is up to you and me. We are to take the baton, so to speak. We (you and I) are the next great leaders. We may not be in a pulpit preaching salvation to a host of hungry souls, but we are lights in a very dark world. I recently heard someone describe the God-head as three different candles, each with their own flame, but when the candles come together, one flame burns; and how bright that light is! It is also the same with each believer. We all carry the light of Jesus in us, but when we walk as one with our Lord AND one with other believers that light is extremely bright.

There will still be individuals who preach to masses, but I believe the era of “the great evangelist” has been changed to the era of several individuals burning as one light for the world. The message will still be preached throughout the world BUT it is up to YOU; it is up to ME to spread that Gospel.

Lord let us each live as Billy Graham lived, deeply in love with you and eager to spread the Word of God. Wake those up who once were changed by his words. Arise in us with new boldness and joy as we shine the light that you gave us, so that others can see that light and be set free. Amen. Come Lord Jesus!