Another shocking tragedy
Yesterday the news was dominated by yet another tragedy. A military man at Ft. Hood, Texas, apparently upset that he was going to be deployed to the Middle East, fired upon men and women, killing 13 and injuring 31. Although Muslim, the man was born in Maryland–he purportedly shouted “Allah is good” before firing upon his fellow soldiers.
I have heard that just as church attendance has waned, people have likewise given up on reading the Bible, calling it irrelevant and too hard to understand. My question is this: where do you go, then, if you don’t have church or the Bible, for support during times such as these?
In John 1:43-51 Jesus continues to gather His disciples. In verse 47 Jesus says of Nathanael, Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false. What a great statement. If there is nothing false within you, it means you have no phony facade, you have no disingenuous nature–you are truth and you speak truth.
How does one incorporate so many falsehoods into his being and his mind, that he could commit such a horrendous act as this man in Ft. Hood? And, even further, how do we protect ourselves from assimilating these similar attributes into our beings?
Again, I say our strength and our shield comes from the Word of God. If we immerse ourselves in God’s word, if we keep His word within our hearts, then how can we possibly have falsehoods within our hearts as well? Proverbs 4: 23 says Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Guard your hearts, fellow Christians, that you may be kept safe from falsehoods in the days ahead.
We have found the Messiah
I read John 1:41 where Andrew tells his brother Simon Peter, “We have found the Messiah,” and I am filled with awe and wonder. Andrew had been a follower of John the Baptist who had identified Jesus as the Lamb of God. Andrew immediately called Jesus Rabbi, which means teacher, and followed Him. Not only did he follow Jesus, he told his brother so that he, too, could become a follower.
Why are we so hesitant in our faith to ask others to join us in this journey of discipleship? Are we afraid of rejection, or of ridicule? Rejection and ridicule should be the least of our worries as we sojourn the pathway of righteousness. There was an urgency in those who followed the Christ when Jesus walked upon the earth. Father, may we feel the same urgency today, 2000 years later. May we be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we have a boldness to declare to others, “We have found the Messiah.”
The voice of one crying in the wilderness
John 1:22-23 says: 22 Finally, they said, Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself. 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of the one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way for the Lord.”
Do you ever feel like yours is the voice crying in the wilderness? Does it seem that the harder you try to make sense of this world, the less you understand, and certainly, the less anyone listens to you?
John had an advantage in that when they asked, Who are you, he replied with the words of the prophet Isaiah, and the Jewish people knew these words because they had committed them to their hearts from their youth. If we had only committed the words of the prophets to our hearts from our youth, and relied on those words instead of our own, perhaps then our words would carry more weight.
John the Baptist was a unique individual in more ways than one.
- He lived a solitary life in the wilderness
- He wore unusual garments
- He had an unusual diet
- He was content being the one who pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ–no jealousy issues
- He recognized that although he came on the scene before Jesus, indeed he was born six months prior to Jesus’ birth, Jesus existed before him (John 1:30)
Why, do you suppose, John lived in the wilderness rather than among his fellow Jews? I believe God sequestered John in the wilderness so that his message would be pure, untainted by the religious thinking of the day. Rather than being educated under the current priestly system which had been corrupted, God set John apart thereby keeping his message pure and unadulterated. John’s message was to repent of your sins, and he baptized with water. Jesus’ message was repentance as well, but He baptized with the Holy Spirit.
May we hear the call of the one crying in the wilderness and repent; indeed, may we sound forth the call to a lost world that Jesus lives, and he lives to take away the sins of the world. Praise be to God.
And the word IS God…
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. John Steinbeck.
I intended to begin my study of John yesterday, but awoke with such a cold all I could do was make it to Sunday School to teach the lesson and then straight back home to sleep, perchance to awaken whole. Didn’t happen, so here we are on Monday, beginning our reading.
John 1:1 begins powerfully: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
If you were raised in church, what is your first memory of Jesus? Songs telling us Jesus loves me this is know and Jesus loves the little children? The baby in the manger? A man with a sheep draped upon his shoulders and children gathered at his feet? My memories incorporated all of above, and certainly, these images and memories are a part of who Jesus is. But to get the whole picture, we must read the book of John prayerfully and carefully.
Do you see what this first verse is saying? The Word (Jesus) was with God at the very beginning. Through Jesus all things were made and in Him was life and that life became the light of man. Light=life. The babe in the manger was not where Jesus began–not at all. Jesus was with God, our father, before the creation of the world, and though He made the world, once He came into the world, the world did not recognize Him.
As a mother, I believe that somehow, if I had been separated from Jonathan at birth we could still recognize each other if reunited years later. He would know my heartbeat, I would know his face. One would think the world would have recognized its creator, yet scripture clearly says it did not.
As a child, I firmly believed if I had walked when Jesus walked I would have known Him. I would have sensed He was God, I would have been uplifted by his words and empowered by His spirit. I would have been drawn to Him as He suffered the little children to come unto Him.
As an adult settling into the latter years of my life, I still believe I would have known Him, because I know Him now in spirit and in truth. I know that He is indeed light and life to all who know Him and accept Him. I know that the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit still sets the captives free. I know He is my redeemer and my redeemer still lives.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, when He could have chosen to remain in Heaven, at the right hand of God the Father, He came to this earth to redeem and restore and to fulfill the law given through Moses, and to become grace personified. We may not have seen God, but through Jesus we can know God.
Can that be the sun???
There is nothing new under the sun.
Seeking Holiness 