So... PEACE!

One of the most difficult things that I have had to deal with since my sweet wife passed away back in September of 2018 is the absence of her comforting presence.  I wouldn’t even dare to try and count the number of times, since her heavenly homegoing, when I have been dealing with the pressures of life and in exacerbation called out:

“Oh Piper, I could sure use a hug about now!”

Those patented Piper hugs, smiles, words of encouragement or the simple act of taking my hand in hers always brought an instant calm, clarity and an over-powering PEACE into me and the situation in which I was working through.  But since then… well… I’ve struggled to find other sources from which I can find personal comfort, clarity and PEACE when needed in my life.

My Go-To (combined with Piper’s input and physical touch) was always the Word of God.  Following that would be our children and other family members… but to be perfectly honest… Piper and I had developed such a oneness in our relationship, that I always felt that I could share ANYTHING with her in confidence, without judgement, question or embarrassment… but I am not (yet) at that level of intimate trust with anyone else… so there are certain feelings, thoughts, questions and dreams that I keep inside and cannot share.

But I received a fresh revelation when I was studying the Word earlier this week, that opened up a whole new level of understanding into the operation of the PEACE of God in the life of every Christian… including both you and me!  If you remember last week’s blog post,* we discussed how the Apostle Paul encouraged his young protégé Timothy, in the daily leadership of the church at Ephesus, to:

“Stir up, fan into a flame and rekindle the fire of the spiritual GIFT God imparted to you when I laid my hands upon you.” (2 Timothy 1:6 KJV/TPT)

And as I continued to study this verse during the week, I learned upon researching the Greek work translated “GIFT”, that many Bible scholars comment on how that word actually refers to ALL the spiritual GIFTS.**

OKAY… So what?  Well… in the midst of my mediations upon this insight, I felt a leading to turn to Jesus’ introduction and discussion on the work of the Holy Spirit as found in John 14:15-31 when Jesus declared,

“I leave the GIFT of PEACE with you—my PEACE Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my PERFECT PEACE. So, don’t (allow yourselves to) yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous!” (John 14:27 TPT - my personal parenthesis) 

And that’s when the spotlight went on in me!  After I read that instruction by Jesus, I immediately sat back in my desk chair and verbally declared:

“I have never seen that before… GRACE is actually a GIFT given to us by Jesus Himself!”

So… When I combine that instruction with Paul’s instructions to Timothy, that are still viable to us today, … I understood that God’s gift of PEACE is also one of the GIFTS that we can… and are commanded to “STIR UP, FAN INTO FLAME and REKINDLE” within us as well as into the situations of our daily lives!

Now, there are other common Bible translations that omit the word “GIFT” in John 14:27, but it is clearly inferred in the definition of the original Greek word “GIVE” as used in the King James Version of this scripture. (See: Thayer’s Greek Definitions).

So… What does that mean to you and me?

It means that we don’t always have to look for or be dependent on other people to bring comfort and PEACE into our lives.  I’m not saying that it is wrong to seek other people’s input in our lives… but there are many times and places where their assistance is just not accessible… but as a Christian, the GIFT of God’s PEACE is always available to you and me!

But… as with any other GIFT given to us, it is UP TO US to open it up, to turn it on, learn how to use it and then keep it in good working order.  After Piper and I bought our new home in North Carolina, I bought her a Bulova Pendulum Chiming Regulator Wall Clock as a sort of house warming GIFT.  We had admired these kinds of clocks for years, so I knew that she (and I) would thoroughly enjoy it.

Now, every time I look at that clock, prominently hanging in my living room, I think about Piper and the smile it brought to her face whenever she looked at it or listened to the Westminster chimes ringing on the hour throughout the day.  And even though we have had that clock over eight years now… I still have to pull up the online instructions twice a year to remind me how to change the time and reset the chimes when we spring ahead or fall back, depending on the season at hand.  Then a few months back, I had to change one set of batteries when the chimes went silent.

So… What’s my point?  In order to fully enjoy the benefits of the GIFT, I need to perform regular upkeep, refresh the different batteries as needed and adjust the volume or the tune if need be.

Well… the same can be said for the GIFT of PEACE that Jesus has given to us.  Just because we have it in us… doesn’t mean that it is automatically going to work when we need it to.  No, we have to keep it refreshed and in in good working order and then activate its power in our lives by our verbal praises, worship and obedience to the directions written down in God’s Owner’s Manual… The Word of God!

So… If you want to know why Jesus gave you and me His GIFT of PEACE?  Well then… Here’s a little bit of homework… Take out your Bible and look up John 16:33 for that answer!

With the CHRISTMAS season coming upon us, we will be talking some more about God’s GIFT of PEACE… for after all… Jesus is called The Prince of PEACE!

So… Have a peaceful weekend as you begin to STIR UP the GIFT of PEACE that Jesus has given us!  It is such a great GIFT that you are going to want to practice STIRRING IT UP every day!

Be Blessed!

 

* https://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2024/11/fanning-fire.html

**John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible; Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible

Fanning the Fire

I used to barbeque a lot beginning with our old, single grate, vintage Hibachi grill that Piper and I used at college for our monthly picnic at the park and at our first apartment after we got married.  From there we upgraded to a portable Weber Smoky Joe, then a full-sized Weber grill and in the later years, had a Komodo ceramic grill given to us, which I really enjoyed cooking on!  Eventually we graduated to a Weber gas grill… but you know?  I always preferred the flavor that the charcoal grills gave the finished meats we cooked.

Today I have many fond memories of me using a folded newspaper in order to fan the hot coals into a flame as I waited for just the right moment to add the chicken, steak, turkey or whatever other meats I was going to cook that day.  I learned the hard way that it was far safer to fan the coals instead of taking a shortcut and squirting a little stream of charcoal fluid onto the hot brickettes… having singed eyebrows and beard for a few days was more than just a little embarrassing… and it could have been much worse!

I had to smile this morning as I studied from the Biblical book of 2 Timothy and read some of the specific words of encouragement that the seasoned preacher Paul gave to his young protégé Timothy, in the face of the despondency that the rookie pastor was experiencing within his new leadership role with the church at Ephesus in Asia Minor.

I found it easier to understand Paul’s directions today if I switched the order of 2 Timothy 1:6-7 and read it like this…

(7) “For God did not give us a character (ie; a spirit) of insecurity, doubt and fear, but a mind and character (ie; a spirit) of confidence, power in the truth, love and self control.

(6) “And so, I therefore encourage you to stir up and FAN INTO FLAME, and rekindle the fire of the gift(s) that God gave you when I laid hands on you.  And then to exercise, develop and expand those gifts by the regular practice of them in your daily life.”*

I think the example of fanning the coals on a BBQ makes a very appropriate comparison to that of us Christians fanning the flames of the gifts of God in us, don’t you?  I can remember plenty times over the years when I stacked up the brickettes, soaked them in lighter fluid, or more often, stacked them within a charcoal chimney starter with paper stuffed in the bottom, lit it up and then got distracted by working around the yard… only to discover a while later that the fire had gone out and the briquettes were still cold!

Anybody else ever experience that… or am I the only one?

Over the years, I likewise saw people once active in the church and on fire for the things of God, slowly lose the personal excitement and the growth of their faith and then… drift away when they discovered that the red-hot fire in their hearts for God… had gone out.

I’ve also felt the sense of personal loss, when Piper and I reached out to these folks and spent a lot of time helping them to stir up the embers of that fire that once gave then the joy and strength of the Lord to victoriously overcome the various challenges in life that they faced… only to see them give up, throw in the towel… and walk away from their faith.

That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul didn’t want to happen with his close friend who had many God-given gifts and a special call of his life.  It is also exactly what I don’t want to happen to any of you who read this post today.  Each of you have been given a unique set of gifts and have a special call on your lives… So it is of utmost importance that you don’t allow the fire of your faith on the inside of you to grow cold.

So… don’t take any shortcuts like I did with a quickly added squirt of lighter fluid which ended up with singed facial hairs (& if I remember correctly, it didn’t smell very good either!)… but take the time to physically fan the fire on the inside of you… put there by God Himself when you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord… and dedicate yourself to stay active and involved with the purposes and plans of God in yours and your family’s life.

I hope that you are having a terrific weekend wherever you may abide today.  We woke up to a gorgeous blue skied day… which was a Godsend for us as it was a bit dark and dreary and POURED pretty much all day and night yesterday!  We were under a Flood Warning most of the time up to midnight. 

But through it all, we kept fanning the fire of faith and were comforted in knowing that… God keeps a watchful eye over His beloved kids!

 

 

*Personalized combination of 2 Timothy 1:7 & 6 from the King James Version, The Passion Translation and The Remedy Bible.

The Classic War of Words

I got to thinking last night as I sat down before dinner to catch a few moments of my favorite news-talk cable TV program.  The panel was discussing the upcoming presidential election and were showing different clips from speeches that both candidates had made during the last full week before the election.  The thing that got my attention that I leaned over and told my dog, who was laying on the floor near the kitchen patiently awaiting his dinner, was that this election has become a Classic War of Words.

But… at least to me… there is a distinct difference in the way the words are carried to their perspective audiences.  One side seems to be appealing to the listeners emotions while the other repeatedly appeals to the listeners sense of logic. 

The emotional side looks to be focusing their final presentations on a message of fear by centering entirely on what they perceive to be the opposing candidate’s personal faults and fear-filled tendencies. 

The competing team also points out what they perceive to be the other candidate’s weaknesses… but will reach out to the listener’s sense of logic by presenting tangible evidence of the economic, educational and moral deterioration, as well as the breakdown of law and order that the other candidate’s disorganized leadership seems to have and would continue to cause. 

But contrary to the emotion-based pleas, the logic side presents to their upbeat audiences, a message of hope by offering practical and proven methods to reverse the downward spiral that our country seems to be heading in.

So, as this election cycle comes to an end… it concludes with what looks to be a Classic War of Words.  One side whose WORDS are intended to guide their supporter’s vote with an over-powering sense and emotion of FEAR, while the other’s WORDS spoken to guide their supporter’s vote with a logical decision based on policies that yield HOPE for a better future.

Well… I saw another Classic War of Words that occurred a few thousand years ago, as I read and continued to study the story of the interaction between Jesus and Jairus, the leader of a local synagogue.   This particular version of the event was reported on in the Biblical gospel of Mark, chapter five.*  In the story, we find that Jairus had approached Jesus and asked Him to come to his home where his young daughter was sick and near the point of death.

Jesus had agreed to the request and He, His disciples and the crowd that had gathered around Him began to proceed to the leader’s home… when… Jesus felt a physical draw of power from His body from a woman who was literally bleeding to death and had crawled through the crowd, believing that if she touched His garment, that she would be made well.  So, Jesus stopped and addressed the woman while Jairus patiently waited for the Master to continue on His way to his daughter’s side.

But as Jesus was completing His conversation with the women, a group of Jairus’ friends or family pushed through the crowd and approached Jairus declaring,

“There’s no need to trouble the master any longer—your daughter has died.” (Mark 5:35-God’s Word ©)

And here is where the Classic War of Word’s ensued!  The next verse reveals Jesus’ response to the negative report that was spoken to Jairus.  Mark wrote,

“And as soon as Jesus HEARD the WORD that was SPOKEN, He IGNORED them and looked at the church leader with compassion in His eyes, and said, ‘Don’t yield to fear.  All you need to do is to keep on believing.  Trust Me!  Don’t panic for she will be alright.’” (Mark 5:36**)

As it would turn out… This news worthy incident also had two different sides to it… just like my earlier personal insights on our current presidential election.  One side was basing the conclusion of their WORDS solely on what they thought they perceived concerning the situation that they had observed at Jairus’ house.  They came to Jairus with WORDS of fear, doubt, unbelief, hopelessness, failure and with those of ones who had given up all HOPE for Jairus’ daughter. 

Because they seemed to know exactly where to find Jairus in order to report their negative news, it is plausible (at least to me) that they must have known of the faith of Jairus in his quest to find Jesus and believe for Him to heal his daughter.  It is also obvious that they did not attain to the same level of faith as Jairus.

But JESUS… well… He knew that the bad report from the home front would negatively affect Jairus’ faith and stop the miracle that was about to happen.  He understood that the negative WORDS, dripping with FEAR and unbelief, needed to be ignored!  So, what did He do?  He immediately intercepted the power of the report and told Jairus to not heed the negative (and what would turn out to be a false report), to NOT yield to FEAR and to keep on believing in the power of his WORDS of faith with which he originally had approached Jesus.

The two stories I mentioned of Jesus and Jairus and the current political campaign in the USA demonstrate that WORDS elicit and/or are meant to dictate a certain response.  In both stories, one set of WORDS is meant to dictate a response of FEAR, while the others are meant to dictate a response of HOPE… which is described in Hebrews 11:1 as the substance or foundation of FAITH.

So, it is interesting that according to Greek scholars, the word rendered “HEARD” in Mark 5:36 can mean either to “overhear” or to “not heed.”  For our case in today’s blog post, I believe, that like Jesus… it can describe both of those responses!  Jesus obviously overheard the negative report that was addressed to Jairus, but also made an instant decision to ignore or NOT HEED the reaction it was calling for.  He instead, took control of the conversation,*** looked to Jairus and instructed him to respond by staying in faith and to NOT allow himself to yield to FEAR!

Now, it is also interesting to note that the word rendered “SPOKEN” in that same verse, is defined in the original Greek as “to utter words” and/or “to use words in order to declare one’s mind and disclose one’s thoughts.”  Therefore, for us Christians, we need to know… in order to CORRECTLY respond to the WORDS that are directed to us… if the spoken WORDS are simply someone’s personal thoughts or opinion that they had on their mind or… if those WORDS are based on the mind of Christ in line with the truth of God’s Word.

And just how do we accomplish that?  Well, rest assured that the Lord has the answer for us.  In 1 Corinthians 2:16 the Apostle Paul wrote, that “WE HAVE THE MIND of CHRIST” (God’s Word ©).  Pretty cool right?  Yes, it is!  But it is not something that happened instantly when we became Christians.  It is a font of knowledge that has to be developed over time.  Romans 12:2 teaches us to,

“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.” (TPT) 

And… not to sound like a broken record… but… that transformation and total reformation of how we think comes by the regular and consistent study of God’s will… as discovered within the WORD of God that’s printed on the pages of our Bibles!

Simple Right?  Well… actually it is!  All it takes is a decision on your behalf to DO IT… and then follow through on a regular and consistent basis!  And BELIEVE ME… it is a decision that you’ll NEVER regret!

Have a wonderful and blessed weekend… and if your weather forecast is anything like ours… then you’ll have plenty of time to stay inside, stay dry from the rain and study the informative and exciting WORD of God…and thereby WIN the Classic War of WORDS in your life!

 

 

*You can also read about this story in the gospels of Matthew 9:18-26 and Luke 8:40-56

**A personalized combination of Mark 5:36 from the King James Version, The Remedy Bible and The Passion Translation.

***You’ll notice when you read the rest of the story, that those carrying the negative report are NOT heard from again… and in fact, Jesus left them there and only continued on to Jairus’ house with just Jairus and three of His most trusted disciples. And once at the house, He only allowed the five of them and Jairus’ wife to stay with their daughter in the young girl’s bedroom!

Howling Dogs!

I got up earlier than usual this morning… which seemed to be the norm this week… and gingerly meandered through the dark house, opening blinds, getting the coffee brewing and turning on the home entertainment system in order to catch The Bill Gather’s Weekly Homecoming broadcast.  The show didn’t actually start for over an hour, but I thought that I’d just start the day off by listening to some good old Southern Gospel tunes.

After the coffee was poured and I had seated myself in my study, I found myself engrossed in my Bible, with one ear listening to the music drifting in from the living room.  At one point I heard a song that sounded somewhat familiar, but struggled as to recall why.  And then I remembered and had to laugh as Fiver began to slowly but purposely whimper. 

It was one of the few songs that he does NOT enjoy listening to!  I’m not sure if it is the harmony or the particular instrumentation that causes him to whimper… and then break out into spontaneous HOWLING!  So… without a moment’s hesitation, I immediately jumped up from my desk… telling the dog that it was going to be okay… and ran into the living room to temporarily change the station on the Sirius XM network that I was tuned into to.  And you know… it worked.  When I returned back into the study, Fiver had closed his eyes and was quietly resting on the love seat, while the first rays of daylight had begun to fill the room!

Once back at my desk, I continued where I had left off in my daily Bible study… and then, had to laugh again!  I had been studying the events that had occurred one day when Jesus had been stopped by the leader of the local synagogue who pleaded with the Lord to come to his house and to heal his daughter who lay gravely sick in bed.

Jesus agreed to the leader’s request and began to follow the man to his home.  But along the way, Jesus’ motion was halted by the faith of sick woman who had literally crawled through the crowd that thronged Jesus and touched His garment, believing that "if only I may touch His clothes, I will be healed." (Mark 5:28 – EMTV) 

Then, after Jesus had addressed the newly healed woman, He turned to continue on with His original mission when, some folks from the synagogue leader’s home approached them and said,

“Your daughter is dead. There’s no need to bring Jesus anymore.” (Mark 5:35 -The Remedy)

But it was Jesus’s immediate response that caused me to laugh!  According to John Mark, with whom there is general agreement that he received much of the information in his gospel from the first-hand reports of the Apostle Peter,*

“Jesus immediately, when He heard the word being spoken, said to the synagogue leader, "Do not be afraid; only believe." (Mark 5:36 - EMTV)

The Voice Translation renders Jesus’ reply as,

“It’s alright (or ‘It’s okay’), Don’t be afraid, just believe.”

I was forced to chuckle because Jesus’ reaction was very similar to mine when the music was playing and the quartet began to sing and thereby set Fiver up to HOWL in his negative response to what he was hearing.  And while my adventure with Fiver this morning was funny, it does point out a valuable lesson for the personal application of our faith in the Word of God!

For you see, the leader of the synagogue named Jairus, had approached Jesus in faith, believing that the Word that the Master had been preaching and teaching all over the area was the truth and would be confirmed by the physical healing of his daughter.  I believe that Jesus saw the faith of this man, just as He had seen the woman’s faith through her actions as she fought her way through the crowd to reach Him.

Jesus knew that the faith bonding Jairus to his miracle was vulnerable to the negative reports that came from the seemingly ‘helpful’ friends bringing the bad news about his daughter.  So, what did Jesus do when he heard the words of doubt, unbelief, and failure… words that described one who had given up any hope?  He immediately grabbed Jairus’ attention and told him to keep his faith on the Word of God and the miracle that he was believing for!

I especially like the paraphrase version of Mark 5:36 that I read this morning from Piper’s old The Way, Living Bible Illustrated where it states that,

“Jesus IGNORED their comments and said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid.  Just trust me!”

I am drawn to this version because it was exactly what I needed to do when I was besieged with fearful reports by various family, friends, neighbors and strangers alike, concerning what they thought was happening to Piper and felt free to share their (un-informed) negative suggestions on what I should be doing about it! (like giving up on her and on God)  It took me a while, but I finally learned to smile and thank them for their input… and then ignore their faith-stealing words! 

It was the most efficient way for me to keep Piper’s and my faith focused on the truth of God’s Word and His reality what we were believing for.

So, what’s my point?  Stay aware of your circumstances, stay in faith for what you are believing for with a faith that is firmly founded on God’s Word of truth and don’t allow any access to other people’s words of fear, doubt, unbelief and thoughts that you might want to give up!

When you read on in the verses following Mark 5:36, you’ll see that Jairus followed Jesus’ instructions, ignored all the fear and doubt in the people around him and received the miracle of his daughter being healed and made perfectly whole!

Now that’s the results of my FAITH that I want to receive every time I believe for something that is based on the truth of God’s Word… Kind of makes me want to HOWL for joy! 

How about you?

Have a GREAT weekend, stay in faith and keep an eye and ear out for HOWLING dogs!

 

*Study footnotes from The Ryrie Study Bible – NASV – copyright 1976, 1978 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago

Great ADVENTURES!

I have always been an avid reader.  I have fond memories of my mom taking me to the library on a regular basis to pick out books for summer reads.  And with those reads, I would always find myself being drawn to ADVENTURE stories.  I was introduced to The Hardy Boys series during my elementary school years and devoured their contents, as well as other books of that genre like Tom Swift and the Ted Scott Flying Stories.

In Junior High I was drawn to the Secret Agent spy books that were the rage in the late 1960’s.  I read all the original James Bond books as well as many of the American counterparts of the time… although I’m not too sure that I should have been reading those books at that young age!

But in high school something changed when I met a spunky Christian girl who sat behind me in eleventh grade academic English.  She was different from other gals I knew and I found myself intrigued by not only her outgoing, humorous and encouraging personality but also by the way she carried herself.  When we began to date at the beginning of the following year, I was captivated by the all-encompassing way in which she lived her Christian faith.  I guess one could say that it stirred up that spirit of ADVENTURE in me that I enjoyed reading about throughout my childhood and early teen years.

And then… she introduced me to the greatest ADVENTURE book that I had ever read… The Holy Bible… and I haven’t put it down since!  Now that’s not to say that I still don’t enjoy reading good ADVENTURE authors like Clive Cussler and more recently, many of the new Indy archeological adventure writers, but while those are fun to read… God’s book connects me with the greatest ADVENTURER whose words guide, strengthen and fill me with wisdom for the successful living of my daily life.

Take for instance the Apostle Paul’s exciting words in Colossians 1:12-13 where he wrote,

“I continue to thank my Father God, who has made us able to share (or participate) in the light… everything BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL that He has for us… which is what God’s people (both you and me) inherit.  For He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated (brought us into or set us up) into the kingdom of His beloved Son.”*

I realized this morning as the dog and I walked in the bright, cool and crisp Oklahoma countryside, that from day one… I have always approached my Bible with great anticipation of the ADVENTURES that I will find and then participate in… as I increase my understanding of God’s will and apply it in my life.  Previous to that anticipation of the ADVENTURES held within the pages of your Bible though, is the approaching of your study time in God’s Word… with the uncontested belief that God’s Word is the truth!

Then… when you come across portions of the Word that discuss promises or blessings that are NOT active in your life… you won’t brush them aside as impossible**, but instead, relish the ADVENTURE that lies ahead for you as you dig deeper into your personal study of the Bible and discover how to appropriate those promises in your life (ie; the inheritance that Paul spoke of in our scripture above).

And HOW you might ask… do I find the promises and/or blessings that God has provided for us to enjoy?  Well… it’s rather simple!  You search for them through the ADVENTUROUS study of His Word on a daily and consistent basis. 

A good way to approach your ADVENTUROUS study is, like I mentioned in our last blog post*** to begin by reading and studying the epistles in the New Testament portion of your Bible (the books of Romans through Revelation), for these are letters of instruction written specifically to us, the church for the current age that we are living in today!

And I’ll even include information so that you can download and/or purchase a great little booklet that will help you to discover for yourselves, the various promises and provisions that God has provided for you. 

The booklet is simple entitled “In Him”**** and is a good reference that includes some basic Bible reading/study instruction as well as an extensive sampling of the promise scriptures.  We accumulated many copies of this must-have booklet over the years and one could always be found throughout our house, and in our cars as well as in my wife’s purse!  It is a great little reference to hang on to!

I discovered this morning that the download is available for free***** online as well as in booklet form for under $2.00 (paperback) $.99 (Kindle) through Amazon.******

So, there you go!  No excuses… The ADVENTURE of a lifetime awaits you as you learn and then unleash the promises of God into the daily ADVENTUROUS activities of your life!

I hope that you are enjoying your weekend… and I can hardly wait for you to share with me, some of the God-Infused EXCITING ADVENTURES that are happening in your life!

 

 

*Personalization of Colossians 1:12-13 from a combining of the God’s Word ©, Message Bible and The Passion Translations.

**God Himself established this understanding in the very beginning of the Gospel message when the angel messenger of the Lord spoke to Mary and declared (when she wasn’t too sure about how the things he was telling her could ever come to pass) “For no promise from God will be impossible of fulfilment." (Luke 1:37 - Weymouth Translation)

***https://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2024/10/bright-and-beautiful.html

****In Him by Kenneth E. Hagin, ©1980 Rhema Bible Church

*****Free download:

https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/c21a6153/files/uploaded/In%2BHim.pdf

******Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Him-Kenneth-Hagin/dp/0892760524

BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL

I have to admit that I have been enjoying the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL weather that we have been experiencing here in northeastern Oklahoma for the last few weeks.  We do have some pretty dry conditions though, and have been on an elevated Fire Weather Alert for a while now.  But I am loving it as the temperature is slowing sliding down into the forties for the last two mornings.  In fact, yesterday was the first day in many moons where I wore a light hoodie on our morning walk!

I guess I just like things that are BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL… like my wife who always radiated a BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL beam of love and encouragement about her everywhere she went… even when she got sick, people still commented on the BRIGHT and sweet spirit that emanated from her.

I think that the Apostle Paul shared the same sentiments with me… and especially when it came to the things of God!  The Message Bible seems to best capture the emphasis of the way in which Paul defined the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things that God has for each of us when he wrote to the Christian church at Colossae saying,

“Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think about and thank the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL that He has for us, for He has rescued us from the power of darkness – from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons - and has set us up in the kingdom of the Son He loves so much!”*

The reason as to why and how we can take part in (or ‘partake of’ or ‘share in’ as other translations put it) the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God, is explained in the latter part of this portion of scripture where Paul succinctly declared,

“for He (God) has rescued us from the power of darkness – from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons - and has set us up in the kingdom of the Son He loves so much!”**

You see… you and I have been spiritually removed from the power or ‘dominion’*** of the darkness in this world… freed from any allegiance to the dark practices of the enemy of our soul… and have been ‘translated’ or ‘transferred’**** and set-up to “prosper and be in good health”***** partaking of the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things that He has provided for us within the Biblically stated rights of our spiritual standing in the kingdom of God! 

Kind of makes you want to stand up and shout, doesn’t it?

Jesus Himself told us that,

“I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”(KJV - John 8:12)

And Paul also made it pretty clear when he was teaching the church about God’s standard of Christian living and summed up his comments by saying,

“So, I tell you and encourage you in the Lord's name not to live any longer like other people in the world. Their minds are set on worthless things.”  They can't understand because they are in the dark…” (Ephesians 4:17-18 – God’s Word ©) 

I’ll share some ways in which we Christians can learn about the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God in my upcoming weekend blog post… but until then, I can suffice to say that all of the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God are found within the pages of yours and my Bibles… and particularly, in the New Testament Epistles as they were specifically written to you and me… the church!

So… I guess I am kind of leaving you with a cliff hanger!  But you really don’t have to hang until this weekend… just open up your Bibles to the book of Acts where you will get all fired up by miraculous works of the Holy Spirit that occurred as the early church began to grow… and then continue on, reading into the book of Romans and beyond.  

Just pray and ask the Holy Spirit to shed some light on your readings concerning the BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God… and He will!

I hope that you are having a terrific week.  Like I mentioned earlier, we have been blessed with some incredibly wonderful weather out here lately and I am REALLY enjoying it!  Let me know what BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL things of God that you are discovering this week and I look forward to connecting with you all in our next blog post!

 

*A personal combination of Colossians 1:12-13 from The Passion Translation, The Message Bible and the God’s Word © translations.

**Colossians 1:13

*** KJV

****KJV / EMTV

*****3 John 1:2 KJV

Light vs Dark

I couldn’t help but to take notice over the last few weeks, of the vast difference between DARKNESS and the coming of LIGHT.  Let me explain…

The first thing I do every morning is to go through the house and open up all the blinds, beginning with my bedroom, then the three windows on the backside of the living room and finally swing around to open the blinds on the front facing windows that look out over the cul-de-sac and golf course.

Because of the somewhat early hour, it is still usually fairly dark outside and while the new LED streetlight right in front of my house helps to pick out the forms of the houses, it is still difficult to fine tune the details of the yards, save for any lawn mowing equipment running on the greens with their bright shining headlights.  But I still like to pause at my study window and take in the sights and soft sounds of the morning, before I head into the kitchen to open the two sets of blinds that overlook our front porch.

The daily contrast between the DARK and LIGHT seems to miraculously appear between the few minutes it takes me to get the coffee brewing and then return to the study for my morning Bible time.  It’s like the Lord flips the switch and the LIGHT appears… and the difference is amazing… as the details and colors, along with the birds, rabbits and squirrels seem to burst forth upon the neighborhood!

A few minutes later, as I go back into the kitchen and then return with my hot cup of coffee… and a small treat for the pooch and me… I find myself drawn to the window, once again, as the LIGHT increases with the sun’s golden beams splashing over the homes on the eastern side of the neighborhood.  At that point, I can’t help but to enjoy being drawn into the ambiance and freshness of the new life that comes with each new Oklahoma morning.

With all that in mind, I also can’t help to think about the contrast between DARKNESS and LIGHT that Pastor James talked about in our scripture verse from last week’s blog post.*  James 1:17 informs us that,

“Everything good, healthy and beneficial originates in heaven and comes down from the Father of LIGHTS who created the universe, and in Whom there is no variation nor the slightest suggestion of change.  He is always good and will never alter His methods of love. For He does not waver, and He is certainly not the source of DARKNESS and death.”**

First and foremost, in this section of scripture, James refers to God as “the father of LIGHTS” and equates everything GOOD, HEALTHY and BENEFICIAL with Him.  In commenting on the phrase “from the father of LIGHTS,” The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges explains that,

“The plural is used to express the thought, that light in all its forms, natural (as in the ‘great lights’ of Psalm 135:7), intellectual and spiritual, is an efflux from Him “Who is light, and in whom is no darkness at all” (1John 1:5).

In his explanation of Jesus as being God incarnate in this world, the Apostle John tells us at the very beginning of his gospel message that,

“Jesus was the source of life, and that life was the LIGHT for humanity.  The LIGHT shines in the DARK, and the DARK has never extinguished it. (God’s Word ©)

These scriptures and many more of them throughout the pages of our Bibles, unequivocally state the clear difference between the LIGHT and the DARK.  And in the written word of God, the fact is that God is LIGHT and in Him there is NO DARKNESS at all… PERIOD!

On the other hand, the various writers throughout the New Testament from John’s accounts of Jesus’ own words (John 3:19) through the Revelation (Revelation 16:10), state that DARKNESS is always associated with the devil and his works of destruction, sickness and death.  I like the way that The Remedy Translation expresses the succinct manner in which James sums it up at the end of our verse in James 1:17 by declaring,

“He (God) is always good and will never alter His methods of love. For He does not waver, and He is certainly not the source of DARKNESS and death.”

And what is contained and/or associated with the attacks of DARKNESS in our lives?  Well… according to Jesus’ own words in John 10:10… it would consist of anything that attempts “to steal, slaughter and destroy” any part of our lives.  While Jesus, who is the LIGHT, has come to “give us everything in abundance, more than we expect—life in its fullness until we overflow!” (TPT) 

It is all pretty black and white to me… God = Good and the devil = Bad! 

Don’t ever allow the enemy of our souls to suggest to you that something bad that you might be going through is from God.   It is NOT!  …and YES… we can (and should) learn through the trials and tribulations in life… but as James said, God is GOOD and will never alter His methods of LOVE toward you and me… AND…

“He is certainly not the source of DARKNESS and death.”

I would challenge you to meditate upon these truths today… for it will revolutionize your active faith in God and in the truth of His Word… and you’ll see it regularly working IN, THROUGH and FOR YOU each and every day!

Have a great weekend!  Our beautiful fall weather continues out here and I hope that yours is the same… BUT, please continue keep the folks that were so drastically affected by Hurricane Helene in your prayers.

 

* https://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-slightest-suggestion.html

**James 1:17 – A personalization of The Remedy and The Passion Translations.