Light of the world

A Lesson From The Garden

Plants need sunlight. Fruit does not grow in the dark. The night does not produce grapes. Little trees in the deep forest reach for the sunlight. The truth is, our lives depend upon sunlight and our spiritual lives depend upon SON light. John 8:12 ¶ Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." Darkness hides the truth and some choose to live in the darkness rather than face the truth. His light exposes us and reveals the ugly stuff which holds us captive. The scripture says, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32 Never forget this truth; the pain of facing the truth is better than the bondage of lies. jfs

A Father's Message

To Mark, Megan and John, 
I am thinking about what it means to be a father and hoping that my failures will never plot the course of your journey.  I am your father but I am also a child who had a father.  I was thinking about the lessons I learned from my father and how they have impacted my life.  I learned to never give up and that anything can be fixed.  He taught me to live life looking forward to the future.  He always had plans--he built his last house at seventy. He was generous and quick to forgive.  Oh, I remember some of his weaknesses, but his strengths still encourages me today.  We are all flawed but life is not about our flaws, it is about our hearts, our willingness to keep going when others drop out, about knowing when to rest or as my dad said, “put your oars in the boat and drift awhile.”  In so many ways he lives on in me and you.  He was a man worth following.  He never asked anyone to follow him but he could have said with Paul, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”  I am very proud of all three of you.  You have honored me in so many ways and for that I am thankful.  I pray that when I go home you will know that every day of your life your dad is looking for you and that the good memories blur the bad ones.  I love you.  dad

A Reason for Hope

“Well I sure hope so” is an expression of uncertainty.  We have all spoken these words when we were unsure of an outcome.  Our world is full of uncertainty. The politics of our world has us living on the edge.  Is there hope and if there is where can we find it?  The word translated hope in the Bible is not an expression of uncertainty but of expectation.  “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;” 1 Peter 3:15   Read this verse again and put expectation where hope is and you will have it right.  The Word of God gives us reason to live in expectation.  Hope is about the future but the history of God’s faithfulness to His Church gives us reason to live in expectation of our future.  The Word of God is full of promises to the faithful.  These promises are seeds to be planted in our hearts and nurtured in expectation until the day they become a reality. Jfs

1Pe 1:13 ¶ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 

Book Review

I am just finishing a book by Ravi Zacharias. The title is “WHY JESUS?” The sub title is, “Rediscovering His Truth In An Age of Mass Marketed Spirituality.”   If you are like me, very concerned about the Church today and what many consider the departure from the faith, you will enjoy this book.  It is my observation that long before we rewrite our theology we depart from it in our hearts.  Ravi Zacharias is a thinker and he brings keen insight into the subtle mixture of Eastern religions into the Christian Faith.  Below is an example of his observations:

“The Church has forgotten the teachings of quietness, solitude, and meditation that are part of our Judeo-Christian heritage and provide great strength to the soul.  We have moved from silence to noise.  We have moved from reflection to fast-moving programs.  We have moved from quietness to the inability to remain focused on a thought for even a moment, so that the next item on the program has to begin as soon as the previous one has finished.  There is no time in our services anymore for quietness and contemplation.  We have moved from the progression of thought to a repetition of sounds.  We have stolen the bridge between the head and the heart and gone to one of two extremes: either unable to engage the culture or reflecting the culture.  Every need of the soul is met in the gospel, but like an intoxicated person, we swing between two walls without finding balance.”

To understand how the above statement fits into the message of the book you will have to read it.
I hope you will put this book on your reading list.  jfs

Pay Attention

Anybody who tells you they have finished school is not paying attention. We don’t finish school.  If you are breathing you are in school.  School is never out, no spring breaks no summer vacations.  Our Lord is always teaching and His classroom is LIFE.  The question is, “are we paying attention?”  On our journey we encounter moments of frustration, fear, doubt, pain and sorrow and they are all events of learning.

The tools of Christian education are found in our daily journey and some of them are downright messy. The teacher of this EVERYDAY school is the Holy Spirit and school is always in. What is the subject?  It is the same for all of us, CHRISTLIKENESS.  jfs

Joh 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

Lu 6:40 "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

John 11

The story of the resurrection of Lazarus is one of my favorites.  I like it because I see myself in it.  At some point in my life I have been most of the characters in the story.  I was dead in trespasses and sins and raised to new life by Jesus--Lazarus.  I have been disappointed that my prayers were not answered the way I expected--Mary and Martha. At times I have misunderstood what I heard my Lord say--the disciples.  I have wept when it was a waste of tears--Mary.  We are all in this chapter somewhere and the best part is so is Jesus.  Jesus is in your story too, and He probably weeps at times when you and I don’t understand how much He loves us.  He wants you to know that He cares and has a plan for your life.  Don’t plot your own life’s course and ask Him to bless it, let Him plot it and He will bless it.

Joh 11:35 “Jesus wept.”

Why Obey?

Obedience puts us on the path to God's blessings and usefulness.  Disobedience opens the door to the enemy.  The choice is ours to obey or disobey, but the consequences come with our choices.  In our choice to obey let us begin with His command to love each other.  It is not an option, when we fail to love each other we disobey and that opens the door to all kinds of trouble.  The command to love is at the top of the list, let's keep it there. jfs

Joh 15:12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.