The People Still Walk In The Dark....

⁸ For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [lead the lives of those native-born to the Light].

⁹ For the fruit (the effect, the product) of the Light or ^[a]the Spirit [consists] in every form of kindly goodness, uprightness of heart, and trueness of life.

¹⁰ And try to learn [in your experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [let your lives be constant proofs of what is most acceptable to Him].

¹¹ Take no part in and have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness, but instead [let your lives be so in contrast as to] ^[b]expose and reprove and convict them.

¹² For it is a shame even to speak of or mention the things that [such people] practice in secret.

¹³ But when anything is exposed and reproved by the light, it is made visible and clear; and where everything is visible and clear there is light.

¹⁴ Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light.

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people),

¹⁶ Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.

¹⁷ Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.

¹⁸ And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery; but ever be filled and stimulated with the [Holy] Spirit.

¹⁹ Speak out to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, offering praise with voices [^[c]and instruments] and making melody with all your heart to the Lord,

²⁰ At all times and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

Ephesians 5:8-20

Alright so there you have it from Paul himself!

How many times do we actually apply this thinking to our daily walk?

I will be the first to admit when I am in conversations, or listening to my teacher speak in class, and there is something where I know it is wrong to even think about, within myself I will not agree but outwardly I say nothing....but here the scripture is saying EXPOSE IT reveal the filth that tries to sneak and creep around as if it owns the place, and shoot it down. 

One of many reasons many people still walk in darkness is because no one is willing to show where the light can be found. Our lives must be different if they are going to change anything!

Another interesting point in vs. 13 is it says that only where EVERYTHING is clear and visible is there light. Meaning that there can be no half truths, no gossip, no secrets, no cover ups and sugar coatings, no I like you but secretly I find you annoying, and no secret saints...you're either showing your light or hiding it in the darkness thinking that's going to make a difference, but it won't. 

So is everything VISIBLE and CLEAR in our lives?

Are what we stand for VISIBLE and CLEAR?

From the distance and up close is what and WHO we believe in EVIDENT?

In order to be complete and full lights to shine to others we must get rid of our shadows and shades of standing on the fence about our morals and ABSOLUTE TRUTHS.

The world have enough christians in the world, but where are the CHRIST FOLLOWERS?! Where are the people who LIVE and ACT according to the will of the Lord? Where are those believers that walk around SHINING the truth rather than walking around with the name tag saying, "Hello, I am a christian" and then hoping no one asks you about it?

Vs. 15-17 says

PAY ATTENTION TO HOW YOU WALK, ACT, LIVE!

Live with PURPOSE 

Live WORTHILY

Make the MOST of your time, seize EVERY opportunity, no matter what is on your schedule next THE KINGDOM is your TOP priority. Don't miss it.

Don't be VAGUE or THOUGHTLESS meaning don't Kinda know what God's will is, KNOW what is right and what is wrong, know the truth and then proclaim it. 

What does Christ think about gays, abortions, stealing, the entertainment we dwell on (music, TV, movies, books), the people we hang out with, the places we go, our humor, the words that slip from our mouths, and the thoughts that run through our mind...

What PLEASES God and what GRIEVES Him?

Be FIRM and ASSURE about what pleases the Lord. Because that's what our lives as true disciples of Christ is all about.

PLEASING GOD AND BRINGING

 ALL GLORY, HONOR, AND PRAISE TO HIM!

 

Vs. 18

Whether to drink or not is a choice, but to get drunk is ALWAYS wrong for a follower of Christ. 

Personally I do not like drinking at all, and I don't believe it's good way to be an example as a leader in Christ. Drinking may be alright to some but it distresses many other believers, why cause peace to cease over something as insignificant as a drink? 

I personally would rather be immersed and filled with the Holy Spirit any day then going out and casually drinking with my friends. 

In the verse below we will find that we cannot walk in love, and do what we want just because we feel it is right. If we continue to offend those around us and say "Well I have no problem with it so they can just sit and watch, it's not like I'm asking for them to do it with me" then we become selfish in our standards.  

It's not a sin to drink but it is a sin to cause a believer in Christ to stumble, or cause disunity if you do it in their presence and they are distressed by it.

Romans 14:15-17 says...

¹⁵ But if your brother is being pained or his feelings hurt or if he is being injured by what you eat, [then] you are no longer walking in love. [You have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard of love toward him.] Do not let what you eat hurt or cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died!

¹⁶ Do not therefore let what seems good to you be considered an evil thing [by someone else]. [In other words, do not give occasion for others to criticize that which is justifiable for you.]

¹⁷ [After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

It's not a matter on whether we can have this drink or not, it's a matter of the righteousness that is produced out of our every action and deed. 

Does drinking produce righteousness? or just loose lips, and morals?

In closing...

vs. 19-20

GATHER TOGETHER AND JUST SING IN UNITY ABOUT HOW INCREDIBLY AMAZING OUR GOD IS! 

GIVE GOD THANKS IN EVERYTHING 

AND IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES PRAISE HIS NAME!

So many lights on in this city

The people still walk in the dark

I watch them as they're passing by me

I hide the truth inside my heart

'Cause I'm afraid to lose control

I'm comfortable

But there's something in my soul

They need to know

Shine, shine, shine tonight

It's time to let it show

Burn bright, light the fire

That leads the way to hope

The Maker of the stars lives in our soul

We have His light, what are we waiting for?

GET OUT and GLOW

Glow by Moriah Peters

Abide in Him

This morning after reading in "The Forgotten God" by Francis Chan, it led me to read John chapters 14-16. I've heard Jesus' words so many times that I go on at times and not look back at them for awhile, as if I learned everything I could from it. But while I was reading it I had a new reaction to it, a feeling of great hope, love, and peace. I am so happy to know I have the councilor inside of me at all times, and yet it also make me sad that He is inside me at all times, because I realize if He is there always then he was there during all the horrible fights with my mother, during all the times I hurt a friend, or a complete stranger, He was there when I had the chance to help someone and I chose to do something for myself instead...yes He is there when all of the amazing things happen, yet he has to stand and watch me do all the horrible things as well. This is why I wrote this poem.

Wretched I am, Relentless You are

By Dominique Miller

In horror you watch me take down a brother,

tear down my own house and dishonor my mother.

Grieving you've watched my selfish pride,

seeing me destroy, cheat and lie.

In disgust you've seen what I've done in the dark, and in the deepest corners of my mind.

You've seen the wounds I created and the strife I designed. 

Repulsed you've had to watch again and again.

As a dog returns to his vomit, so I do with my sin.

Now sitting amongst the waste of my life and the filthy rags of my good deeds,

realizing nothing beautiful to be seen.

Yet in surprise you take me by the hand, say "Get up, wash your face, and let's try that again"

Apart from you I can do nothing, with you I can do all things.

Wretched I am. But relentless you are.

 

The second to last closing line came from John 15:5, and this verse is as true as it can be. I can do absolutely nothing that God wants me to accomplish without Him, I am too sinful, too imperfect, too human to do works of an AWESOME God. I am just a mere shadow of God, a reflection, just an image. Shadows cannot grasp or hold on to things, they cannot speak, act the way they are supposed to without the physical body leading it. So unless I am in His presence I will accomplish absolutely nothing. I will not keep my mouth shut during fights because I want to justify myself, I will not take time out of my day to help others when I could be having fun doing something for myself, I will not keep working when I am being unappreciated, I will not give to people in need when I don't have enough for myself, I will not forgive those who wrong me even when they don't care and keep doing it...etc. Sure you may be able to get by with a selfless act or two without abiding in God daily but I can tell you that you will be burnt out and useless in no time. We as christians can last a LONG time on our leftover experiences of God, quiet times, and revelations. I know because I've done it, do it.

Without abiding in God we will speak and act according to our flesh, and sometimes our flesh can be tricky by giving us half truths, which by the way still equals a WHOLE lie, and we end up doing something that sure looked like the right thing to do, but actually is the opposite of what we are CALLED to do.

What is God calling you to do today that you are standing on the fence about?

Don't stand around! Look in His word, find what it says and OBEY it!

 

Don't grieve the Holy Spirit any longer, listen and know He is there to lead you. If you feed your spirit more than your flesh, then spirit will win every time!

 

 

 

Fools For Christ

I was reading in 1 Corinthians 4 this morning because I have been struggling in a situation that left me wondering...

should I fight for justice? Or should I turn the other cheek? Since the problem involved fellow brothers and sisters in Christ I wondered what God expected me to do.

I got a lot of council over the subject from people I trust very much including my parents and sister. All the things that they told me were completely true, yet some of it I couldn't gain up the courage to do. I thought it was because I was weak willed, but God revealed to me something amazing.

I had taken the advice to call up the people and correct them for the wrong they had done to me, and on top of that everyone was telling me I needed to let them feel the consequences of their actions by not complying anymore and walking away. God had told me that I had every right to correct my brother and sister in Christ but I have no right to judge and condemn them of punishment. Scripture tells us again and again this is wrong.

Leviticus 19:18

"'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Romans 12:19

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Proverbs 20:22

Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you.

As I read in 1 Corinthians 4 I found a way of living as I ought to have, a fool for Christ. To others the decision to continue on instead of walking away will be taken as the most foolish thing I've ever done. But I do not live to please men. I live to please my God and this is what he asks of me.

Galations 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

My life is not to be envied for having it easy, I am meant to show the beauty of a life that is selfless, forgiving, merciful, loving, and full of Grace. It isn't an easy life, it is a life worth living and worth dying for.

I am a servant of Christ, pleaser of my God. He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I out my trust. May all the glory be to Christ Jesus my Lord.