Precision and Patterns

Posted on March 2, 2019 by glenn

One of the reasons I like science and mathematics is because of precision.  They are exact.  It is black and white.  It is consistent.  Precision.

2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen is always water.  Always.  If you add just one atom of oxygen it is no longer water, it becomes hydrogen peroxide.  Precision.

In mathematics, the long side of a right triangle always has the same relationship to the other 2 sides.  That relationship is expressed as the sum of the squares of the 2 short sides always equals the square of the long side.  Always.  Precision.

The circumference of a circle divided by the diameter is always the same value.  No matter how big or small the circle.  Always.  Precision.

GOD is a GOD of precision.

In Genesis 6, GOD told Noah that he was to make the ark according to a pattern.  Surely you believe that the dimensions and kind of wood had to be followed down to the smallest detail.  The pattern was precise.  Precision.

In Acts 7:44 and Hebrews 8:5 we read that GOD told Moses that he was to make the tabernacle according to the pattern.  Precision.

The phrase “according to the pattern” is one of the most significant statements in the entire Bible.  No one doubts that Noah and Moses had to follow GOD’S instruction exactly.

The word pattern in the text comes from the Greek word, typos.  It literally means the exact image or impression.  Exact. Precision.

Typos is found in several passages such as Romans 6:17, where we read, “you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine.”  Form, typos, exact replica, precision.

If Noah followed an exact pattern with the ark and Moses followed an exact pattern with the tabernacle, why would we not be required to follow a precise, exact pattern in order to escape from sin?  Indeed, that is what the recipients of the Roman letter had done.  They had obeyed that form or pattern of doctrine.

Why is it so difficult for us to grasp this idea? 

Why do we rebel against the idea that there is a pattern for us to follow in order to become a child of GOD?

Why can’t it be just because I feel like it is right?

Is there a pattern and is it necessary for me to follow it? 

Why do we have a problem with the idea that there is a pattern for New Testament worship?  Why can’t I choose my worship based on the way it feels?

Why do we have a problem with the idea of there being a pattern for which we are to live our lives? Why can’t I live my life according to the premise, “If it feels good do it”?

There is precision in science and in mathematics.  There is precision in religion as well.  The Scriptures give us these patterns.  We just need the courage and humility necessary to seek the truth.  That truth is found in the pages of Scripture.

One of the great delusions of modern worshipers is the fallacy that there is no pattern.  This mindset says it makes no difference what people do religiously, just as long as they are sincere about it.  However, the Bible says otherwise.  Scripture reveals GOD to be a pattern-minded GOD of precision. How could GOD be otherwise?

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The Chinese Word

Posted on February 15, 2019 by glenn

Four times in the book of Psalms we find the same very pitiful cry made unto GOD.  Do not hide Your face from me.  (Psa 27:9, 69:17, 102:2, 143:7)

Imagine the terror in that scenario.  GOD is hidden! The only thing I can compare it to is the scene at the cross.  When the Savior shouldered the sins of mankind, the Father’s face was hidden from Him for the only time ever.  That is when we hear Jesus cry out in agony, “Father, why have you forsaken Me?”

Sin will do that.  It will separate one from GOD.  It will hide His face. 

But your iniquities have separated you from you GOD; and hidden His face from you.  Isaiah 59:2

Sin will hide the face of GOD from us.  Habakkuk 1:13 tells us GOD is so holy that He cannot even look on wickedness.

There is a thrilling passage in Psa 51:9, where David addresses the idea of GOD’S face being hidden in a different way.  Rather than GOD’S face being hidden from David, in this passage David asks GOD to hide His face from the sin.

               Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities.

Scripture is filled with analogies of what forgiveness is like.  David asks GOD to hide His face from the sin.  It is as though the sin is between GOD and David.  And David asks GOD to remove the sin, the obstruction between them, that which is hiding the face of GOD from him.

Micah 6:18, 19 paints the picture of GOD casting the sin into the depths of the sea. The reader is encouraged to read the post from March 20, 2012, entitled “Into the depths of the sea”, for further discussion of this passage.

Psa 103:12 suggests GOD removes the sin as far as the east is from the west.  This represents an infinite distance.

Jeremiah 31:34 notes that with forgiveness GOD forgets the sin.

But of all the pictures of forgiveness and righteousness painted in the Scriptures, Colossians 3:3 is one of my favorite.

               For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in GOD.

To the faithful child of GOD, to the one who has died to sin through the watery grave of baptism, to the one the Ephesian letter refers to as being “in Christ”, the Colossian verse says their life is hidden.  All of their sins, all of their mistakes, all of their regret, is hidden.

There is an example from the Chinese language that will illustrate this verse.  The Chinese language is made up of thousands of characters. Some accounts claim there may be as many as 60,000 characters in the Chinese language.

The Chinese word for “righteousness” is made up of two characters.  One word is a lamb; the other word is me.  But it is how these two characters appear as the word righteousness that is important.  “The lamb” is written on top of “the me.” The Lamb over me.  It is as though, when GOD looks down on me, He doesn’t see me, He sees the Lamb.  Indeed, if I have died to sin, then my life is hidden to GOD because He sees not sinful Glenn but the sinless Lamb.  Jesus Christ is my only hope of standing justified before GOD.

Romans 4:7, 8 describes the faithful child of GOD as one whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; a man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.

As a faithful child of GOD, my sins are forgiven, my sins are hidden, because of Christ.

Thank You GOD for the gift of righteousness through Christ.  Indeed, thank You for allowing the Lamb to cover me.

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The in Christ Apostle

Posted on February 5, 2019 by glenn

The Apostle Paul, could be called the Apostle in Christ.  Of course this would really apply to all of them.  But Paul in particular could be called the “in Christ Apostle.”  Today’s blog takes a look at a special phrase in the New Testament.

The phrase “in Christ” is found 85 times in the NKJ version of the New Testament.

The first appearance is used by Luke writing the book of Acts.  In Acts 24:24, it is said Paul’s message to Felix was concerning the faith in Christ.

The last two times the phrase is found in the book of 1st Peter.

In between these occurrences, we find the other 82 times.  In these passages the phrase “in Christ” is found exclusively in the Pauline epistles.  So we note that almost all of the phrases are used by Paul, hence we call him the “in Christ” Apostle. 

Let us make some observations about Paul and the phrase “in Christ.”  With the exception of 2nd Thessalonians and Titus, every other book that Paul wrote is saturated with the phrase, perhaps none more so than the letter to the Ephesians.  Here we find that every spiritual blessing is found in Christ (Eph 1:3).  If one were to include the phrase “in Him” as well, there are 10 uses found in the first chapter of Ephesians alone.

Paul’s frequent use of this phrase is one reason I resist the suggestion that he wrote the book of Hebrews.  That’s because the phrase is not found in the Hebrew letter.  Incidentally, all of Paul’s letters open and close with a reference to grace.  Hebrews does not. But the authorship of Hebrews is a discussion for another time.

In Christ.  I submit there is no phrase more important.  Why?  The earlier reference tells me all spiritual blessings are found there.  All.  That means there are none to be found outside of Christ.  Those spiritual blessings certainly include redemption (Rom 3:24), eternal life (Rom 6:23), no condemnation (Rom 8:1), the love of GOD (Rom 8:39), sanctification (1 Cor 1:2), hope (1 Cor 15:19), to be called sons of GOD (Gal 3:26), forgiveness (Eph 4:32), the promise of life (2 Tim 1:1), and salvation (2 Tim 2:10).  Read each of these passages and count your blessings in Christ.

So I see the importance of being “in Christ.”  The question is “am I in Christ?”  How do I know?  Can I be sure?  How do I get into Christ?

The phrase “into Christ” is found only two times in the New Testament.  The reader is encouraged to see both of these passages in context.  Let the Bible speak for itself.

Galatians 3:26, 27

For you are all sons of GOD through faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

A study of the tenses of the verbs in the passage is important.  You are all sons of GOD.  That is present tense.  You are presently a child of GOD.  In the second case, were baptized, is in the past tense.  You are a child presently because of what was done in the past.  You are in Christ, you have put on Christ, if you have been baptized into Him.

Romans 6:3, 4

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into His death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Note that in both passages, the verb “baptized” precedes the phrase “into Christ”.  It really is a simple matter.  Some would minimize the importance of baptism but is that what we read here?

Are you in Christ?  You are if you have been baptized into Christ.  A proper candidate for baptism must be a believer.  So says Mark 16:16, Acts 8:37.  Thus, as a believer in Christ, and your immersion into Christ, then you can enjoy all of those blessings mentioned earlier. 

If your hope of salvation has not included being buried with Him in a watery grave of baptism, why are you waiting?  See Acts 22:16.

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The Fruit of Our Lips

Posted on January 29, 2019 by glenn

Therefore by Him, let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to GOD, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.                                               Hebrews 13:15

The phrase “let us” is found 13 times in the book of Hebrews.  It is known as a hortatory subjunctive.  It is used to encourage the reader or hearer to do something or engage in some action.  It should be noted the hortatory subjunctive is very different than issuing a command for someone to perform an action.  Rather it is an encouragement to join the speaker in performing the action.  Instead of “you go do something” it is “let us go do something”.

The last time we find the phrase in the book of Hebrews is the 15th verse of chapter 13.  Here we should make several notes regarding our worship.

First observe it is through Jesus that we worship.  The text notes it is by Him that we offer our worship.

Secondly, the worship of the New Testament Christian is noted.  Many times throughout the book of Hebrews one will see the New Law contrasted with the Old Law.  Under the New Law, our sacrifice today is different from the animal sacrifices of the Old Law.  Our sacrifice today is identified as a sacrifice of praise to GOD, that is, the fruit of our lips.

We are reminded to be thankful and to express our thanks to GOD and to do all in the name of Christ, i.e. by His authority.

Let us (pun intended) observe briefly what constitutes the fruit of our lips.  I would like to suggest there are at least 3 ways we can praise Him with our lips.

  • Singing – Col 3:16; Eph 5:19

This is probably what we would think of first as a means of praising Him with our lips.  It should be noted that New Testament worship is participatory.  No one can sing for me.  We are all to sing.  Let us sing and praise Him with our lips.

  • Prayers – Scripture records at least 25 times in which Jesus prayed.  3 times in the book of Revelation, prayers are symbolized by incense (Rev 5:8; 8:3, 4).  Daniel prayed 3 times each day (Daniel 6:10).  Paul prayed 3 times to have his thorn in the flesh removed (2 Cor 12:8).  Jesus prayed 3 times in the Garden prior to His crucifixion (Matt 26:36ff).  Maybe it would be a good practice for us to pray at least 3 times each day, praising Him with our lips.
  •  Mark 5:19 – To the man whom He had healed, Jesus said, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”

Go home and tell them.  This is what He expects of us.  We can, on a daily basis, proclaim the Lord by our manner of speech.  Deut 6:7 describes just such daily conversation.  James 3:9 notes we bless our GOD and Father with our speech.  As we go about our activities each day, let us bring honor and glory to GOD the Father, and praise Him with our lips.

Thus our sacrifice to GOD today is not the bloody sacrifices of the Old Testament but rather our singing, our prayers, and our telling our friends of the great things the LORD has done for us; all of this constitutes the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips.

Let us (hortatory subjunctive, pun intended) offer the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of our lips and give thanks to His name today.

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Lifted Up

Posted on January 16, 2019 by glenn

The book of Numbers 21:6-9 details the account of the Israelites rebelling against Jehovah GOD and His sending serpents among the people as punishment.  Many of the Israelites died as a result of the snake bites.  But as always, GOD provided a means of escape.  Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole.  When one was bitten he could look on the elevated image and live.

The reader is encouraged to refer to a previous blog (Is Work a Bad Word, posted on February 21, 2017), for further discussion of this passage.          

For our consideration today note that Jesus used the account of Moses and the serpent as an object lesson in John 3:14 where we read,

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. 

Then later Jesus again referenced the idea of being lifted up in John 12:32.

And I if I am lifted up from the earth will draw all peoples to Myself.     

Let us consider the idea of Jesus being lifted up.  In what sense was He lifted up?  There are at least 3 ways in which Jesus was lifted up.  The first consideration is perhaps what initially comes to mind.

  1. Jesus was lifted up on the cross.  Death on the cross was reserved for the vilest of criminals in the days of the Romans.  Yet here the Innocent One was crucified. Even Pilate’s verdict indicated he found no evil in Jesus according to John 18:38.  But he yielded to the mob’s demand to crucify the LORD.  All of this was prophesied hundreds of years earlier in Psalms 22.  This Messianic Psalm, written hundreds of years before crucifixion was used, depicts the Savior’s death on the cross for the sins of mankind. He was lifted up.
  • Jesus was lifted up from the grave.  (Acts 2:22-24; 30-32)  The Scriptures tell us GOD raised Him up to sit on His throne when He was resurrected from the grave.  We are able to go to a cemetery and visit the graves of our loved ones.  The tomb where Jesus was laid is empty.  This is what sets Him apart from every other spiritual leader who has ever lived.

1 Corinthians 15:13 begins a discussion of the result if Christ had not been risen.  The result would be that we have no hope and we are still in our sins.  I am thankful He was lifted up from the grave.

  • HE was lifted up from the earth.  Acts 1:9 gives us the third way in which He was lifted up.  According to verse 3, He was on the earth 40 days after His resurrection before His ascension.  He was taken up and returned to heaven to be exalted to the right hand of GOD (Acts 2:33).  But true to the promise of the angels, He will come again in like manner as He left. 

As I consider these ways in which He was lifted up, I am sorry it was necessary for Him to be lifted up on the cross for my sins.  But I am eternally grateful He was.  But that death on the cross would have been for naught, had He not been lifted up from the grave.

Those assembled in Acts 1 were able to witness His ascension.  I wasn’t able to personally witness His leaving, but I will be able to personally see Him come again. Everyone will witness that grand event. 

Behold He is coming in the clouds, and every eye will see Him.   Rev 1:7

Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of GOD, who also makes intercession for us. Rom 8:34

It is Christ who died, He was lifted up on the cross; and furthermore He is also risen, He was lifted up from the grave; and He makes intercession for us, and He was lifted up to heaven.  Praise GOD!

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Roll Call

Posted on January 7, 2019 by glenn

I have fond memories of the years I spent teaching high school mathematics.  One of the things I loved about teaching, it was a profession in which you were able to start over each year.  The mistakes of each year could be buried with the close of the school year.  Starting each year fresh with the wisdom from the past year was a good thing.

With the beginning of each new school year, I remember the first day of class.  I would have 30 new faces, most of them completely new and unknown to me, enter my classroom.   I would begin by calling the roll from my attendance sheet.  Much to the dismay of my students I would then place them in alphabetical order.  I told them it was to help me learn their names.  That was true but it wasn’t the only reason.  It also helped to separate potential friendly disruptions before they occurred.

It was not unusual when I finished the roll call for a student to be left out.  That is to say, their name was not on my roll.  It could have been because they were in the wrong class or perhaps their name just needed to be added to my roll.

At any rate, consider their situation.  “You didn’t call my name. My name was not on the roll.”

The spiritual application is obvious.  In a much more serious way consider GOD’S roll call.  Twice in the book of Revelation, reference is made to “anyone whose names have not been written in the Book of Life.”  (Rev 13:8, 20:15)

GOD’S roll in the Book of Life is the ultimate roll.  That is the one time I don’t want my name to be left out.

Hebrews 12:23 refers to those “who are registered in heaven”.

The Scriptures make mention of this in many places.

The Lord once commissioned 70 disciples to go out two by two into the surrounding places. Upon returning to the Lord, they joyfully observed that even the demons were subject to them in Jesus’ name.  But the Lord said, “Do not rejoice in this, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”  Luke 10:20

Paul referenced several whose names are in the Book of Life.  (Philippians 4:3)

Moses said his own name was written there.  (Exodus 32:32)

Daniel mentioned those who are found written in the book.  (Daniel 12:1)

When that final roll is called, there will be no one left off by mistake.  There will be no one in the wrong room.  There will be no late additions, that is, there will be no rectifying the situation at that point.  It will be too late to make changes.

I want my name to be written in heaven.  Don’t you?

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It is not how you start but how you finish that counts

Posted on December 28, 2018 by glenn

As we come to the end of another year, it is a good time to so some self-reflecting.

            Psalm 4:4        Meditate within your heart on your bed and be still.

            2 Cor 13:5       Examine yourselves…

This is a good time to do that.  Are you satisfied with you as your year comes to a close?  Have you accomplished some of your goals?  Have you grown closer to the LORD?  That is the most important reflection, considering we are all one year closer to meeting Him!

Regardless of how you feel about the year as it comes to a close, I have good news for you.  It is not how you start but how you finish that counts.

Let me use a sports analogy.  The 2004 American League Championship Series found the Boston Red Sox down 0-3 to the New York Yankees.  The Yankees had to win only one more game in the next four to win the series.  Game 3 of the series had seen the Yankees beat the Red Sox scoring the 2nd most runs ever in a postseason game.  Everyone considered the series to be over.  However, it’s not how you start but how you finish that counts.  For only the second time ever, the Red Sox overcame the 0-3 start and won 4 straight games to take the series.                             

It is not how you start but how you finish that counts.  Maybe that’s what Solomon meant when he penned these words found in Ecclesiastes 7:8.

                 The end of a thing is better than its beginning.

So regardless of how this year started or what happened throughout the year, let us finish the year on a good note.  For that matter, let us finish our race on a good note.

Revelation 2:10 reads, be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life.

If you don’t have an active, obedient faith in the LORD, that would be the place to start.  The rest of the sentence from 2 Corinthians 13:5 reads…Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith.  Indeed, that is of paramount importance and my prayer for you.

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O You of Little Faith

Posted on December 5, 2018 by glenn

It is the nature of many to worry. A poor soul once lamented, “My life has been filled with terrible misfortune, most of which never occurred.”

Indeed most of what we worry about will never come to pass. And we are often able to handle what does happen better than we anticipate. Scripture reminds us that the trials of life actually produce good results. (James 1:2-4; Hebrews 12:5-11)

We are promised that GOD will make all things work together for good. (Romans 8:28)

Yet we worry. The word worry is found six times in Matthew 6:25-34. The context seems to be discussing our worrying about the physical things of life such as food and clothing. It is in this context that Jesus rebukes the worrier with this phrase, O you of little faith. We are reminded that worry is an indicator of a lack of faith.

The phrase, O you of little faith, is found 4 more times in the Bible. Let us visit each of these passages in the following order with a brief observation.

In Matthew 16:8, the context is anxiety or worry. The disciples had forgotten to bring bread on their trip. They were worried and reasoned among themselves. Jesus’ response? O you of little faith!

Consider Matthew 8:26. The context is fear. During a storm on the sea, the disciples awoke Jesus from His sleep fearing they were about to perish. Jesus’ response? O you of little faith!

The context is doubt in Matthew 14:31. This is the account of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus. He took his eyes of the LORD and immediately began to sink. At this point he cried out to the LORD, saying, “Lord, save me!” Jesus’ response? O you of little faith!

In the final instance, in Luke 12:28, the context is human reasoning. This is Luke’s account of the text with which we began in Matthew 6. Luke’s account is also found in the discussion of material things. It is apparent the disciples were worried about those things and human reasoning crept in. Where is our next meal coming from? How are we going to provide the necessary clothing? Human reasoning reveals a lack of faith. Jesus’ response? O you of little faith!

Thus in the four passages, we have anxiety, fear, doubt, and human reasoning. All of these reveal a lack of faith.

Now consider them in the reverse order. Human reasoning creates doubt. Doubt leads to fear. Fear leads to anxiety. All of this because of a lack of faith according to Matthew 17:20.
I must admit there are many times in my life I am sure the LORD must look at me and say, “O you of little faith.”

Then I consider the passages where Jesus commends a strong faith. In Matthew 15:28, to the mother of the demon-possessed daughter, He said, “Great is your faith!” To the centurion, in Matthew 8:10, He said, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

“O you of little faith” versus “Great is your faith.” Which would describe me?

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Give Thanks

Posted on November 20, 2018 by glenn

Recently while eating at a local restaurant I had an interesting experience. I noticed these two men as they came in and were seated at a table nearby. To say these men looked like trouble would be an understatement. The way they were dressed, their hair and beards, and everything about them pointed to drugs or something even more sinister. My mind wandered as I sat there with my wife. Because of my suspicion I kept an eye on them.

The waitress brought our food and shortly thereafter she brought their food to them. What happened next was not what I expected. To my great surprise, they removed their caps, bowed their heads and offered thanks for their food. Needless to say my attitude toward them immediately changed. I was ashamed of my thoughts. I was guilty of judging those men unfairly. I still knew very little about the men but their actions had changed my mindset.

There are so many lessons we could learn from this. We certainly need to be careful when forming opinions based on appearances only. The Bible condemns such judgments in passages like James 2.

1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that while man looks on the outward appearance, GOD looks on the heart. Looks are often deceiving. We should be very careful when forming first impressions.

For our thoughts today, I would like to consider something else about this story. These men gave thanks for their food. My wife and I did the same thing when our food came. At our family gatherings at home I love to hear my sons and grandsons offer thanks for our food.

But why do we give thanks for our food?  I had a friend bring this up recently observing that we don’t pray before other things we do. Actually we should and probably do pray before many things we do. But the question from my friend was, “Why do we pray before we eat?” When did this practice begin? Do we have Scriptural precedence for it?

Indeed we have many Biblical examples to follow.

There are passages in which Jesus prays before eating. Consider the feeding of the 5,000 in Matthew 14 and the feeding of the 4,000 in Matthew 15. In both cases, the Scriptures note that He gave thanks. (Matthew 14:19; 15:36)

Jesus gave thanks for the bread and wine at the Last Supper. (Matthew 26:27)

In writing to the young evangelist Timothy, Paul reminded him that under the New Covenant, there are no foods that are to be considered unclean. Twice in the context, he notes the food is to be received with thanksgiving. (1 Timothy 4:3, 4)

On his journey to Rome, while aboard the ship in the midst of the storm, Paul gave thanks for his food. (Acts 27:35)

Writing to the Romans, Paul noted he gave GOD thanks when he ate. (Romans 14:6)

In 1 Corinthians 10:30, Paul said, “But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks?”

He then followed in the next verse reminding us that whatever we do, we are to do all to the glory of GOD. When we pray before our meals, we are bringing glory to GOD.

And when we pray before our meals, we are acknowledging GOD as the source of all good things. (James 1:17)

That day in the restaurant, we finished eating before the men. As I left the restaurant, I went by their table and expressed my appreciation for their actions. Without knowing it, they had encouraged me that day and more importantly they had brought honor and glory to our GOD.

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Don’t Stop Here

Posted on November 1, 2018 by glenn

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Matthew 5:16.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

I have written before about the effect of a small light in total darkness. (January 16, 2018) Without going back into that material, let’s just note that the universal truth is simply this: light dispels darkness.

The passage in Matthew is generally referring to our light as our influence and our works.  The Christian is to live so that his actions will influence the world around him.  Influence in a positive way.  It is true that the only Bible many people ever read or see is by observing those followers of Christ in their midst.

We should note this is not a forced issue.  The Bible says “Let your light shine”.  It should be our normal way of life.  It doesn’t say “make your light shine.”  Each of us have a light.  We are made in the image of GOD.  GOD is the Father of lights (Ja 1:17).  We are to let our light shine.

Related to this influence, Philippians 2:15 notes that as children of GOD, we are in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation.  And to the Christian it says “among whom you shine”.  The phrase “among whom you shine” is Present tense, which means it is continuous. It is on-going.  It is a way of life.  Furthermore the phrase is in the Imperative mood which means it is a command.  We are commanded to walk and shine as lights in the world.  That is to be how our lives are to be defined.

Returning to the Matthew 5 text, we ask how?  How do we let our light shine?  The text says, “that they may see your good works.”  First let us note the idea of ‘works’ is not a bad word when it comes to religion.  We are letting our lights shine when we do good works.  Galatians 6:10 encourages us to be looking for opportunities to do good to all.

But here is the thought for the day.  What is our motive for doing good?  What is our motive for letting our lights shine?  Are we shining our lights in order to bring attention to ourselves?  GOD forbid!

The title to our blog today is in reference to the passage found in Matthew 5:16.  And we are encouraged not to put the period after the phrase, that they may see your good works.  No, don’t stop here!  Don’t leave the remaining part of the passage off!  The ultimate reason for our good works is found in the rest of the passage.  We shine and we work to glorify GOD in heaven!  May we ever remember our life’s function is to bring honor and glory to the ONE who created us.

The word glorify in the original language is found over 50 times in the New Testament.  The reader is encouraged to make a study of the word glorify and it’s close relative, glory, in the New Testament.

In the majority of those cases, the context is similar to that found in Luke 5:25.  Here Jesus heals a paralytic man and the text reads:

Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying GOD.

Mission accomplished!  The LORD performed a good work and it resulted in GOD being glorified.

May our life’s mission be to perform good works for the sole purpose of glorifying our GOD.  Help me O GOD to that end.

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