The Baptism of Suffering

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"I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!”

Luke 12:49-50 NASB

We have started a new series based on the last few verses in Luke 12. Jesus is speaking prophetically of things that were to come, not all in the distant future.

Yesterday, we learned about the fire of persecution. Previously, we've studied lessons from the life of Tyndale.

Today, we look at the coming baptism of Jesus. The word translated as "baptism" is baptista and literally means "immersion, submersion". It has come to indicate the Christian baptism by water but it also means an immersion in calamities and trials to which one is adverse. 


When Jesus spoke these words, He had already been baptized by John. He was not speaking of a water baptism. Instead, He was speaking of His coming crucifixion and death. Jesus knew what was coming, and He was distressed as He waited for it.

Jesus knew He would be betrayed, denied, arrested, beaten, have nails hammered into His hands and feet to secure Him to a wooden cross, left to die, be confined to a tomb for three days while He conquered death and sin, and rise again. Other than the rising again, there was nothing but horrible suffering in what was to come. 

I celebrate the cross but, I have to admit, I sometimes treat it as if it was just a "one stop along the way, no big deal, quick pain and it's over" event. 

It's clear from this verse that Jesus saw it quite differently. The death of Jesus and the events that preceded it were a long ordeal of agonizing torture. He knew what was to come, and He dreaded it. 

Taking on the sins of the world is not to be taken lightly. No mortal man could do it. Only Jesus, and He hated having it to do.

It was a baptism of suffering and He did it because it had to be done. Jesus embraced the suffering, the shame, the pain and did it with love and grace. He preached the importance of loving our enemies and He demonstrated that truth with His death. 

He loved us, despite what lay ahead.

This sacrifice of Jesus should change us. It should make us shout with joy and run into the streets shouting, "He did it! He did it for me!" 

It wasn't a casual sacrifice, like throwing a quarter into a beggar's cup. It was everything. 

Jesus gave all He had, and He did it for us all.

There are times when we, too, endure a kind of baptism of suffering. It can't compare with that of Jesus, but we can respond to our suffering with the grace of Jesus, and we should. We must. It is not my intention to trivialize our suffering. I've had some suffering of my own, and it was horrible and painful and I thought it would never end. But it did end, and it left me changed. I think it left me more like Christ than I was before. 

Suffering is very real, but we must allow God to take that suffering and use it to change us, make us more like Christ. As we face the suffering and pain of our lives again today, let us do it as Jesus did. He looked toward the joy on the other side of the suffering, kept His face turned toward heaven, and pressed on. So should we.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB

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Our Father, forgive my whining and self-pity. Help me to embrace the circumstances You have allowed into my life and use them to glorify You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#suffering #perseverance #Ipresson #JesusChrist #disciple #myeyesareonthejoy

The Refining Fire of Persecution

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"I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!”

Luke 12:49-50 NASB

These verses are a prophetic word from Jesus to His disciples. This section began with the question from Peter. "Lord, are you addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?" (Lk 12:41) His question was immediately preceded by Jesus' discussion of staying on the alert for the second coming of the Son of Man. 

"I have come to cast fire upon the earth." Some commentators believe that this casting of fire relates to the fire of the Holy Spirit, sent at Pentecost, and that may very well be correct. Because this is sandwiched between the verses referencing the coming of the Son of Man and those that follow, speaking of persecution and divisions, I interpret these two verses differently, and concur with Matthew Henry on this. I believe these two verses speak of persecution as well.

What Jesus did, in coming to earth, was to start a process that began with His arrival, proceeded through His death, burial, and resurrection, and continues until His triumphant return. Metaphorically, He "cast fire" upon the earth, for His teachings threatened the religious establishment and brought wrath upon His followers. A consuming fire of persecution followed.

Jesus had tough times ahead and, like most of us, He dreaded them. "How distressed I am until it is accomplished." Despite knowing he would be brutally executed, He taught a lifestyle of love, including love for our enemies. We, too, need to remember His teachings regarding praying for our enemies.

Persecution was coming, he warned, and it would be a fire that blazed and consumed. Jesus was right. Christians would be eaten by lions, sawn in two, stoned, imprisoned, scourged, made destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, and more. (Hebrews 11:36-38)  Jesus knew these things were coming, yet He saw them as temporary, just as the agony of crucifixion was temporary. 

These tortures would not be just a temporary suffering. They would serve as a refining fire. When believers stood in the midst of the coliseum, chained, as a lion roared toward them and opened its mouth wide, white teeth glistening, moving in for the kill, he (or she) would know the truth of their faith. No one would be eaten alive for a convenient faith. It was only for a real, vibrant, living faith that one might die.

Persecution separated the wheat from the chaff, the believers from the crowd. 

Following Jesus was no longer a trendy fad. It was truth worth dying for, and thousands of believers gave their lives for that truth. Instead of burning out the disciples of Christ, it caused them to flee ahead of the fire, and literally took the gospel around the world. 

We have begun to see the same refining fire of persecution blazing throughout the earth once again. The beheadings of believers in the Middle East are only the beginning. Persecution has, in some ways, begun in this country, as well. We can expect the fire to burn hotter, to blaze brighter. 

We will not all escape the flames, but the cause of Christ will not be burned out. 

The accelerating persecution will have an important effect on the church. Those who are "country club Christians" will fall away. If our involvement in church activities is merely a social event, we will not stand in the face of trial. That trial, however, will clarify (for us and for the world) the truth of our relationship to Christ.

Am I a committed follower or a convenience follower?

This is a question we may soon have the opportunity to answer, but, if we hope to stand in the midst of trial, we must make our decision now. 

Will we follow Him regardless of the cost or not?

There is nothing sweeter than the joy of serving a living Lord who comes to us in our trials and comforts us in our suffering, even when that trial is a trial by fire, to the death.

Jesus will return, but many hard and terrifying things will happen before that glorious day. They are part of the process and will serve as a refining fire. We will not all suffer great affliction, but many of us will. 

Not one moment of suffering will be overlooked by our Lord. Not one drop of blood will be wasted.

"And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained... and there was given to each of them a white robe... (Rev. 6: 9-11 NASB)

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You can read more about the refining fire of persecution and lessons from the life of William Tyndale here.

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Our Father, forgive our wavering faith and make us strong, sure, ready to stand, no matter the cost. We pray for our enemies and those who would harm us for our faith. May our sacrifice draw them to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#persecution #readytodie #martyr #JesusChrist #disciple

Much Given, Much Required

"...From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." Luke 12:48 NASB

This is the last half of the verse about the servant who did not know the Master's will and did not do it. At first glance, the words didn't seem to flow quite as well as I usually expect, mainly because I assumed these words referred to material things. The principle holds true for material things, but, in this instance, Jesus was speaking of knowing God's will. When I turned to the original language, it was eye-opening.

The word translated as "entrusted" is paratithēmi and conveys the idea of "to set before". When God provides teaching concerning His will, when He "sets it before me", He is entrusting it to me and I am accountable to Him for how I use that knowledge. Whether I choose to ignore it or incorporate truth into my life, I am accountable for that decision. 

You, like me, have probably heard one of those sermons that lacks "zip", that's dry and difficult to ingest. Does it "set God's word before me"? If so, I'm accountable for the teaching, whether I choose to listen or not. 

A while back, I was having a terrible time listening to the preacher. I understand why preachers begin with jokes, but I've never liked jokes in a sermon. I had developed a tendency to let my mind wander until the minister "got through wasting time" and got down to business. The problem was that my wandering mind wandered so much that I didn't always realize when the actual sermon had begun. When I tuned back in, it was obvious I had missed important points. My solution was to carry a small spiral-bound notebook to church and take notes during the sermon, regardless of what was being said, to prevent "missing something good."

I flipped through one of those notebooks last night and found something very interesting. On a page where I'd doodled during the jokes, I had written these words:

"When my greatest joy is in knowing God, 

my wants will take second place to what God wants in me."

Those words were a portion of the harvest from that sermon (the one with all the jokes at the beginning). Had I tuned out because of the jokes, I'd have missed important truth for which I was responsible to receive. 

We have tremendous religious freedom in this country in comparison to most of the world, and, because of it, a feast of preaching and teaching is set before us on a regular basis. 

I can know God's will, if I want to know God's will.

Our focus verse points out a very important truth. My desire for God's will is not the deciding factor in accountability. If teaching of truth is available to me, I'm accountable for how I use it, whether I "want" it or not, whether I choose to receive it or not. 

There's a simple solution to this problem of being accountable for God's will. Pursue His will with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.

When we do, we can expect to hear those six beautiful words as we step into eternity. "Well done, good and faithful servant."

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Our Father, forgive us for our laxity in pursuing Your ways. Create in us a desire for truth and a willingness to obey. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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If you want to read more, about this topic, check out the previous posts in this series. We began our study of this portion of Scripture with the unfaithful servant , then being salt and light, Christ and the Constitution, and the importance of praying for our leaders, and yesterday, the importance of knowledge.  If you missed one of them, I hope you'll follow the link (it opens in a new tab) and get caught up.

#disciple #obedience # obediencematters #JesusChrist #faithful servant

The Importance of Knowledge

But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 45-48 NASB

We began our study of this portion of Scripture with the unfaithful servant , then being salt and light, and Christ and the Constitution. Yesterday, we looked at the importance of praying for our leaders. If you missed one of them, I hope you'll follow the link (it opens in a new tab) and get caught up.

At last, we are coming to the end of this passage. 

The topic today is the disobedient servant, the one who did not do the Master's will. Jesus made a distinction between the servant who knew his Master's will and the one who did not know His Master's will. The one who knew the Master's will yet still refused to obey will receive a greater punishment, in accordance to the degree of his sin. Knowing God's will, yet refusing to do it, indicates a greater degree of willfulness, a greater degree of rebellion against God, and deserves a greater consequence.

The one who does not know the Master's will and, therefore, fails to obey what he does not know, will receive a lesser punishment.

The word translated as "know" is ginōskō and indicates knowledge with understanding. This is knowledge that makes a difference in us, changes us because of our understanding. 

If I effectively study the Word of God, I will be changed (unless I make a conscious decision not to be changed) by His truth.

Lest we be tempted to decide we are better off without knowledge, think again. 

Our options are not limited to more punishment or less. Our options are obedience with reward or disobedience with consequences and no reward.

If  I want rewards from God, I must obey Him.

Jesus has a remarkable way of simplifying the life of a disciple. Obey or don't. Reward or consequence. We decide.

How easy is that?

The difficulty comes in seeking knowledge. Knowing God's will comes by knowing His Word. Knowing His Word comes by study. There are a plethora of study tools available today, some better than others. In parts of the world today, studying God's Word is a dangerous undertaking because of persecution of believers. In this country, it is not. 

What, then, is my excuse for failing to study God's Word?

There is no worthy excuse. From the beginning, God gave us the gift of choice. We can choose obedience or disobedience. From the first day in the Garden, He made it clear. Obedience is a choice for life. Disobedience is a choice for death. 

The choice is mine. The choice is yours.

Choose wisely. Choose life.

"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.”

Deuteronomy 30:15-16 NASB

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Our Father, forgive us our lack of study, our lack of knowledge. Give us such a hunger for Your Word that we will study and learn and know how to please and obey You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Praying for our leaders: Pray for God's chosen leaders will emerge in the coming weeks of campaigning so that we might have the leaders He desires, not the ones we deserve.

#knowledge #Biblestudy #Godsword #disciple

Christ and the Constitution, part 2: Praying for elected officials

But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 45-48 NASB

We began our study of this portion of Scripture with the unfaithful servant , then being salt and light. Yesterday, we considered Christ and the Constitution. If you missed one of them, I hope you'll follow the link (it opens in a new tab) and get caught up.

If  I am to do my Master's will, then I must know my Master's will. 

Am I doing His will if I obey in the areas I choose, but fail to do His will in areas of civic responsibility? I think not.

I understand how easy it is to be led astray in this area. There was a time when I prayed for our nation with such fervor that I spent hours face down on the floor in prayer, begging for God's mercy and leading. At some point, I gradually spent less time praying for our country. Eventually, those prayers became nothing more than a passing reference. My failure to be on guard in prayer for our nation and our leaders was sin, and I have repented. I'm praying again.

I do not have a right to complain about my leaders. 

Yes, the First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees my freedom of speech, but if I have not first spent serious time in intercession for my leaders, I should not dare to complain.  

I will answer to God for those words if I do.

Rather than hammer this point with my own words, I've gathered Scripture together.

Psalm 22:28 - For the kingdom is the Lord's and He rules over the nations.

Proverbs 21:1 - The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.

Jeremiah 29:7 - Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.

Daniel 2:20-23 - He (God) removes kings and establishes kings...

Matthew 22:20-21 - ... Then He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."

Romans 13:1-7 - Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are established by God... for rulers are servants of God...

1 Timothy 2:1-4 - First of all, then I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity...

Titus 3:1,2 - Remind them to be subject to rules, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

1 Peter 2:13, 17 - Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him....Honor all people... honor the king.

Matthew 12:36 - "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment."

Most of the verses above were given by God in a time of turmoil and persecution. "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile" was written to people who had been kidnapped by an opposing army and carried away from their homes into captivity. Paul wrote that we are to pray for those in authority despite the years he spent in chains.

Praying for those in authority is not optional. 

It's trendy for Christians to grumble about our government, our President, and our elected officials. This should not be. We of all people should be on our knees, begging God to direct the hearts of our elected officials, including our President. 

If we spent as much time praying for our president and elected officials as we do complaining about them, we would have a far different country.

Either we believe that God can both remove and establish leaders or we don't. Either we believe He can direct their hearts and decisions or we don't. Which is it? 

I am not saying that there is no room for disagreement or for protest, but mindless complaining about officials helps no one and it dishonors God.

Pray. For the sake of our nation, we must stop wasting time complaining and begin to pray like we mean it. 

Pray like God can do something about the direction of our nation. Either we believe He can, or we don't. 

I'm writing to myself as much as to anyone today. I have failed to pray as I ought. Perhaps we all have, but we must not continue to fail. Let us choose now to include our President and our elected officials in our prayers. 

Pray boldly with expectation that God will move, because He will.

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Our Father, thank You for Your wisdom in choosing the leaders we need to drive us back to You. Give our leaders wisdom and direct their hearts like channels of water. Help President Obama and our Congressional officials choose Your paths, even when it's not what they would personally want. Change our hearts and theirs. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#disciple #prayforpresidentobama #prayforamerica #intercede #JesusChrist

Christ and the U. S. Constitution

But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 45-48 NASB

We began our study of this portion of Scripture with the unfaithful servant . Yesterday, we looked at being salt and light. If you missed one of them, I hope you'll follow the link (it opens in a new tab) and get caught up.

Today, I am, in a way, writing about the slave who knew his master's will but did not do it. That slave will be in big trouble and will regret his decision.

Most of my employees over the years have understood what I expected and have worked hard to do it. I've had very few who failed to do their work, but there have been one or two. I didn't beat them, but I did have a process to fire them if, after a conference, they didn't do their duty. 

As an employee, we know that our employer expects certain things of us. Those duties are usually described in our job description. Most of the time, we expect certain things of our employer (like being paid in a timely manner and in the amount agreed upon, health insurance, benefits). Those benefits are described in a contract. That contract is a legally binding agreement between employer and employee.

As a U.S. citizen, we have a similar document that describes what we can expect. It's called a constitution. The dictionary defines the constitution as "the system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like is governed." In the United States, our constitution was drafted by the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and went into law on March 4, 1789. There's a plethora of laws to accompany it, but the constitution gives us certain rights that we can count on.

I've just read our Constitution again, and I recommend you do, too. Here's the link to a PDF of the Constitution. It's not my first time to read this document. As an elected official, I've read it many times. It's one of the documents under which I work. There's a few statements in there that always surprise me, though.

~"Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy;" (italics are mine)

~ The Oath of Office for President does not contain the term "so help me God". The oath reads: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

~ "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." (This means our elected officials can follow any religious faith they desire, or none if they want. That right is  guaranteed them by the Constitution.)

The only mention of "God" in the Constitution and its amendments is used in the term "the year of our Lord". 

The first amendment guarantees us the freedom of religion, speech, and press. Here's what it says:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;"

This means that the exercise of the Christian faith cannot be prohibited, but neither can the exercise of Islam, Hindu, or any other religion. All faiths are equally protected. There is not a protection for one faith to kill people of a different faith (as in Isis beheadings) but neither is there a protection for people of one faith to persecute people of another faith. (bomb mosques, etc). All faiths are welcome to get along side by side. (I am not saying all religions are truth. That's an issue for a different document.)

I realize that's quite a bit of detail about a document that is more than 200 years old, but it is the document under which we, in this country, live and have our rights. It's important to know what our rights are, but it is equally important to know what our rights are not. 

It was in the Declaration of Independence that our forefathers mentioned their faith, but that is not law. It does give us a picture of their ideology, but again, it's not law.

As Christians, we, too, have fundamental principles that govern how we act. It is my opinion that Jesus summed those up in these words:

"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22: 37-39 NASB

According to Jesus, all the laws of God depend on these words. 

The basis of our faith, then, is love. Love of God. Love of our fellow man.

Why does all this matter? Why have I written all this legalese today? 

As Americans, we are bound by the law of the land and it's important to know the laws under which we function. It's equally important to know what freedoms our Constitution guarantees and what it does not.

As disciples of Christ, we are also bound by the law of Christ, and that law begins and ends with love. 

Space does not permit a study of all the promises or rights of divine citizenry that God has given us. The Bible is filled with promises, but those are for another day.

This is a complex issue that cannot be completed addressed in a single blog post. I've addressed only a few key points. 

For today, let's evaluate our citizenship. As citizens of this country, we have rights and responsibilities. We have the right to insist that the law be followed and that our rights be protected. It's not just important that we know our rights so that we know what rights should be ensured, it's our responsibility.

The problem we sometimes have is that we get our rights as citizens of the US confused with our rights as citizens of the Kingdom of God. The two are not synonymous. 

As believers, we have a citizenship in the Kingdom of God. It conveys certain rights and responsibilities. Our job, or responsibility, in this Kingdom is love. When we love God and love our fellow man, we should act in ways that honor our Lord and King. 

Love does not preclude insisting that laws be followed. It does require that we do our insisting in ways that please God. May the fruit of the Spirit be evident, even when we encounter controversy and disagreement.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NASB

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Our Father, help us to know truth, know our rights and obligations as citizens, and act in ways that bring glory and honor to You. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#unfaithfulservant #Christandtheconstitution #consitution #disciple #citizen #love 

Unfaithful Servant: Salt and Light and Logs and Motes

But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few." Luke 12: 45-48 NASB

We began our study of the unfaithful servant yesterday. If you missed it, I hope you'll follow the link (it opens in a new tab) and read it.

I expected to write today about the slave who knew his master's will and didn't do it. In a way, that's exactly what I'm writing about. In a way, I'm writing about the unfaithful servant who beats the other people. I hesitate, because I'm as guilty as anyone else of seeing motes in others' eyes while ignoring the log in my own, but this is a subject that has bothered me for months. It's so loud in my head that it must be written. 

We are talking today about the WORDS we choose to use. 

My life is chock-full of words because my days are spent writing and editing, correcting the wrong words and making them right. I was focused on words long before I started writing full-time, though. In my growing up years, my mother must have told me a thousand times, "You don't have to say everything that comes into your mind." (Well, maybe not those exact words, but that's what she meant.) I understand the importance of words and the difficulty with choosing good ones.

It has taken me a lifetime to get a filter on my mouth, and I'm the first one to say I'm not perfect with it, despite my effort. With that said, here we go.

Jesus called me (us) to be salt and light. He did not call me to rub a handful of salt into a wound.

I am called to be the amount of saltiness that adds flavor to food, not the amount that makes it impossible to swallow.  If my words spew forth and are filled with venom (in the name of "truth"), I am not adding flavor to the world around me. I am making my faith impossible to swallow.

I am to be light, but the warm light of a lamp that draws people in the darkness to Christ. I am not called to be a spotlight boring into the eyes of the unbeliever to the point that they are blinded by the glare. I am called to be a lamp, not a laser. 

I recently drove to a meeting late in the evening. When I rounded a curve, the sun was shining directly into my eyes. It was so bright that I was temporarily blinded and had to stop lest I run into a fence that was directly ahead of me. Progress toward the goal was completely halted by the glare. It didn't draw me to my destination. It prevented me from moving toward it.

As a disciple of Christ, I am called to obey the Word of God and to live righteously. I am called to share the Good News of a risen Savior with those who don't know Him. Christ died for me while I was a sinner, and He died for those who are also still sinners (which I am, t00).

How can people obey Christ if they do not know Him? Why would I expect the world to obey Him? Yes, Jonah preached a hard word to Nineveh and the people repented. His very effective prophetic proclamation was made only after a radical life-changing encounter with the Most High God had left him visibly changed. 

 If I want to be a modern-day Jonah to the world around me, I need to begin by having a life-altering encounter with God that leaves me so changed that all can see it.  I also need to remember the kind of message Jonah gave. He didn't spew venom. Not once did he say, "Your sin makes me sick." Jonah simply stated the truth. "Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown."

When I attack the world for acting like the world, but do not address the sin in my own life, in my own church, I appear not only hypocritical (which I am) but also foolish.

Can't I see the log in my own eye? 

Every mote looks like a log when it's in someone else's eye. Seeing a mote in someone else's eye does not mean I am without a log or two in my own eye.

Please don't misunderstand me. I am dedicated to truth, but I need to understand and live with all the truth. 

It is past time for the body of Christ to allow our Lord to clean the sin out of our own lives, out of our own churches. 

It is past time to let go of self-righteousness and see that we, like the world, are sinners in need of a redeeming, cleansing, forgiving Savior.

When I say "we", I include myself in that "we". Christ died for me while I was a sinner. He loves me even though I am still a sinner. His Spirit convicts me, presses me when I persist in sin, and draws me back to my Lord when I stray. 

For today, let's ask God to create in us clean hearts and clean mouths, to remove the venom and give us words that honor Him. (Yes, I'm praying that same thing.) Let's pray that the words of our mouths would be acceptable in His sight. 

Let's be the lamp, the flavor-enhancer He's called us to be, demonstrating Christ to the world in a way that is both filled with truth and also irresistible. 

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Our Father, forgive us for "log disease". Help us to see ourselves, our hearts, our words as You see them. Infuse us with the light of Your love and help us to shine in such a way that those who live in darkness are drawn to the light. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Tomorrow's topic is Christ and the constitution. I'm dreading it.

#disciple #JesusChrist #actlikewebelive #getthelogout