Comings – Revelation 22:17

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Steve

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ Let anyone who hears this say, ‘Come.’ Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.” There are two comings requested in this verse and they seem to be inclusive of one another. The first request is for Christ, the bridegroom, to come and is made by the bride, the Church, who is inhabited or indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But the invitation to come is also to those who have not yet come to faith in Christ and His salvation. And we can assume that the Spirit and the bride make this second request as well. Throughout the centuries, God’s people have waited for, prayed for, hoped for, and watched for Christ’s return. This intercession for Christ’s soon return is clearly demonstrated in the closing words of John’s revelation: “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (vs. 20). But this blessed hope is an entirely evangelistic proposition because it’s a shared hope! You can’t want the Lord to come without wanting people to come to the Lord. Thus, the coming of the Lord is inclusive of the coming to the Lord. And when others come to believe in Christ, then they join in the matrimonial chorus of intercession for His soon return. With the coming of the new year let our prayer be “Come quickly, Lord Jesus” and let us put our prayers into action by inviting others to come to the Lord Jesus.

Learning to Be the Light – 1 John 1:7

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Steve

“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” The Apostle John declares that God is light (vs. 5). So, if you are in fellowship (in a relationship) with God, then His light shines on you so that you are living in the light. A Canadian band, Newworldson, recorded a song that expresses the heartfelt desire of all who are living in the light of God to learn to be His light to others. The lyrics of the chorus of the song say:

It’s so much brighter living in your world
Savior what you did for me

You gave me something I want everyone to see

When we stumble and it all goes wrong

Only you can make it right

So I say I’m learning to be the light

God doesn’t want you just to bask in the warmth and illumination of His light. He wants you to reflect His light to others. When you live in the light of God’s reality, then sooner or later you must start reflecting the light of God’s reality–you must learn to be the light. God wants you to be the light so that the light of His reality can be seen in this world in you! “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15).

God’s Measure for Success – Ezekiel 3:17-21

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Steve

“Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me. If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too” (Ezekiel 3:17-21, NLT).

God commissioned Ezekiel to conduct a twofold prophetic ministry–warn the wicked to repent and warn the righteous not to sin. Ezekiel was called to be both an evangelist and a pastor.

God told Ezekiel that he was appointed to be a “watchman for Israel.” The watchman was a lookout for the community and was responsible for providing advance warning of approaching enemies so that the people could take refuge in time.

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The Kingdom Unemployment Rate – Matthew 9:35-38

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Steve

“Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Jesus came to Planet Earth proclaiming the good news that the Kingdom of God has come to people.

By His own proclamation and through His healing ministry, Jesus made God’s Kingdom available and accessible to everyone, especially to those in this world who had been marginalized.

What Jesus said and did was the Supreme Example of what His disciples should be saying and doing.

Unfortunately, there is a high unemployment rate in the Kingdom of God!

Those that do the work of the Kingdom of God are still few in number compared to the greatness of the need.

But if all of Jesus’ disciples are gainfully employed in proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God, then productivity will be increased.

Pray and ask God to use you today to proclaim the healing and redemptive power of His Kingdom to someone in need.

This Little Light of Mine

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Steve

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:14-16, NLT)

We have all heard this familiar saying of Jesus sung about in children’s songs in Sunday School, preached about in evangelistic sermons, and used to admonish others, particularly our children.

But stop and ponder it for a few moments and see what it is saying to you.

If I walk around my house at night in the darkness, I bump into furniture and trip over shoes or toys that have not been put away as I stumble my way to the nearest light source, usually a lamp.

When I turn on the lamp, I can clearly see where I am going.

Jesus said that if we are His disciple, we are like a lamp that He has switched on so that His light can shine through us to show the way to those stumbling through life in darkness.

Jesus is our light source!

We emit the light that Jesus gives us by the way we live and the words we speak.

And by emitting light, we give direction and shine the truth on others.

The light song we learned in Sunday School as children has a profound biblical truth that calls us to action as messengers of the gospel.

So let this song be your prayer and plan of action for today: “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”

“You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness” (Psalm 18:28, NLT).