Live in the Light

Fearless Faith

We live in a world intent on rejecting Christ; rejecting the notion that there is a God of love and justice in heaven; rejecting this fanciful idea that He'd do anything so dramatic as to send His Son into this world, to die for us on a cross so that our sins might be forgiven, and to rise again to give us the gift of eternal life. Oh, in part, Jesus may still be tolerated, but not obeyed. For many, cultural Christianity has emerged as a safe alternative to biblical discipleship. Truth has been redefined, even by the church. Faith has been sidelined for comfort. The gospel has been rebranded while, all the while, persecution intensifies. And so, in response, some (many?) have perfected the art of nodding politely to Jesus while nailing the door shut in His face; wanting His comfort, not His cross; His blessings, not His Lordship. We've traded the narrow road for the wide one, repackaging Him into a benign mascot for our worldly ambitions. With all that going on … many have become ashamed of the real Jesus, of the power He offers us for our lives to be transformed, of the truth that our eternity lies in His hands. They've become timid in telling others of Him, in light of their own, watered-down faith. And yet, amidst not dissimilar circumstances back in the 1st Century AD, the Apostle Paul writes this: Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (NRSV) Friend, that's God's clarion call to you and to me to live out a fearless faith amidst a world intent on dismissing Jesus as irrelevant or foolish. Don't be ashamed of Jesus. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

God Will Make You Strong

We each, inevitably, arrive at a point where all hope appears lost; where we can't see how we'll survive; where any faith we may have had in God seems so fragile in light of the terrible circumstances that confront us. Perhaps you've been there, perhaps it's yet to come. Vilhjalmur Stefansson was an Arctic explorer of Icelandic descent. In 1913, his ship was trapped and destroyed by pack ice, leaving him and his men stranded in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. Facing starvation, polar storms, and total isolation, Stefansson leaned on his deep faith and unshakable belief in God's providence. He adapted by learning from the Inuit, surviving entirely on local resources, and leading his team to safety after years in the Arctic. He later testified that it was the certainty of God's presence and strength that sustained him when all human hope was gone. Said God to His people Israel, close to the end of seventy years in exile as slaves in Babylon, when all hope appeared lost, when they couldn't see how they'd ever be saved, when their faith in Him seemed so fragile against the might of the Babylonian Empire … Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand. (HCSB). When every human resource fails, God's presence doesn't just comfort you—He gives you the strength, the wisdom, the resilience to walk out of the terror back into life once more. That's His Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Live in the Light

I've always loved technology … each new thing seems to offer so much potential to the human race. And yet, I wonder, have we gone too far? Have we allowed it to rob us of living life to the full? A man buys the latest virtual reality headset, boasting the most vivid worlds imaginable. He spends hours each day in its glow, wandering neon streets, conquering digital empires. But in his obsession, he forgets to open the curtains. One day, the power goes out. He tears off the headset. The room reeks of stale air. The blinds are caked in dust. And when he pulls them open, sunlight pours in, dazzling his eyes. It's warmer, richer, more real than anything the headset could ever have given him. 1 John 1:7 We should live in the light, where God is. If we live in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood sacrifice of Jesus, God's Son, washes away every sin and makes us clean. How sad is it that so many wander in the imitative half-light of this world when the light of God's love shines so brightly, if only they'd open the curtains to see? That's precisely what I did for the first 36 years of my life. And yet, now forgiven by Jesus' sacrifice on that Cross, my life is richer, it has more meaning, more joy, more peace than anything this world alone could ever have offered me. Friend, there is so much more to life than the glittering trinkets of this world that so readily steal our gaze. Some people live their whole lives in pixels when the sun of God's truth is just outside. Live in the light. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

Behold the Glory of the Lord

A pilot trying to land her plane in a terrible storm has a choice to make. Amidst the violent turbulence, the zero visibility and the unquestionable danger, she can either trust her instruments to guide her to the landing strip, or panic and lose direction. The best choice? Pretty obvious, isn't it?! Perhaps you, like me, profess a faith in Jesus, believing (as the Bible says) that the glory of God fills the whole earth. But storms happen. The daily grind grinds you down, at which point, just like our hypothetical pilot, you have a choice to make … one which is far from hypothetical, one which in all honesty will set the course of the rest of your life. Isaiah 6:1,3 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a very high and wonderful throne. His long robe filled the Temple. Seraph angels stood around him. … The angels were calling to each other, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD All-Powerful. His Glory fills the whole earth." King Uzziah had been a strong, long-reigning king. His death (around 740 BC) marked a time of national uncertainty. This vision comes to the Prophet Isaiah at a time of leadership vacuum and spiritual decline in Judah. He's granted a vision of the true King — not dead, but reigning. I saw Adonai, translated as sovereign, exalted master. And where did Isaiah see Him? High and lifted up, His robe filling the temple, angels surrounding Him. And friend, that's the reality still. Will you trust that truth to lead you home, or panic and lose direction? The best choice? It's obvious, right? For His glory fills the whole earth. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.

The Wellspring of Life

Obedience is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, societies depend on it for good order, well-being, and basic safety. On the other, as we saw yesterday in discussing the 1994 Rwandan genocide, blind obedience can have devastating consequences. Mitsuo Fuchida was the commander of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, killing thousands and drawing the Americans into WWII. After the war, bitter and disillusioned, he encountered a story that stopped him cold: a young Christian woman, Peggy Covell, had cared for Japanese POWs with love — even though Japanese soldiers had executed her missionary parents. She obeyed Christ's command to love her enemies — a command that Fuchida found utterly incomprehensible. What she did and how she did it shattered him. So he read the Bible. He wrestled with Jesus' words. And eventually, he gave his life to Christ, spending the rest of his days preaching the gospel — including to his former enemies. All that, because one obscure young woman, against every human instinct, obeyed Christ's command - love your enemy. Writes the psalmist … Psalm 119:93 I will never forget your commands, because through them you gave me new life. Many consider God's commands in His Word, the Bible, to be outdated, inconvenient and, at times, utterly incomprehensible. How can you possibly love your enemies? And yet it's been demonstrated time and time and time again, that when we hunker down and obey Him against all odds, against what every fibre of our being is screaming at us, a newness of life breaks out and ripples across the waters. Never forget His commands, because through them He will give you a new life. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.