Lamp Under a Bowel

"Lamp Under a Bowl"

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven," (Matt. 5:14-16), also (Mark 4:21-25), (Luke 8:16-18), (Luke 11:33-36).

Once you lived in darkness, but you were born again, and now your world is enlightened by the light of Jesus; walk in this light. (Eph 5:8)

Though much of the world lives in darkness the light of Jesus shows the way to eternal life. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour have His light displayed within their own life.

Christianity is not reflected by intense religiosity, but by conducting our lives in such a manner that others will see the love, hope and promises of God flowing through us. Living a life that characterizes these values will correctly present the light of Jesus to a dark World.

It can sometimes be uncomfortable to allow your light to glow in the midst of the world's darkness; yet as the moon reflects the light of the sun so are we to reflect the light of Jesus. Our light is to serve as a beacon for others in a way that will glorify the Father.

Jesus said, "...For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (John 3:19-20).  

This tells us that just living a Christian Life can cause the unbelievers around you to become very uncomfortable. This is a natural work of the Holy Spirit as it exposes and brings them face to face with their own transgressions.

Unfortunately some "Social Christians," rather than allowing their light to shine, attempt to blend in with the crowd. But with their lamp under a bowl, how do they have anything to offer?

We all have the choice of either allowing our light to shine, or of hiding it under the bed or basket. Attempting to live for Christ and at the same time like the world may prove to be an impossible task'

Many people who are not Christians realize that Christian values represent higher standards, and can easily recognize a hypocrite. Though ironic, it has been said that, "if you want to know how a Christian should act, ask a sinner."

If you will take a moment to evaluate the people you interact with on a daily basis you may find that you are the only Christian some of them know. This means the only way these people will know about Christianity is through what they see in you.

The Beatitudes in Matthew 5 reveal much about the nature of Christ as He extends His love and concern to the poor; those who morn; the meek; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; the merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers; and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake... These Scriptures offer great insight into His character.

We should make every effort to assure that our Christian example is a reflection of the humility, good deeds, and love that Jesus so valued.

In order to Come to Christ sinners must acknowledge their sins and realize they need Jesus.

The light of Jesus can unmask the darkness and illuminate the pathway to salvation. As surely as the earth reveals the glory of God so does the light within each and every born again Christian.

Your little light can help this darkened world to find the supernatural hope, love, and eternal life that is only available through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and some day you too will hear,

" Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler    over many things... (Matt 25:21KJV)

Samuel Mills
Knoxville, TN

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The Crucifixion of Jesus

The Crucifixion Of Jesus
The interactive Bible

The shadow of the cross that was raised on Golgotha reaches across the centuries to offer comfort, forgiveness, and hope to us today. The story is almost unbelievable, for it is hard for us to image such love. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" is the message of the golden text of the Bible, John Chapter 3, verse 16. Jesus had to love us beyond measure to give Himself willingly to die for our sins. And we must complete the story of love by loving Him in return.

Some of the Jewish leaders hated Jesus because He condemned their sins. They did not want to believe the truth He preached, as He urged them to repent and turn back to God. They became jealous of the great crowds that followed Him and believed in Him, and finally decided to get rid of Him by having Him killed. Since the Jews did not have the right to have a man killed without the approval of the Roman governor, they had to take Jesus to Pilate. At the trial they had no evidence of wrong-doing by Jesus,  but put enough pressure on Pilate that he finally agreed to have the soldiers kill Jesus by crucifying Him. The place where they killed prisoners was outside the city of Jerusalem on a small hill called Golgotha or the place of the skull. Here they laid the cross on the ground while they nailed his hands and feet to it with great spikes. The cross was then lifted and dropped into a hole in the ground. The entire weight of the body tore at the spikes, and the pain was almost beyond endurance. The blood began to pound through the body as the shock of what was happening began to take its toll.  As the cells of the body were broken down it became a living death that sometimes lasted for a few hours, and could even last for a few days. Since Jesus had been whipped before they took Him to be crucified, He was already weak from loss of blood. Mercifully, He lived only a few hours on the cross.

Even with all the pain, Jesus thought of others rather than Himself. His first words from the cross were, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". Even though He could have threatened to punish them eternally when they faced Him in judgement, he did not do so. He thought of His mother, who stood by the cross weeping, and asked his beloved friend John to take care of her. On either side of Him there were two thieves crucified with Him. When one of them expressed faith in Jesus, the Saviour answered, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise". As the terrible afternoon wore on and His pain increased he finally moaned, "I thirst", and was offered vinegar, which He would not drink. God blotted out the sun as if to let us know how black the deed which was being done, and out of that blackness Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?". His final words expressed his complete surrender to the will of God as He said, "It is finished; Father into Thy hands I commend my spirit". He then bowed His head and died.
Even the earth could not accept the death of its Creator and Master without showing grief. There was a great earthquake which shook the countryside and made all people afraid. The only fear which we need to have, however, is that of refusing the love He showed in dying for us. The theme of our lives ought to be, "I'll live for Him who died for me, how happy then my soul shall be. I'll live for Him who died for me, my Saviour and my God".

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The christian Life Beings with Faith

The Christian Life Begins With Faith

By Carey Dillinger

2 Peter 1:1-5a

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that his divine power hath granted unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue; whereby he hath granted unto us his precious and exceeding promises; that through these ye may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. Yea, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply virtue... (ASV)
This Faith Is In A Person
Peter addresses this letter to them that have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. The faith that Peter's readers had was not just some "better felt than told" emotional concept, but instead a deep-rooted system of belief in God the Father and God the Son.

 Those of us today that choose to adopt this system of belief as our own will also have access unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness..., but only if we have a true knowledge of God and the Savior. The grace that pardons and sanctifies us will only come through this true knowledge. This knowledge will additionally bring the peace of conscience, reconciliation with God, and calmness of life in the face of trials.

This Faith Involves God's Power
We will be properly spiritually supplied through God's power. He manifests that power through the Word. It is through the Word that we come to believe that God's revelation is sufficient for our every spiritual need. God guarantees our access unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness..., which is our assurance that every need will be supplied. In this context "'life' refers to the spiritual vigor that the soul possesses; 'godliness' to the conduct necessary to preserve and maintain it." (Woods)

How will we be supplied? Through the knowledge of him that called us by his own glory and virtue..., that is, through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. In John 17:3, Jesus prayed that "all flesh may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent." In the previous verse Jesus indicates that He had been given all authority, which includes the ability to give eternal life. God's power, through Jesus Christ, is the guarantee of our faith.

How will his "own glory and virtue" call us...? The resurrection of Christ from the dead indicates God's omnipotence and Christ's "glory and virtue." It is by the Word of Jesus Christ that the call goes out for those with open minds. (See Eph. 1:17ff.)

 This Faith Involves God's Promises
The glory and virtue of Christ grants us "precious and exceeding promises." These promises are precious because of what they mean to our soul. They are exceeding because they include forgiveness, peace, the promise of eternal life, and a chance to be partakers of the Divine Nature. As partakers of the Divine Nature we become partners with God, His Son, and His Spirit in their Holy Character. It is only by partaking in this Divine Nature that we are given an escape from the corruption of the world.

 

This Faith Involves Our Participation
Because of the importance of obtaining the exceeding and precious promises, we should be adding on (our part) all diligence. The Greek word for adding (pareisenegkantes) literally means, "bringing in by the side of." The message to us as followers of Christ is clear: God supplies the exceeding and precious promises and He expects us to bring along side some things of our own. Of course our paltry contributions will not measure up to God's, but nevertheless they are necessary. The very fact that we are to "give diligence to add..." implies that there is something in addition to that which God has supplied which He expects us to supply. Time and again we see that God's promises are conditional and we must add our part to His part to make the promises functional.

What does this "diligent adding" involve? It is the express purpose of this series of articles to teach exactly what God expects us to "bring alongside" His promises to make them function on our behalf. The foundation of our participation in "the faith" is our faith. We must pursue these virtues diligently. Diligence involves an alignment of priorities and a tenaciousness of spirit. We must be focused on the goal and pursue it until it is accomplished.

The Hebrew writer (Heb. 11:6) says, that "without faith it is impossible to please God." Faith is the foundation on which all the other virtues are built. Faith must be more than just mental assent or it would not support the weight of the other virtues to come. It must be a lively, working faith, which will grow to become a system of belief that will not be compromised regardless. Paul told the Philippians, "Work out your own salvation... For it is God which worketh in you." (Phil. 2:12,13.) As with any building the ground must be prepared before the foundation can be laid. It is up to us to provide God with a place to build. The parable of the Sower (Mt. 13:1-9, 18-23) relates the types of ground that are available. What type are you?

The seven characteristics that follow must be supplied alongside our faith for our faith to operate properly in conjunction with God's promises. 
 

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