We’ve all heard the phrase, “When it rains, it pours.” While there are rare occasions that we might get to focus on a single responsibility or situation, most of our time is spent juggling several simultaneously. When one challenge arises, we expect a few more to come knocking. While this can be overwhelming (a feeling Satan just loves for us to have), these are the times in our life when we find out what we’re really made of. When it seems hardest to make a godly decision, when it seems impossible to know the right answer, when you don’t WANT to do the right thing, when the rubber meets the road, your response reveals the contents of your heart. Over the past few weeks, I have seen fellow Christians, young children, and total strangers whose lives have been turned upside down by tragedy, uncertainty, and harm. In…
Many ethical lawyers provide valuable legal services to the public. However, “slip-and-fall” attorneys likewise exist to encourage you to sue any and everything. This latter type of legal practitioner typically advertises on television or buys up many billboards to boast about how much money they have earned for their clients. One such commercial for a particular “ambulance chaser” in Atlanta features an actress portraying a female accident victim claiming that the one responsible for her crash had come “out of nowhere.”
This statement is, of course, ridiculous. Unless this client lived in a fictional sci-fi world where physics allowed for the spontaneous generation of matter from nothing, it was more a matter of her senses “betraying” her. This truth sounds strange, but it is a matter of science. Our five senses intake 11 million bits of information per second but compress it to less than 50 bits. Amazingly, it only takes our brain a half-second to achieve this feat!1
Sometimes, when we focus on a task, like driving, we fall victim to what is called “inattentional blindness.” This phenomenon results from the energy required to compress the previously mentioned information.2 In the case of our accident victim, the other driver was most likely visible to her. Yes, that driver may have been driving recklessly. However, it was more likely that she became “blind” to that driver until it was too late for her to react. (Remember there is that half-second delay in receiving sensory information and the processing thereof.)
So, what is our devotional thought? It is not that the flesh fails us. We know that the physical body has limitations, such as inattentional blindness. Our study, instead, is about what we will term inattentional spiritual blindness. Like our accident victim, some claim that the universe we inhabit “came out of nowhere.” It boggles the mind that, though we’ve never witnessed something arise from nothing outside of science fiction, some maintain that an explosion of matter from nothing, billions of years ago, gave rise to you and me today.
Why is that? It is not a lack of information. David reminds us that the heavens proclaim God’s handiworks (Psalm 19.1-6). To this, Paul adds that God’s “invisible attributes” are “clearly seen” in creation (Romans 1.20). The inattentional spiritual blindness results from people focusing too much on the physical than the spiritual. As Paul continues in Romans 1, unbelievers exchange the truth for a lie to worship the creature rather than the Creator (1.25). Atop of the testimony of nature, though, we have the added testimony of God Himself in the book He inspired (cf. 2 Timothy 3.16). So, despite the atheists mocking demand for God to reveal Himself, He is standing beside the atheist in the blind spot of his own making.
Such people remaining disobedient to the Gospel will find themselves taken unaware by the Judgment of God. At that moment, their knees, and tongues, reluctant to do so in life, will be bowed by the presence of He Who would be their Savior, and they will confess His name (cf. Philippians 2.10). But, of course, the recognition comes too late to prevent the eternal destructive consequences.
I would encourage you to work on your attentiveness to your surroundings. More than preserving your physical life, it may likewise profit you spiritually. Blindness, whether caused by limitations of the flesh or choice, eventually proves detrimental.
The life of a true Christian is filled with change. We learn where we are weak, and try to be better. It’s kind of like a never ending home improvement project. There will always be areas of our spiritual walk with God that could be better. Because this is the case, many religious books, sermons and Gospel meetings are created around a theme that will help us to grow. In the Church there is a plethora of information to help us in our Christianity, but I want to focus on the basics and answer a vital question. What does it mean to be a Christian?
I want to answer this question with a passage in scripture that we may not immediately think of. We may think of 1 Timothy 1:5, or 2 Peter 1:5-7, which are great verses, but I’d like to suggest that Jesus in Luke 18:15-17 gives us the bottom line of Christianity.
It reads, “Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
Jesus teaches the importance of humility. You want to enter the Kingdom of God? Have an attitude of humility. He uses the example of children, and Luke even uses the Greek word for infant. These are very young kids and babies that are being brought to Jesus. So He uses this as a moment to teach a valuable lesson.
Babies show their humility in their inability to provide for themselves. Every child that is born is completely dependent on its parents and has a wholehearted trust in them to provide what they need. What does it mean to be a Christian? It means being humble enough to admit that we need God. It means we trust in God, rather than our own “power.”
Humility plays an important role in every aspect of Christianity. It helps with showing love to others, it helps us subject ourselves to God’s Word, it helps us treat others the way we want to be treated, it helps us accept the hard topics that scripture contains, and the list goes on and on.
Do you want to be a part of the Kingdom? Make humility an everyday practice. That is what it means to be a Christian.
When I was younger I liked to play basketball and so I decided to play for a team so after joining the team the coach would cuss and give us a piece of his mind when he was mad. And of course being in the church my whole life and hearing him cuss made me mad so I quit. So I got bored after a while, not having anything to do so I decided to play football. And within a week of starting the coach started to cuss big time. So eventually I realized I was slowly being introduced to the world. In 1 John 2:15 we read that we should not love the world or the things in it. Also in Ephesians 4:20-32 we read of a new man versus the old man. The old man grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust. It reads, “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give [a]place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” I once read a story about two girls that ran away from home. They were in a little alleyway between two buildings. One girl looked at the other and said tell me why you are here. She said I ran away from home because the rules are so strict but I kind of miss my parents. So the other girl looked her right in the eyes and said why don’t you go back home? She looked at her right in the eyes and said I don’t know where home is. If you don’t know where home is, please get right with the Lord.
In a few weeks, Hiram Kemp and Neal Pollard will record all new episodes for “Light Of The World.” Watch for these to appear here and on other social media platforms soon.
It’s hard to believe there’s only two months left in 2021. The holidays always seem to fly by and before we know it, the new year will be upon us. This is when we usually start to decide on resolutions…things we want to try, give up, or finally accomplish. Many habits are hard to break and there’s something about a new year that gives us hope for a fresh start. When it comes to our spiritual lives, thankfully, we don’t need to wait (and really, shouldn’t!) for a new year to start a new habit.
I can think back to certain Bible studies and ladies’ classes I’ve been to and can remember listening to some ladies who I knew without a doubt had a strong faith and knowing that it didn’t happen by chance. I knew that they didn’t just wake up one…
For someone who doesn’t listen to modern country much, one of my favorites is Humble and Kind by Tim McGraw. The tune is lovely, but I mainly appreciate the reminder.
I’d like to believe that I don’t really need the reminder because this isn’t a problem for me. I think I’m a very kind person! I don’t think I’m prideful, so I’m already humble? As much as I hate to admit it, I am humbled very often. It mainly shows me that it’s my attitude and my mindset that is flawed. Now, it’s just up to me to learn from it.
The most recent event happened while I was at work. I run a small cafe in a medical building and normally, I close at 4 pm but I decided I wanted to leave just a few minutes early. I figured I could have everything finished and…
Most people will admit to you that marriage is hard. If someone has told you marriage is easy, they’ve probably never been married. Many married couples will also readily admit that they are still learning after 15, 20, even 30 years of practice. That’s because marriage is just plain hard sometimes. Think about what you’re called to do as a spouse…
*Become one with another person
*Love your spouse unconditionally and selflessly
*Help your spouse grow spiritually
*Submit (as the wife) or lead the family (as the husband)
These responsibilities can be daunting but, aside from our own relationship with the Savior, I can’t think of a more rewarding and God-glorifying relationship than a godly marriage. My husband, Carl, and I have only been married for 4 months. So, I am by no means an expert on marriage, but there are 4 marriage-altering lessons that I have…
The topic of truth has been on my mind a lot lately. Seeing where the world is, the confusion and how divided we are, it’s unsettling to me. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s because – to a large number of people – there’s no objective truth. Did you know there’s a word for this? I learned this word from Hiram Kemp and it is “post-truth”.
Oxford’s definition of post-truth: “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”
Basically, feelings over fact. That’s your truth but it’s not my truth. I’ve got to speak my truth. We’ve all heard a variation of this and it’s troubling because we know the truth.
“Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the…
“I would (fill in the blank with some kind of social activity or event you’ve been invited to attend), but I’ve got to get some sleep.“
Do any of the above phrases sound familiar? (I’m sure Dale would respond with a resounding “yes,” if I asked him.) I rarely get enough sleep and all too often complain of being tired. Thankfully, this is something I can easily change with a little intention and discipline.
In our day and age, there is so much going on and are so many distractions to fill our minds and time that we rarely get enough (good) rest. But we need rest! Not only do we need quality sleep to be able to function and be happy, but we also need rest. If there is any evidence of how badly we…
Some things just don’t mix. Milk and orange juice, Auburn and Alabama fans, Coca Cola and Mentos. There is one particular mix that can sometimes be fatal. Blood pressure medicine can be a great thing, but when mixed with Advil/Ibuprofen it can harm your body and even give you a brain hemorrhage.If you mix two common household items, rubbing alcohol and bleach, you can create chloroform.
It’s safe to say that some things in life just don’t mix. Twenty to thirty years after the ascension of Jesus, Paul wrote to a group of Christians in Galatia warning them of the dangers of mixing two teachings. In Galatians 1:6, Paul says, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” He goes on to say in verse 7, “not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.”
Paul is writing to the Galatians to answer a simple question: “What is required for a person to be saved?” Forget circumcision (Acts 15:1), forget additional teachings, what does GOD say? His answer can be summed up as this: “We need nothing other than what is found in scripture to walk in the Light.”
Paul addresses the problem in verse six, and he uses the word “amazed” (“thaumazo”) (cf. Acts 4:13; Mark 5:20). He was amazed because these Christians should’ve known better than to listen to these false teachers. Paul’s point is that if there is anything added to that which is necessary for the maintaining of your walk in the light, it is not necessary for salvation.
These Christians should’ve known better, but sadly we are sometimes the same way. We know what’s right and wrong, yet still choose poorly. We know how our speech should be as Christians, we know how we should act and how we should think, but more often than not we make the wrong decision.
The message that these Christians were to accept was that of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the correct way to be saved. Any requirement outside of the plan of salvation was to be condemned. If that other requirement is the sinner’s prayer, it must be condemned. If that other requirement is a “new wave of salvation,” as some denominations teach, it is to be condemned. If that other requirement is a tradition not necessary for salvation yet enforced as such, it is to be condemned. We are only compelled to follow what is contained in God’s Word.
We do this because there is only one source of truth, as Paul goes on to say in Galatians 1:7-9. No one else (not even an angel) has the authority to add to what God has already completed. Scripture is our objective standard, the one source of truth that we can count on no matter what.
Every year there are new medical breakthroughs that may change how a doctor treats his/her patient. For example, doctors used to bleed their patients because they thought there was such thing as “bleeding out bad blood.” We know this isn’t the case today and that’s because as humans our knowledge is fallible and subject to change. This is not the case for Christians.
Our methods may change as time goes on, but our message and teachings will never change. Their author is our perfect, unchangeable, all-knowing, infallible God.
We need nothing other than what is contained in scripture to walk in the light. Paul tells them what is required for salvation. There is only one Gospel that helps to walk in the light. There is only one source that the gospel has come from. We have to decide which gospel we will listen to. Will we let man ruin what God has deemed perfect? Will we let someone else tell us how to be saved? Man, on his own, doesn’t know how to be saved.
God gave us one gospel through One source, now it is up to us to make the right decision.
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