Stolen Valor and Status Symbols

If you have spent any amount of time online in the last year or two, you have most likely heard about “Stolen Valor”.  You may have read an article, seen a YouTube video, or a Facebook post about a person impersonating a member of the armed forces and walking around in public.  They are dressed up in authentic looking military uniforms.  They have been spotted in shopping malls, amusement parks, the street, and the airport.  They look and sound legit to the average person, but the one exposing them is not fooled.

The majority of the time, the person that is calling them out and recording them is a current member or retired member of the branch they are pretending to be a part of.  It starts off with the person asking the imposter some general questions, “How long have you been in?”  “Where are you stationed?” and other questions like that.  Then they start getting more specific, asking about their platoon, their regiment, their ‘MOS’, (I won’t pretend to know all about this stuff because I never had the honor to serve) and this is where the wannabe’s story starts to unravel.  The actual military person then pounces and makes them look like a fool.  It is usually a breach in protocol that any active duty or reservist would know and follow while in uniform.  It could be something like a contradictory patch or medallion that blows their cover.  Or it could be they prove that they do not know what they are talking about outside of some well researched and well rehearsed lines.

Most of these people are looking for recognition of some kind.  They want to get the admiration and respect that our military members rightly deserve.  They want the glory without the sacrifice.  Some of these people are looking to gain special privileges by dressing this way.  Perhaps they can get a discount on a cup of coffee or meal, like a recent fake soldier did in an airport.  Some are looking to score free merchandise, food, or other items.  This is where their lie gets them in trouble.  It is actually a crime according to the ‘Stolen Valor Act of 2013’ to present yourself as a medal recipient or military officer with the intent to obtain free or discounted goods or services, or other monetary benefits. 

Despite the fact that the federal government has passed a law that makes this pitiful practice illegal, and the fact that just about every person in America has a camera phone glued to their hand at all times, these people continue to take this chance.  Maybe they got away with it for a long time prior to the prevalence of cell phones and Twitter accounts.  Or maybe with the surge in popularity of military members thanks to high profile events like the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, and movies like ‘Act of Valor’, ‘Lone Survivor’, and the recent release of ‘American Sniper’ makes them want to be apart of something they never could do on their own.  Whatever the case may be, it is foolish and risky.

Wannabe combat veteran is not the only type of impersonation that goes on in America, and it is certainly not my main point of writing this.  I came across a person the other day at a fast food restaurant that really got me thinking about this whole thing.  While the kid behind the counter (I say kid, he was probably in his early 20s) was getting my order ready, I noticed he was wearing an ‘I Am Second’ bracelet.  If you don’t know what that is, it’s a black rubber bracelet with white letters that say ‘I Am Second’.  It is a product from the website of the same name.  They produce short films of celebrities and average Joes giving their testimony about how Jesus rescued them from their life of sin and that they are now living ‘second’ to Jesus. 

It really is a neat website, and I admire their program.  They have resources for small groups and give you the information on how to start an “I am Second” small group.  Since I am a fan of the program, I asked him if he was a part of a ‘Second’ small group.  He got the most confused look on his face for a couple of seconds before he realized what I was talking about.  He said that he just got the bracelet for Christmas and didn’t really know much about it.  He had just seen a lot of people wearing them and liked it.  I was just about to dig a little deeper and ask him if he knew what it meant to be second, but the restaurant had gone from nobody at 2:30 in the afternoon, to line almost out the door.  I got my food and left.  As I drove away, I was upset with myself for not talking to him about Jesus and what living second to him means, but I was also a little confused about why someone would want to wear something that gave the impression that they were a Christian if they really weren’t.  You certainly don’t gain a lot of respect and monetary benefits by wearing a rubber bracelet, or even a cross. 

Then I thought a little more and realized that “Christian memorabilia” is a very popular fashion accessory.  There are celebrities and people that wear crosses and other religious symbols when they are not practicing Christians.  The biggest one that comes to my mind is Katy Perry.  I have seen her wear a cross on several occasions in interviews and performances.  Despite being the daughter of an evangelical pastor, she has said that she is no longer a Christian, and does not believe in Heaven or Hell.  So why wear the symbol that is almost exclusively Christian if you do not believe in it?  If that cross represents the instrument that God used to help save mankind from eternal punishment in Hell, and was where Jesus was offered up as the once and for all sacrifice so we could go to Heaven, why wear it if it means absolutely nothing to you?  To be fair, I have also heard her say that she prays before every show, but it is a prayer to no god in particular.  So I am only assuming that the cross means absolutely nothing to her, but if she doesn’t believe in Heaven or Hell, I don’t think it represents the same to her as it does to most Christians. 

Katy Perry is just one of many celebrities I have seen wear Christian jewelry as a fashion accessory.  But I have seen countless people on the street wear something that refers to Jesus or God that does not appear to let that which it represents affect them.  Please do not think I am being judgmental in saying this, I am just saying that their life does not appear to be producing ‘fruit’ like the Bible talks about. 

In John chapter 15, Jesus is talking and He talks about how he is the true vine.  He says that he is the vine and we are the branches.  In verses 4 and 5 he says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.  Yes, I am the vine you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.”  In verse 8, he goes on to say, “When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.  This brings great glory to my Father.”

In Matthew 7:20, Jesus says “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”

Seeing this contradiction is what I am most concerned about.  I am not concerned with the people that choose to wear crosses and ‘Jesus fish’ as a fashion symbol and are open and honest with the fact that they do not believe.  (I am truly concerned for these people, because I do not want any person to suffer eternal punishment due to a refusal to believe.  I am just not talking about them in this post.)  I am concerned about the people that wear the uniform and can talk the game (much like the fake servicemen above), but are not taking up their cross daily (Luke 14:27) and fighting the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12 & 2 Tim. 4:7).

These are like the Pharisees that Jesus rebuked in Matthew 23:27-28, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs-beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity.  Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

How horrible would it be to have Jesus call you out like that?  To have Jesus Christ, himself, compare you to a tomb, a whitewashed tomb at that would be devastating.  Especially if I had been trying to come across to everyone around me as a good little Christian boy by the clothes and jewelry I wore and the empty words I spoke.  This makes me think of the church at Laodicea that Jesus is talking to in Revelation chapter 3.  He says, “I know all the things you do, that are neither hot nor cold.  I wish that you were one or the other!  But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”

I don’t know about you, but I really do not want to be puked out of Jesus’ mouth!  The people that flat out say they do not believe, but only like the bling of the diamond studded cross around their neck, are cold.  They are honest and direct.  There is no trying to guess where they fall on this spectrum.  The people that are just as clean and pure on the inside as they are on the outside are also easy to figure out – they are the hot ones that Jesus refers to in Revelation.  It’s the others that are, probably, the bigger population.  These are the ones that are trying to fool those around them, and even themselves.  Despite their dress and their words, their actions and lifestyle betray them.  John’s first letter says in chapter 1 verses 8-10, ‘If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.  But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.’  This slap to God’s face leads to him spitting us out onto the ground. 

So let me ask you, where are you in all of this?  Are you the one that is truly on fire for God and wear your faith on your sleeve?  Do your words, actions, and thoughts honor God?  Are you the hot one that Jesus was talking about? 

Are you the non-believer that just wants to accessorize your wardrobe with an occasional cross?

Or are you the poser that likes to wear religious status symbols and the Christian combat uniform, but does not produce any kind of spiritual fruit in you life?  Are you a whitewashed tomb that looks the part on the outside, but is spiritually dead on the inside?  Are you in danger of being spit out of Jesus’ mouth?

If we could strip away all of the religious status symbols and spiritual rhetoric, would you look any different from everyone else around you?  I urge you to really take a look at your life and evaluate where you are in all of this.  Please do not continue to fool yourself, or attempt to fool others into thinking you are better off than you really are.  You may not like the eternal consequences.  If you are on the outside, and have never really given any of this serious thought; maybe you are an unbeliever but have questions, please do not wait to ask.  Find someone that can give you the information you need.  I am more than happy to help in any way, but if not me, please find someone soon.  We are not guaranteed tomorrow.  A recent acquaintance lost a loved one in an instant.  In an attempt to enjoy a common hobby, this person lost their soul mate.  You really do not know how much time you have.  Take this opportunity to get your questions answered.

Have a great day, week, and New Year.  Thank you for taking the time to read the Thoughts of a Sleepless Man.

Thoughts of a Sleepless man Part 2 - "Why I am a horrible fireman"

I’m a horrible fireman.  I am.  I am a horrible fireman.  Now, I do not mean that in a tactical sense.  I do not mean that I am not good at my job, because I think I am.  No, I mean I am a horrible fireman because I do not eat, sleep, and breathe the fire service. 

I do not hang out in fire service chat rooms and forums.  I do not subscribe to FIREHOUSE Magazine, nor do I read every single article that is written about the fire service.  I do not look up every single fire related video on YouTube. 

I do not think of 9-11 as a firefighter day.  I do not have all 343 names of the firefighters that were killed that fateful day memorized.  I think it is absolutely tragic that those guys died while doing what they loved, and that is helping people; but I do not elevate those guys over the some 2,000 other people that were killed in those towers.  September 11, 2001 is a day that forever changed this great nation of ours, and it changed the fire service; but in no way, shape, or form is it a day that is all about the 343.

I do not keep my class-A uniform at the ready to attend every single firefighter funeral that is within a 100 mile radius.  In fact, I have only worn my class-A uniform, and that was for department pictures.  I have only been to one firefighter’s funeral, and that was my first fire chief when I was brand new.  It’s not that I don’t mourn the death of firefighters, or feel sympathy for them and their families/crews.  I just don’t like funerals.  I don’t like them for anyone.  I would rather never go to another funeral again, not out of fear of death or dying, either.  I just do not like funerals.

I don’t mean to sound cold-hearted, hateful, or even judgmental towards those guys and gals that do all of the stuff I mentioned.  I’m really not any of those things.  I say all that to point out that I am a different kind of fireman.  However, the death of the two firefighters in Boston yesterday (March 26, 2014) really hit me.  I cannot explain why it impacted me the way it did, it just did.  It truly broke my heart to hear it.

Maybe it is because for the first time, I heard the radio traffic of the scene the same day of the incident.  And to hear that scenario play out with my own ears really struck a nerve in me.  Without going into the details of it, out of respect of you non-firefighting people, it really messed me up to hear that transpire.  I thought about those guys.  I thought about incident command.  I thought about the dispatcher that was communicating with them on the radio.  I thought about the driver and other crew members of their engine company.  I thought about their brothers that were on scene, at the other stations, and on the other shifts.  I thought about their families.  One of the guys had a wife and 3 kids under the age of 10.  I thought about all of that stuff, and it really affected me.

On a small level, I thought about my past experiences.  I have been in a house that was burning and I ran out of water.  I couldn't see anything but the faint glow of fire in the next room, but I still knew exactly where I was.  I had plenty of air, knew how to get out if the situation called for it, and the heat was not unbearable.  Nevertheless, I had a brief moment of anxiousness there.  It seemed liked an extremely long time to be in a burning house without water, but I was assured that it was only a few minutes.  After calling on the radio for water, what seemed like a dozen times, I felt the hose fill back up and we proceeded to fight fire.  We got the fire knocked down and then exited to building to rest in the 110 degree heat.  The fire ended up spreading through a crawl space that we did not know about, and we burned the roof off of that house, but nobody got hurt. 

I was also in a situation that I can honestly say that I could have died in my rookie year.   It was a training fire, of all things, but it took a dangerous turn.  We were burning in a house that was scheduled to be torn down, we could do that kind of thing back then, and I was caught in a situation that I actually lost my bearings.  I got separated from my partner in a large room and could not find my way out.  The heat pushed me down onto the ground, and it got to the point where when I tried to crawl, the hot bunker gear was very hot against my skin.  It caused me to pause a few seconds.  I remember briefly opening my eyes as I was flat on my belly and seeing nothing but glow.  It seemed that everything around me was on fire, and I knew that it was not long before my gear was on fire.  I remember thinking two things:  one was I wanted to dig a hole through that tile floor, concrete, and earth to escape the heat; the other was I thought I was actually going to die right there on that floor.  I had a pregnant wife at home, and thought I may not see her again.  In a desperate attempt to feel the door, I stuck out my arm and found the jamb.  I dove out of the door and exited the building extremely fast.  After crews drowned that house with water, I went in and saw that square inch from floor to ceiling was charred.  I ruined my gear that day, but I made it out unscathed.

I don’t tell those stories to sound cool, or macho; only to say that I can relate on a very tiny scale.  Those stories pale in comparison to what those guys went through today.  Me trying to elevate my experience to their level would be like a kid racing his hot wheels and thinking he was Mario Andretti.  My time and experience does not hold a candle to those guys, or any firefighter from places like New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, or even Arlington.  I have only caught a small glimpse of what those guys have done.

I can only begin to think what it must have been like to be trapped in a burning basement, with no water, not knowing where you are exactly, and not knowing how to get out.  I cannot imagine the terror those guys had to be experiencing.  You could hear it in their voice on the radio, but even that doesn’t really say what they were thinking or feeling.

I cannot say why this tragedy got to me the way it did.  I can only pray for those guys and their families, friends, and coworkers.  I can also pray for God to protect me, and everyone I know from ever having to go through that.  But, should I, or someone I know, go through something like this in some way; I pray that God will help me to count it as joy.  I recently heard a message on James chapter 1 verse 2-4.  In the book of James, Jesus’ little brother urged fellow believers “when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, in chapter 5 he writes, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment.  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.”

That has to be our prayer as Christ followers.  That when tragedy strikes, and we experience hard times, as great as they may be, that we will count it as joy.  That we make it through those trials with endurance, or steadfastness, and that develops good character in us.  And that that character will give us stronger hope.  When we can find joy in the true hardships of life like Paul talks about in Colossians, then we are showing what it means to be a true disciple of Christ.

I leave you with this, Jesus said in John 15:13 that, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  So let us thank God for the love and sacrifice these two brave men made today.  Let us also pray for their family, friends, and coworkers.  Finally, let us pray that God will fill all of us with joy, hope, and peace that only comes from Him.

Will you pray with me?

Father God, I lift up these two men to you.  I pray that they are resting in the palms of your hands right now.  I also lift up their loved ones, their friends, and their coworkers.  Please surround them with your Holy Presence, and let them feel your love.  Give them a peace that surpasses all understanding.  Help them, Father, to be able to count this tragedy as joy for your sake.  Help them through this grieving process, and let them never forget how brave these guys were.  I pray, Lord, that you will be glorified through this.  I pray that people will give their lives to you, and put their trust in you.  Help every single one of us to be like Jesus when we are faced with tragedy.  Even though we may be hurting, and scared, and sad; let us count it all as joy.  Thank you for your love Father, thank you for your joy, thank you for your peace.  Let us always honor and glorify you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen.

Have a blessed day and week.  Please keep everyone affected by this event in your thoughts and prayers.  Take care.

State of the Union (Part 1)

You better duck, there is some free speech flying at your face right now.  Who would have thought that in 2013 one of television’s most popular stars would be “suspended indefinitely” for giving their honest opinion, upon request, in an interview?  Very interesting times we are living in.

Of course I am talking about Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, and A&E’s decision to suspend him after he answered an interview question about his thoughts on sin.  Phil gave his opinion on homosexuality based on his Biblical worldview.  He then roughly quoted 1 Corinthians 6:9 – “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God?  Don’t fool yourselves.  Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people – none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” (NLT)  It should come as no surprise to anyone that has ever watched the show, seen or heard an interview of one of the cast members, or even been exposed to any form of media in the last year that Phil is a Bible believing Christian.  He ends every episode with a prayer in Jesus’ name, for crying out loud.

No sooner had his words stopped echoing in the cosmos had a loud mouth from the LGBT media watchdog, GLAAD, started railing against Robertson and his ‘vile’ remarks.  The spokesperson said that his statement was “littered with outdated stereotypes and blatant misinformation.”  Not long after this statement was put out, A&E released a statement saying that Phil was out, because the network has “always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community.”

If the network has always been such strong supporters of the LGBT community, why did they put out a TV show of a family that is very outspoken about their Christian faith?  Bible believing Christians have shared this same belief for two thousand years.  Before Paul had written this letter to the church at Corinth, Jews held the same belief about sexual sin for several thousand years.  The network knew going into the show where the Robertson family stood.  They knew they were not ashamed of the Bible, of Jesus, or to share either one with the world.  They had to have known that this would eventually come up; especially in this day and age of hyper political correctness.  After the Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-a media and PR storm, and the fact that there is some kind of LGBT story in the news every single day, and just that this is the hottest topic out, they couldn’t have been so naïve to think that this would not come up. 

The suspension of Phil Robertson is not my biggest concern.  The attack on free speech in America is not my concern.  The apparent war on Christians, whether real or not, is not even my concern.  My concern is the spiritual side of this whole mess going on in the world right now.  We do not have a gay and lesbian problem in the world.  We do not have a freedom problem.  What we have here, is a full blown sin problem.  We have had a sin problem since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, but now it seems to be at a fever pitch.  That is what I am most concerned about.

If you are easily offended, you should keep reading, even though you are going to be offended.  If you are a non-believer; atheist; agnostic; or somewhere along those lines, you should keep reading.  If you are a Bible believing Christian, you most definitely should keep reading.  This has been building up inside of me for quite some time, and I feel now is the time I have to write this.

First, I ask you to keep an open mind.  Please read this to the end, reflect on what I have to say, and then you can formulate an opinion and respond.  I beg you, please do not stop here, call me a bigot, hypocrite, homophobe, and start hating on me.  I have put too much thought and time into this whole thing for you to fly off the handle and not give me a chance to voice my thoughts and concerns.

Let me start off by saying that I am in no way, shape, or form a homophobe.  I am not scared by someone who is attracted to someone of the same sex.  I am certainly not scared of some guy thinking I am attractive.  I can honestly say, I’m not even worried about a woman thinking that about me.  I am too bald, and too overweight, for someone to make a move on me.  I thank God that my lovely wife of 14 years is still blinded by love, but I digress.

I could give the cliché statement of, “I have gay friends so I can’t be a homophobe”.  I do, in fact, have friends that happen to be gay; but that is not the point.  No, I have a family member that is homosexual.  Not just any family member either.  My big brother came out as gay over thirteen years ago.  That has not changed the way I feel about him. 

When I was a kid I looked up to my brother, like most kids.  Even though we had different mothers, were 12 years apart, and we didn't live in the same state; I still admired my brother.  On two different occasions in school (once in middle school the other in high school), I had to write a paper on who I looked up to.  I wrote about my brother.  I always thought he was so cool.  When I was in high school, he was married and living in Austin.  He was a very successful furniture sales rep.  He lived in a beautiful home.  And he was married to a wonderful lady.  He had accomplished all of this with very little college education.  I thought that was so impressive.  I wanted to be like him.  I even thought, very briefly, that I wanted to sell furniture when I grew up.

Fast forward several years.  I had just graduated high school and had moved to Dallas for college.  Every time my brother came to town, we would get together for dinner with our sister.  I absolutely loved this time with them.  On occasion, he would bring his wife, but it was always good to get to see him.  A couple of years later he came out.  I will admit that I was shocked and upset.  I just didn't believe it was true.  The guy that I have looked up to, and wanted to be like for so long, was somebody completely not who I thought he was. 

Due to life and schedules, we did not see each other for several years.  It was family illnesses that caused our paths to cross again.  I eventually met his partner, and I realized that he was a great guy too.  I truly love them and admire them both.  They are both such successful people at just about everything they do.  They are so incredibly talented and smart.  Even though I only see them every couple of years, I still brag about them and all they have accomplished.  I am amazed at the things they have done, and the places they have been, the people they have met, and the business they have built.  It is really neat to think that that is my brother, and my “brother-in-law”.   My kids love getting to visit with their uncles.

Do I like the fact that my brother is gay?  No.  Do I think that homosexuality is not a sin because someone I love is living that lifestyle?  No.  I do believe that homosexuality is a sin because the Bible says it is.  But you know what?  I have done a whole lot worse.  Did you know that out of control anger is a sin?  Guilty.  Did you know that lusting after a woman that is not your wife; or that sex outside of marriage is a sin?  Guilty.  Taking the Lord’s name in vain?  Yup, you guessed it, been there and done that.  I have lied.  I have cheated.  I have stolen.  I have broken laws.  More importantly, I have broken many of God’s laws.  I, Jason Martin, am a sinner.  I do not condemn anybody else for being a sinner.  In John chapter 8, a crowd brings a woman that had been caught committing adultery to Jesus trying to get his opinion if they should stone her as the Law of Moses said.  They are looking for a way to catch him by his response to use against him, but he tells them “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.”  If I was there in that crowd with a rock in my hand, I would have been the first one to drop my stone and sneak away with my tail between my legs.  I am no better than the next guy that has sinned.  That means I am no better than someone that commits the sin of homosexuality. 

The difference is, I have acknowledged that I am a sinner and I strive to live a life that reflects Jesus’ teachings.  Does this make better than the next guy?  Absolutely not.  Does this mean any gay person is going to hell for their sin?  I don’t believe so.  I personally do not believe that being gay buys you a one way ticket to the lake of burning fire for all eternity.  Then again, I am not God.  I do not know what is in each person’s heart.  Only He knows.  The only thing I know for sure is this: the Bible says explicitly that homosexuality is a sin.  It also says in Romans 6:23 that “The wages of sin is death”, but it goes on to say that “the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord”.  Just like the crowd that brought the girl to Jesus said when they were quoting Moses’ law, we deserve to die as a result of our sin.  But like then, Jesus stepped up and offered us a pardon.  With a simple action and a gentle word, he was able to calm the rage in that crowd towards that woman.  Then a short time later, through a major action, his death on the cross; and the simple words, “IT IS FINISHED”, he paid the price for our sins.  All we have to do is accept the free gift that Paul talks about in Romans. 

Accepting the free gift of life that we receive from Jesus is not just simply saying, “Thanks, I’ll take my free life now” and running off to continue living my old life.  It takes commitment.  It takes buy-in.  I can’t walk into McDonald’s and order a large Dr. Pepper and have a couple of sips and leave, and then come back every day for eternity expecting to fill up that cup that I bought that one day.  Those free refills are for that visit only.  The same goes for Jesus’ gift of free life.  I can’t order a large side of free life and go on living any way I want, and just come back and flash my free life cup and expect the same refill.  I have to stick around and sit at his table.  I have to live in that establishment for the rest of my life.  I may stumble out the door from time to time, but I am still on the premises.  I quickly come back in and run to that counter (altar) and get some more of that cool refreshing grace. 

I know that there are so many counter arguments to what I have said here.  I have heard pretty much all of them.  I will address those in my next piece.  I wanted to lay the foundation of my statements before I moved on.  I hope that you will continue to follow along.  This may be a long journey, but I feel I need to get this out.  God has been really putting this on my heart for a long time now.  Please come back.  I look forward to hearing any thoughts, comments, or rebuttals you may have.  Please feel free to send them my way.  Also, feel free to send me any prayer requests or concerns you may have.  I want to stand with you in prayer, and support you in any way I can.  I truly love people of all types, and I love to help them through lending an ear, offering an encouraging word, or praying with them.  Thank you for your time, and I will be writing again soon.  Take care.

Thoughts of a Sleepless Man

As I lay here awake in the early hours of the morning after a run I can’t help but think about our country.  I look at several posts online about things that are going on in our nation and the only thing I can pray is, “Lord, please heal our nation.”  Nothing else needs to be said.  And I’m not talking about healing our nation of diseases like cancer and any other physical ailment, those are horrible and I would like to see people healed from them, but I am talking about something even bigger than that.  Our nation needs to be healed from the spiritual sickness we are suffering from.  This sickness is so advanced that we as a nation are almost spiritually dead. 

I know that there are millions of people in this country that truly love God, but even we are sick.  How has the church in America allowed the nation to go down the path of destruction that we have traveled so far?  How have we gotten to the point of so much hatred and disdain for fellow man that young men will go into a school and kill beautiful little children?  How has the hatred of truth and light become so prevalent that we allow there to be no accountability in every level of government?  How are people leaving the faith in droves to live a life of self-above-all-others?  The blame falls on people like me. 

A few years ago I wrote a blog based on a song called “Camouflage Soul”.  It was about how we as Christians tend to allow our faith to blend in with our surroundings.  Romans 12:2 was the main scripture focus.  It reads:  “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Now even though I wrote that blog a few years ago, I still do not live as boldly for the Lord as I should, as I would like.  But I think it goes beyond that even.  Over the last few decades the public has risen up against the Church.  We as the body have been shouted down by people in the media, Hollywood, even in the courts and government.  Now is it an all-out war against Christianity?  Not yet.  We do not get locked up or executed for our faith.  If you believe the Bible, that day will come, but it’s not now.  No when it seemed our neighbors were against us in mass, we retreated to the safety of our Church walls.  We venture out on covert recon missions, and even wage small scale battles.  But I do not feel the Church, the body of Christ as a whole, has been standing on the front line boldly proclaiming God’s message.  Over the years we have stood by silently so much that some have even began to join the fight for things that are blatantly against God and His will.  We have Church leaders that stand up and fight for sin and the right to commit them.  We have believers that engage in debate in online forums and spew absolute filth.  There is so much anger and vitriol in their words that the love of Jesus cannot be seen or felt; when we do have someone that stands up for the truth, there is not much force behind them.  It is like the enemy is firing mortar rounds, and they are lobbing water balloons in retaliation.  We as a nation have leaders in place that lack honesty, integrity, or accountability.  We as believers continue to voting for them and not demanding more from them.  We have teachers that indoctrinate our children to worldly ideas.  They plant the seeds at a very early age that grow into ideas that are antithetical to Biblical teachings.  But what do we expect?  Since the church has taken a soft handed approach to fighting the devil and his army of lies, he has marched his lines right to the church’s front doors.  Every sin is becoming mainstream, and it is considered hate to say otherwise.  Prayer has been banned from school functions; the very mention of the God of the Bible is not allowed, but we have classes that teach and promote the ideas of Islam.  The Ten Commandments are being removed from court houses and other government buildings.  The “leaders” in Washington are bowing to winds of political correctness, and not wanting to push Judeo-Christian principals on people.  But now the enemy is making his way into the church buildings by using laws that force the support of sin on the Church.  I just read yesterday that there are “scholars” that are rewriting the Bible to change the language used towards homosexuality.  They are calling it the “Queen James Bible”.  And the Church lobs another water balloon.  Leaders don’t want the IRS to come down on them and take away their tax exempt status.  They don’t want to be labeled by the world as hatemongering judgmental hypocrites.  They choose to look to the world for guidance on how to run their congregations, but ignore what Jesus said.  I think the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are very relevant today.  In the letter to the Church at Ephesus, Jesus is saying that he sees the good works that they are doing but that they have lost the love they once had.  I think it’s the letter to the Church of Laodicea that is the most convicting.  He nails them on their complacency.  He says they are neither hot nor cold, and that since they are lukewarm he is going to spit them out of His mouth.  In verse 17 of chapter 3 Jesus says, “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  Has the church as a whole become lukewarm?  Are we blind to that fact?  Are we telling the world, even ourselves, that we are fine?  That we are rich in love and works, but are really just middle of the road dwellers that Jesus is waiting to spew out of His mouth?  Perhaps, if the entire church body was banded together and showing the true love of Jesus, the world would look a lot different.  I’m not talking about going out and hitting people on the head with our Bibles, condemning them for their sins, and then claiming ‘Jesus loves you’.  This did not work in the ‘70s, ‘80s, or ‘90s.  I’m pretty sure it won’t work now.  What we need is the love that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 22.  The word in both verse 37 and verse 39 are the same: ‘agapao’.  This is a verb that means to welcome, to be fond of, to love dearly a person.  Verse 37 says to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.  Verse 39 says to love your neighbor as yourself.  This is an action of love that is supposed to go UP to God in Heaven, IN to us, and OUT to our neighbors.  This love is the exact same love that is used in John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.’  This is a love of sacrifice.  God, who the Bible says loved us while we were still sinners, sacrificed His Son on our behalf just so we could be saved and live with Him in eternity.  That is a HUGE sacrifice for some pretty mean and ugly people that spit in His face on a daily basis.  To love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind is a sacrifice on our part, but it does not stop there.  We have to accept the love that God pours out on us, we have to accept that and love ourselves with same love and adoration that He has for us, and then we have to turn around and love everyone we come in contact with the same way.  If we can’t love ourselves, we cannot truly accept God’s love for us, and we certainly project that love onto others.  If we claim to love ourselves, but can’t love others, we aren’t grasping that love of God either.  This is a love triangle, so to speak, of epic proportions.  The part of the equation that is constant is God’s love.  We mess the rest up.  That is where we get off track and the world gets the way it is today.  If we are truly loving God, ourselves, and others with this type of sacrificial love, lives can and will be changed.  

Hope

Romans 5:2b - And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.


The other day, as I was reading this verse, a scenario popped in my head. From beginning to end, the entire scene played out just as I read it. I figured I should share it with whoever reads this. Maybe it will be a blessing to someone else. I will reference myself, but picture you in my place.

I saw myself in the middle of a lake or another enormous body of water without a life jacket on. I was splashing around trying to stay afloat. Suddenly a life preserver flies out from the shore. Jesus is the one that threw it. It lands perfectly on me, and he starts to pull me to shore. I might start to think that all is well and good at this point. I might start to get hope from the flotation device, but I am still in the middle of the lake. There could be some kind of man eating fish swimming around out there. There could be a flesh devouring bug or disease in the water. There could be sunken debris, trees, or even fishing nets/lines in the water that I could get caught up in. So my hope doesn’t come from the life preserver.

I might get hope from the rope. The other end of the rope is on the shore, and it is leading me in to it. But I am still in the middle of the lake, so the rope is possibly hundreds of feet long, if not more. There is a lot of time and space between me and the safety of the shore. That means there is more time for one of those things or creatures in the water to get me or trap me. A storm could blow in on the water, and I could get caught up in the middle of it. I doubt Peter had very far to walk when he was on the water going to meet Jesus, but the Bible says he merely saw the wind and began to sink. A distant storm tripped him up, and he almost became fish food. I can’t imagine being in the water in the middle of a storm. Also, when something is being pulled in the water, it always dips beneath the surface. Think about being pulled by a boat when trying to ski, or what your fishing line does when reeling it in. I could dip beneath the surface and take on a lot of water, possibly even drown. Finally, there is the outside chance the rope could break. So my hope doesn’t come from the rope.

I could get my hope from the distant shore. It is solid ground. It is dry. There could possibly be a towel, dry clothes, food, or even little umbrella drinks. All of that sounds great, but there could be a flip side to that as well. There could be disease or famine. There could be a huge fire, or even a war going on. There could be people there meaning to do me harm, or someone could just shove me back out in the water. I know it is doom and gloom kind of stuff, but still a possibility.

That leaves only one option. I can only get my hope from the one that is pulling me in, Jesus. HE is the one that created the universe. HE walked on water. HE turned water into wine. HE healed the sick and raised the dead. HE made a tree wither by simply speaking to it. HE predicted his own arrest, torture, death, and eventual resurrection. HE was dead for three days and came back to life. Heck, he threw a life preserver from shore, and it landed perfectly on me! I can only get my hope from him, from the glory of him.

The life preserver was my salvation. Salvation is a great thing. It is the one thing that separates us from the water, which was the world. The world is full of things that I may try to get a little hope from, but like the water, it is full of things that are trying to drag me down. It is very easy to get caught up in the things of this world and be lost forever; luckily the life preserver of salvation is there to keep me afloat. But salvation is only the beginning. The rope is my Christian journey. It begins with salvation, but it is long and not always easy. There are still things or creatures in this world trying to trap me and bring me down, but my salvation keeps afloat. The rope can get cut in half. My life could end. Or it can break by own doing. I can do things that separate me from God. I can go drifting back out further in the waters. My salvation is still there, but I am further from the shore. The Bible says my life is like a vapor on the wind, or a drop in the ocean. My Christian life is great, but it’s not the end.

The shore is Heaven. I know there is no death, no disease, or no war in Heaven. I know there is no one there wishing me harm. I know there will be a towel and dry clothes. There will be warmth, food, and maybe even little umbrella drinks waiting for me. I will no longer be in the deadly waters of this world. I will be in paradise. It will be the beauty of Hawaii, the fun of Disney World, and the joy of a family reunion wrapped all into one and multiplied by 10,000. But that is not the prize. Heaven is not the source of my salvation. HE is! Jesus is. If it wasn’t for Him, there would be no life preserver. There would be no rope. Heck, without him, there would be no Hawaii, no Disney World, and no family reunions. There would be no world without His loving creation. He and He alone is the prize, the reward. HE is the source of my hope, joy, and salvation.

I have written in a previous post about something that Ted Dekker wrote in “The Slumber of Christianity”. He says that we as Christians tend to lose focus on what the true prize is at the end of the race. Some churches or believers are satisfied with just getting people saved. That’s like just dropping your child off at the bus stop for a cross country trip. Sometimes we get caught up in doing what “Christians should do”. We have a checklist that we have to get filled out, or we aren’t living right. Some people only care about getting to Heaven. That is it. They’re not necessarily concerned about the trip between the salvation and arriving there. They want their crown, their mansion, and their fancy white robe. The idea of the treasures of Heaven tends to cause us to focus on us. The reason for salvation, our new Christian lives, and heaven is to be with Him. If we don’t get Him, then the rest was for nothing.

Psalms 62:5 says: Find rest, o my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. Jeremiah refers to God as “The Hope of Israel” three different times. There are numerous other verses in the Bible that talk about the Hope that God gives us. Verses 3 thru 5 of Romans 5 say: Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

We could never really appreciate and love Him without the experience of the waters, the ride in on the rope, and the idea of the shore. HE truly is a prize, and a giver of hope, peace, and joy.



Thanks for reading.

Lessons From Labs

I’ve got these 2 dogs, KoKo is a hundred pound chocolate lab and Glock is a 75 pound black lab. They are extremely cute, but they are HUGE pains! They are extremely spoiled rotten, (it’s my wife’s fault I assure you). These 2 dogs are full of energy, in true lab fashion. There are certain things that really send them over the top, though. Playing fetch, wrestling/fighting with each other or me, going on walks, and even watching T.V. just to name a few. If the dogs even catch a glimpse of a swimming pool, pond, or lake, forget about it. We could have them tied to the bumper of our car, and they would drag the whole thing in just to get wet. Then, it takes almost an act of Congress to get them out of the water!

But, there are a few things that get them fired up just by saying a word. You can ask them, “You wanna eat?”, or “You wanna go for a walk?” and they will LOSE THEIR MINDS!!!! Especially KoKo. She will start spinning around in circles, barking, jumping up and down. She even does this little jump and wiggle move where she looks like a salmon swimming up stream. You know the video, the fish jumping out of the water trying to make it over little falls and rapids. They jump and wiggle trying to make it up stream to where they were born. Then they jump up right into the mouth of a expecting grizzly bear. Yeah, so picture a hundred pound lab, doing that jump about 2 and half feet off the ground, over and over again. All I have done is ask if they want to eat and start walking towards the food bin.

What causes them to go bananas like this? It is anticipation and expectation. They know that when I ask that question they are going to get fed. You would think they hadn’t eaten in about a year and half, but it’s only been a few hours. But the anticipation of the meal, and the expectation that I am not going to disappoint, has got them fired up. They can not contain themselves.

After seeing this for the last couple of years, something dawned on me the other day. In John chapter 14 Jesus told us,
1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going."
Remember what I said about KoKo and Glock and the lake? Well it is the same thing with the front door. If the doorbell rings or we open the door for someone, we have to hold the dogs back to keep them from running out front to go play. They get so excited about the thought of swimming or playing out front that they can’t contain their excitement. It should be the same way for us. We know that Jesus is in Heaven right now preparing a place for us at the table. He told us that it had to be true in verse 2 above. We know the way there, we know they are expecting us there, and we know it is going to be greater than we can ever imagine. Yet, nobody has to hold us back to keep from running out into the front yard of eternity.

This past weekend my wife and I went to the Love and Respect Marriage Conference at our church. It was amazing! If you get the chance to go, I suggest you do so. It will bless your marriage beyond your wildest imagination, but I digress. At the conference, the speaker, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, talked about the ‘unending 1st moment’. You know the moment a child walks into the living room on Christmas morning, and he sees not only the bike he has been asking for all year, but also every toy and gift he could imagine? He or she might let out a gasp of excitement. That “HA” moment is something that we are going to experience over and over in heaven as we are amazed by the many awesome things about God’s nature we will discover for all of eternity. That is the ‘unending 1st moment’ that is waiting for us. We should be so stinking excited that even though our leashes are tied to the bumper of this world, we should be dragging it as we try to dive into the cool, deep, refreshing water of God’s glorious presence. Jesus should have to hold his hand up and tell us, “Not yet. Now get back and sit on the carpet. I’ll come and get you when it’s time.” Instead, for some of us we have become so comfortable that we almost dread getting to heaven.

As I have written before, and as Ted Dekker wrote in ‘The Slumber of Christianity’. The church of today has lost focus of the prize that awaits us at the end of this life. Look folks, in 2 Corinthians the 12th chapter, Paul tells us that he got to see paradise. He then goes on to talk about a messenger of Satan that God allowed to torment him when he started become proud of this revelation. He asked God 3 times to remove this “thorn in the flesh”, but God told him “My grace is sufficient. My power works best in weakness.” That’s all Paul had to hear. After seeing paradise, he was glad to endure his torment for the rest of his life knowing what was waiting on him on the other side.

Jesus told us that HE is preparing us a place in God’s house. I don’t know, but I bet Jesus is a pretty good carpenter. I can’t wait to see what is in store. I am pretty stinking excited. In fact I can hardly contain myself. I am at the front door of this life spinning in circles and making my, ahem… 175 pound self…..o.k. fine 200+ pound self, do the salmon jump, in anticipation to get out and into His beautiful swimming pool.

Please R.S.V.P

Hello there. It’s been awhile, AGAIN! I am not very good at this being consistent thing. I have wanted to write for a while, but I am pretty busy with doing absolutely nothing. Of course, I have the wife and kids, and the whole saving lives thing, but other than that I don’t do much. I digress.

Originally, I have been planning on writing about something I was reading the other day in the book of Revelation. Now, I know that I am not an ‘expert’ in end-time prophesy, but something jumped out at me when reading about the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse (Revelation 6). Those of you that know me, or have spent about 30 minutes with me, know that I love to talk about politics and religion. People will say that you’re not supposed to talk about either one of those at work or in general, but like a radio program called “Politics & Religion” says, ‘Politics determine how we live here on Earth, religion determines how we will live for eternity.’ So I tend to talk about these two issues quite a bit, and I get quite passionate about both. So, naturally, I was going to write about what I read. Before you jump the gun, I was not going to write that I think Obama is the ‘Anti-Christ’ that is prophesied about in the Bible. It was about things that are going on in the world and how I think they kind of possibly may come close to resembling some things in the sixth chapter of Revelation, but then I feel God laid something else on my heart.

No, this morning I felt like God spoke to me. This is what He said, “It doesn’t matter.”
That’s right, it doesn’t matter. It does not freaking matter one iota. God does not care about politics. He does not care who is President of the United States. He does not care who really won the election in Iran, or that North Korea may try to blow up Hawaii soon. He just doesn’t care, and don’t think He wants us to care either. Let me explain.

See, I just finished a book called “The Slumber of Christianity”. It was written by Ted Dekker, who is my favorite author. I recommend any of his books. He is mostly a fiction writer, but this is his only non-fiction so far. It is very good. In ‘Slumber’ he talks about how Christianity as a whole and the ‘church’ has fallen into a slumber. He thinks we have lost focus.

We as the church have started to focus on the here and now. We are focused on making life better for us and those around us now. Many churches are preaching about ‘health and wealth’. They are teaching that Jesus wants us as believers to be healthy and wealthy. They are telling non-believers that when you give your life to Christ, things get better. They may not say that when you become a Christian that you will automatically become this super blessed person and you will basically be moving to Sesame Street, but they are close to saying it. Some will go as far to preach the ‘health and wealth’ or ‘name it, claim it’ ideologies. Again, I am not saying that every single church in the galaxy, every preacher under the sun, and every single Christian has strayed off of the path to salvation, but we are looking at life a little differently.

Like I said before, God does not care about politics. He does not get caught up in the things that we do. He has one thing on His mind, and that is Heaven. What I mean by that is He is only concerned about us living with Him in Heaven for eternity. He does not want us to get our hope from our lives or our world in the now. He wants us to get our hope from Him and our lives everlasting after this world.

Dekker talks in the book about the earliest Christians in the Bible. They talked about the kingdom of God and all of His glory. They got their hope and joy from knowing what was waiting for them on the other side. They still got joy out of the lives that they lived, but because they knew what they were doing was for the prize ahead. Paul was a man who got a glimpse of God’s glory. He walked through life with the end in mind. He suffered more than we can imagine, yet because of the hope that was rooted in heaven he considered it all good. Several of the writers used the comparison of a runner running a race. They said that the runners ran for the prize at the end of the race. It wasn’t about the race, or the road, scenery, crowd, none of that. It was about the prize at the end of the race.

That is what God wants us to worry about. He is planning this party that is going to last forever at His house when it is all said and done. He is putting out billions and billions of invitations for us humans to come to the party. We just have to accept that invitation.

This was supposed to be a short writing, but we all know I tend to ramble. I apologize for that. I just get fired up and like to talk about this stuff. If you get the chance, check out ‘The Slumber of Christianity’ by Ted Dekker. Also, you read Blessed Child by Ted as well. It does a great job of painting a picture of God’s glory. I tend to need a visual of that glory to keep me rooted. Ted’s books do a great job of doing that. I can give a list of books to read if anyone is interested. Here is an invitation for the party God has planned, for those of you that also need something visual. Enjoy. Take care, and I hope to see you there!!!!

You are invited to the party of a lifetime. It is being held at God’s mansion in Heaven. The party will begin right after your life. There will be plenty of the best food that Heaven has to offer. All you can drink from God’s spirit. There will be live music from the ‘Hosts of Heaven’. Dancing, laughing, fellowship, and an all round good time is guaranteed. The cover charge has already been paid. Come as you are. Please R.S.V.P sometime before you die; the sooner the better. There is plenty of room and board available to please bring all of your friends and family as well. You will NOT be disappointed.
To R.S.V.P simply say this: Jesus I want to come to your party. I want you to be the Lord of my life. Please come into my heart and make me whole. Thank you for dying for me and forgiving me. Take control of my mind and draw me close to you. Thank you.
Life may not be easy all the time. Just keep this invitation in mind. See you at the party!!!

I know it’s cheesy, but it’s true. If you prayed that prayer for the first time or to recommit again, Congrats!!!! There is already a party going on just for you accepting the invitation. I would like to know who all has. IF and again I say IF you feel comfortable, please let me know that you have answered the call. I want to celebrate with you and I want to pray for you. That is all. Send me a message or comment on here. I won’t broadcast your name or send you anything, I am just curious. You might want to get yourself a Bible so you can start reading and getting familiar with this new life of yours and the life that waits. Please feel free to comment, complain, ask questions, or ask for prayer requests. I am always looking to talk. Take care and God Bless!!!

Jason

Light

Today I wanted to talk a little about light. Particularly living or walking in the light. Now, of course, I just wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t put some kind of song lyric or poem in here, so here you go….this is from dc Talk’s ‘Jesus Freak’ album the song is In The Light.

I keep trying to find a life On my own, apart from youI am the king of excusesI've got one for every selfish thing I do
Chorus:
What's going on inside of me?I despise my own behaviorThis only serves to confirm my suspicions That I'm still a man in need of a saviorI wanna be in the Light As You are in the Light I wanna shine like the stars in the heavensOh, Lord be my Light and be my salvation'Cause all I want is to be in the Light All I want is to be in the LightThe disease of self runs through my bloodIt's a cancer fatal to my soulEvery attempt on my behalf has failed To bring this sickness under control
(Repeat Chorus)

Honesty becomes me (There's nothing left to lose)
The secrets that did run me (In Your Presence are defused)
Pride has no position (And riches have no worth)
The fame that once did cover me (Has been sentenced to this earth)
Has been sentenced to this earth

(Repeat Chorus)

In the light, in the light
In the light, in the light
In the light, in the light

There’s no other place I want to be
No other place that I can see
A place to be that’s just right for me
Someday, someday in the light
You are in the light
That’s where I need to be
That’s right where I need to be

This is one of my favorite songs by dc Talk. I like the arrangement, and the message is perfect! (I got the word arrangement from watching American Idol, hopefully I used it right). Anyways, continuing right along. When they talk about ‘the light’ and when I talk about the light, we are referring to the light of God’s presence. The Bible talks about light and darkness many times. The word light appears in the Bible over 200 times and darkness appears almost 150 times. Now some of these are referring to actual light and dark in regards to day and night, but the others refer to the light of His presence, or the darkness of the absence of His presence.

I will be using quite a few scriptural references, so this might be kind of long. If you need to get up and stretch your legs or rest your eyes, I understand and won’t be offended. I just hope you will come back and finish. John 1:5 says: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. Some translations say the darkness can not understand it, or over take it. This just talks about the power that is in the light and that is the light.

I find it interesting that the first thing that God said was, “Let there be light.” And it came to be. Genesis 1:4 goes on to say, “And God saw that the light was good. Then He separated the light from the darkness.” Now what is even more interesting is that God did not create the sun and moon until the fourth day! You may be like, “Hold up, Jason. I thought you said that God created light on the first day.” I didn’t say that, the Bible said that. It is true! God created light on the first day. That was His first order of business. I think that the light that He was working by on days 2 and 3 was the light of His presence. Revelation 21 talks about the New Jerusalem that we will live in after the end of the Earth. Verse 23 says: And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. See, God is so powerful and so magnificent, that He just exudes light. He IS light, (John 1:9 says The one who is true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world), but God has the ability to turn that light on and off. I don’t think that when God separated the light from darkness He completely left the Earth like a construction worker leaves a job site at the end of the day. I think He just allowed His presence light to shine away from it. We see in scripture several times that God ‘allowed’ His presence to be removed from certain people. I think that is what happened here. He is always everywhere, He is omnipresent. But, I think that he can remove His holy presence from wherever He wants. It’s kind of like He turns on His cloaking device when and where He wants, but He is still there. We just can’t sense Him.

After He got the heavens and the Earth prepared the way He wanted them, He created the sun for the daytime and the moon for the night time. Now the Earth didn’t have to be illuminated by His presence. His presence, certainly, shines brighter than the sun ever has or will ever shine, but He allowed the light of His presence not be the ruling light of the day time.

Here are several more passages from the New Testament about this light. You can read over them, and I am going to touch on each of them throughout the rest of this blog.

Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

John 3:19-21 - And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants

John 8:12 - Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 9:5 - But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

John 11:9-10 - Jesus replied, “There are twelve hours of daylight every day. During the day people can walk safely. They can see because they have the light of this world. But at night there is danger of stumbling because they have no light.”

John 12:44-46 - Jesus shouted to the crowds, “If you trust me, you are trusting not only me, but also God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.

2 Corinthians 4:6 - For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:14 - Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

Ephesians 5:8-14a - For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for the light makes everything visible.

1 John 1:5-10 - This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 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. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Have you ever been out in the country away from all of the lights? One, it’s absolutely beautiful, seeing all of the stars and planets. Two, you get to experience what it is like to be in darkness. If you ever find yourself driving down a country road at night without any street lights, turn your headlights off. It will FREAK you out!!! I do this all of the time, and it still scares me. Even if it is only for a second or two, it is VERY disorienting. Have you ever noticed that it is always darkest just beyond the light? The next time you are out on that country road, or walking with a flashlight, see how far you can see just beyond your light beams. It is very dark. Just like when you are driving with your headlights on and you shut them off, it is probably one of the darkest darks you can experience.

What do we do when we walk from a bright room or a sunny day into a dark room or house? We normally stand there for a few minutes until our eyes adjust to the darkness so we can walk around and function. Unfortunately, we tend to do this in our spiritual lives as well. If we are not careful, we can stumble into a sin and start to get ‘comfortable’ with it. We may stand there at first, but once we become accustomed to the ‘darkness’ that is our sin, we then can just walk around in that life. Eventually, we either realize that we are in a dark place and run back to the light with repentance, or we walk deeper and deeper into the dark and further and further away from the presence of God. Some people never even bother with coming back to the light because they are too deep into their sin, and don’t want to get back. (John 3:19-21)

When we find ourselves walking out of the bright, glorious light of God’s presence, and into the dark, emptiness of the sin of this world, we need to immediately do a one-eighty and get back in the light. And please, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you do ever turn your headlights off in the country, PLEASE turn them back on immediately!!! (Reread John 11:9-10 above.) I do not want anyone to get in a wreck and say, “Jason told me to drive with my headlights off in the dark. That’s why I ran off the road and killed that cow.” One, I don’t think the police and the farmer with the dead cow will find the humor in it, or think that you are intelligent enough to be driving. But also, people will start to think of me as some crazy cult leader telling his followers to drive with their headlights off in the dark in order to reach the heavenly comet that will take us to our paradise planet where Kool-Aid flows from the Candy mountains.

I also want to encourage all of you to be watchful in these times. Things that are going on in the world can seem like darkness is winning. We may even live in areas that are dark, or work in places that are very dark, spiritually speaking. Just make sure that you are filled with the light. The Bible tells us that we are to be in the world, but not of the world. That means, we may live in a dark world because Satan has control of the Earth and is the ‘Prince of Darkness’, but we do not have to live like the world. (John 8:12, John 12:44-46, 2 Corinthians 4:6, 2 Corinthians 6:14)

I will close with this. We need to let the light of God infiltrate every fiber of our beings. We need to let it completely consume us. We then need to surround ourselves with others that walk in the light, and we all need to walk together. When God’s light is that prevalent in our lives, it can’t help but to shine on those in the darkness. Like Matthew 5:16 says: “…let your light shine before all men so they can see your good works and praise your Father in heaven.” (NIV) Live in a way so that those who don’t know God, will see a difference in you and want to get in on the action.

I hope that this has been a blessing to you that are reading it, as much as it has been to me just writing it. Like always, if you have any prayer requests, comments, complaints, questions, or anything, PLEASE, let me know. If you have something confidential, give me a way to contact you, and I will. Take care and God bless!!

Jason