Good Morning Friends,
It has been said that early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise. Not exactly easy for politicians on an election night. Thankfully the elections seem to have been resolved sooner than expected. Regardless, it is true for our health to keep good sleep habits and spend more time in the light. And I think this makes us happier. As I mature, I tend to live more in that way. Along this line of thinking today’s scripture seems to be saying that we should give up the darkness of our emotional baggage…to sin less and love more if we are to become the Christians that Jesus would have us to be. And one cannot really argue with that at all as we count the cost of engagement and determine the direction of our lives guided by the lamp of scripture. And as we evaluate how to jettison our dark garbage, we may just want to also ask today’s question because it is related to how much baggage we have and how much darkness we can be protected against. So, Are We Living As People Of Light In The Surety Of Our Salvation And Election?
Scripture: In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Genesis 1:1-3 (NRSV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being.
John 1:1-3 (NRSV)
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 (NRSV)
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;
Romans 13:8-12 (NRSV)
Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
Luke 14:25-33 (NRSV)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105 (NRSV)
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you– and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.
Philippians 2:12-18 (NRSV)
Message: Today we explore things that lighten our load for the journey with Jesus and help light the path in our own spiritual development. And it comes to my mind that when Jesus walked the earth it was not particularly safe to walk around at night but that it might just be a bit safer if others knew you had given away all your possessions and if one had a lamp on loan to light one’s path. Today’s scripture from Luke suggests that part of the way to light the path is to make wise decisions. And here in the text Jesus is saying that our decisions need to be exposed to a process that counts the cost and then decides, with some degree of illumination of what it will take to pay that price to have the desired result. Our passage from Luke gives us an illustration to drive home the importance of this decision-making process that helps us to see the risks involved. The metaphor is of a king going to war. You see, sufficient thought and commitment is needed to go into the process to see it to a successful completion. Having gained knowledge, having seen the possibility, having counted the cost and made the decision, we must step out as an act of faith empowered by grace. The light literally needs to be turned on as protection. So too the passage from Romans tells us to be freed of the darkness of debt to one another and instead to recognize our debt to Christ. And in this lighter, transformed life we are to focus on a devotion to God that comes out of a heart lightened by love. We are to avoid the darkness of the world and embrace a lifestyle of light. We are to wear God’s armor of light. We are to become creatures of the light of Christ. We are to strategically fight the good fight for our salvation with scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit assuring our salvation.
And So, it is one of the great mysteries of the Christian life that we are to be both player and spectator when it comes to our salvation. As Philippians 2 makes clear we are to work out our own salvation with the emotional and spiritual awareness that only God, and God alone, can make those lasting changes in us. So, we must be engaged in the process realizing it is Jesus’ faith not our own and it is Jesus’ light not our own that makes the difference. Still, we must say yes when called. We must live our lives as if we are cosigning with God every check and credit card receipt, we write. The one thing we can do, must do is to get in the game, please get in the game. Please stay in the game. When we have that feeling that God is working on some aspect of our life, we are to join Him in the experience so that our salvation, our joy… and moreover His Salvation and His joy, would be reflected in us more fully. When we receive a call from God to be a servant, a disciple be prepared for God’s question, your Lord’s question and nudging of when to be a player and when to be a spectator. Here is the deal, God will not force Himself on you. You have a choice to set your own direction or to follow His lead, to engage in life’s greatest joy or just watch.
Pray we be an outworking of God’s working in us. Pray we are childlike but not childish. Pray that we share the faith witnessed by the Holy Spirit active in our lives. Pray we are born to new life believing in the wonderful gifts of scripture and the Spirit living in us. Pray the weights of the world be removed from our dark life. Praywe have the proper knowledge and vision before we engage in a decision-making process that changes the mind so that it would be more like Christ. Pray we make and have made wise decisions. Pray we see the possibilities regardless of the outcomes. Pray we count the costs of being angry and isolated. Pray we be obedient to God in taking the steps necessary to grow into the Christians God would have us to be. Pray we are debt free. Pray we realize that there are eternal consequences that hinge on God’s decisions more than our own. Pray we enjoy a full life of salvation and spiritual transformation that helps us to become creatures of the light. Pray therefore that we be people of love and light. Pray we realize the election that counts the most is of God choosing to love us. Pray that we realize the most important decision has already been made and we just need to patiently wait for the results to unfold in our lives as we share the light and love we have been given.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 