In Light of the Truth

Sometimes reporters try to use catchy headlines trying to get the attention of more readers just by the title. I found a few that I would like to share with you. Some of them are funny, some are not so funny and some…well….you decide.

· Iraqi Head Seeks Arms

· Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

· Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers

· Enraged Cow Injures Farmer with Ax

· Farmer Bill Dies in House

· Teacher Strikes Idle Kids

· Miners Refuse to Work after Death

· Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

· War Dims Hope for Peace

· If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

· Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures

· Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

· New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group

· Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft

· Kids Make Nutritious Snacks

· Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

· Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors

· Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Whether we hear these or read these, we can understand what the point was that the writer was trying to make, but we can also look at these and think, “What were they thinking?”

All in all, news, for the most part is no longer news. It is meant for entertainment. Viewership, because the more viewers, the more readers, the more advertising, which means more money and more power.

Here’s what I know and I believe and maybe you have heard this. “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past; Only what’s done for Christ will last.” The media wants to divide, Jesus wants to bring together.

Let’s see what Paul instructs us to do. Maybe things will be clearer in Light of the Truth. Ephesians 5:1-14.

On Wednesday nights, we have a bible study. We are about to finish up the book of Galatians. I wouldn’t say that I am teaching from the book of Galatians, because I usually just ask questions that make us think about what the scripture says. Sometimes I ask tough questions, because we need to know what we believe, why we believe it and how to communicate that with others.

Sometimes we communicate what we believe with words, but most of the time we communicate with our actions. It is hard to live in the light when we believe and follow in the idea that there is so much grey area.

Let’s see, what we can see in Light of the Truth. Jesus is the light of the world found in John 1, and Jesus is the Truth found in John 14. That brings us to point 1.

1. Okay in the world is not okay with God.

Ephesians 5:3-7, I John 3:7-9

The other day on my bus, one of the students came to the front of the bus to let me know that 2 of the younger students were coloring on the back of the seat in front of them. The student that was letting me know was talking very quietly and the bus is loud and I don’t hear well, so I asked them to repeat it. Let me tell you, I encourage snitching on the bus. I can’t see everything that is going on and I need extra eyes to help me out.

Just so happened that my next stop was in a driveway and I could stop the bus. I stopped, got out of my seat and walked back to the 2 students that had been coloring on the back of the seat. I looked at them and said, “What do you think you are doing? You can not write or draw on the seats or the bus at all.” One of the students looked at the other student with extreme disappointment and said, “He told me that it was okay.”

“Well, it is not. Do not and I mean, do not ever do anything like this again. Do you understand me?” “Uh-huh.”

I would like to list a few sins that are mentioned in the bible. Backbiting, bitterness, not using our talents, complaining, selfishness, dishonesty, fornication, greed, anger, being a busybody, holding grudges, laziness, vanity, and jealousy just to list a few.

We like to think of the big sins, such as murder, adultery, lying, child abuse and taking the Lord’s name in vain, but we seem to be okay with some of the others, because society says that it is okay. Let me tell you this, society (the world) is going to Hell. In Matthew 7:14 Jesus says, “the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Why do you think that is? People like to fit in. People want to be accepted by their peers.

I would rather be rejected by my peers and excepted by God, than accepted by my peers and rejected by God. If you are struggling with something that is in the “gray area”, it probably isn’t a gray area after all. The whole notion that I am not hurting anyone, is a lie. You may not suffer the consequences immediately, but eventually everyone will be called to give an account of what they have done and what they have said. Don’t fall for “everyone is doing it,” because that only leads to destruction.

If you are unsure, point number 2 says…

2. Exposure to the Light will be purifying.

Ephesians 5:8-14

I have a few questions for you. Are you ready? How many of you put puzzles together? How many of you work on cars? How many of you crotchet, knit or sew? How many of you light to paint? Drive at night?

How many of you do those things with your eyes closed? Or without lights on? Cheryl and I are in the process of putting a puzzle together and we turn every light on in the room and we even have a magnifying glass that has a light on it. Some of the pieces of the puzzle look a lot like the other pieces. The picture on the box is not exactly the same as the actual puzzle. It is quite challenging.

Have you ever seen someone pull out of a parking lot at night and they don’t have their headlights on? I want to flash my lights at them or something because not only are they a hazard to themselves they are a hazard to those around them.

Sometimes, even though we profess to be Christians, we tend to keep a little darkness tucked away in what we think is a hidden place. Whether it is with our actions or whether is it condoning sin in other people’s lives.

Do you remember that one story of Jesus teaching in the temple and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees came wanting judgement against the woman brought that was caught in adultery and Jesus said, “You that only have just a little sin in your life, throw the first stone, because its okay, we all make mistakes?” Or when he asked the woman where those dudes went that were condemning her, did they all leave? No one is left. Did Jesus say, “Well, I guess that you haven’t done anything wrong, go ahead and go back to what you were doing?”

Jesus not only told her to go and sin no more, but he also showed those that brought her, that what they were doing was wrong. Jesus didn’t approve of her lifestyle because she was sinning. Neither did Jesus approve of the men’s lives that brought her there and the Light that He shined exposed their sin. What did they do with that? If they were truly believers of God, they would have changed their ways and the Light would have been purifying.

If you are doing something, that you have to justify, then maybe you need to increase your exposure to the Light. I am going to say that you should read more scripture. Pray for the Holy Spirit to convict you of anything in your life that needs correction. Then listen to that conviction and get it corrected.

When you do you will follow the main thing that Paul tells us in chapter 5 and that is point #5.

3. Act like Jesus.

Ephesians 5:1-2, Ephesians 5:10-11, I John 1:5

If you think about some of the verses found in the 15th Chapter of John where Jesus says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine…I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.”

I read this a couple of weeks ago to make the point that if we are really remaining in Jesus, we will bear fruit. When we look at the verse in I John 1. We can not have darkness in our lives and be a part of God. God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. We got to get rid of the darkness. The evil that we are holding on to.

God calls us to live pure and holy lives. If you were to get a bottle of water and was drinking it and someone comes a long takes the bottle and puts toilet water in your bottle, are you going to drink it? Of course not! And why not, besides that is disgusting; it is because the water is no longer pure.

In I John 2:6 it says, “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.” We can not live like the world. We must live like Jesus did.