How Big is God?

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Many years ago, I read an intriguing and thought-provoking book by JB Phillips. It was the title that caught my attention and drew me in even before I read the first word. I was already a fan of Phillips writings, but this particular one has had more effect on me than others. The title? “Your God is Too Small”. I was truly intrigued by this simple, yet profound, five-word title.

I remember as I made my way home from the bookstore, my mind was racing, wondering what it was he would write about in this small volume. As I began reading, Phillips asked a question that stopped me dead in my tracks. It may not seem like much to you, but to me it was one of those moments in which time stood still. I was caught up in a state of mind that consumed me for several minutes, pondering the far-reaching ramifications of my answer to this question. Phillips simply asked, “Does God understand radar?” I was mesmerized. My mind went into action, pondering the question, and realizing my answer would say so much about my belief in God.

Of course, the answer is a resounding yes! God certainly understands radar. But it was the question itself, or the belief behind the answer, that says so much about what we believe about God.

Through the ensuing years of my Christian life, I have often revisited that question (I have also reread the book quite a few times!). The reason I have been drawn time and again to the pages of this book is because I am forced on occasion to rethink my own beliefs about just how big God is.

How about you? Do you sometimes struggle with this concept? When you are faced with one of those myriad episodes in life in which you may question once again if God is big enough, if He is powerful enough, to handle the issue, does your faith shout a resounding “Yes” or does your mind whisper a daunting “No”, or at least an uncertain, “I don’t know”.

Life is filled with uncertainties. We are faced with countless seasons of struggle, difficulty, trial, and tribulation. How we handle them says a lot about our view of God. If we believe in a God big enough to handle whatever the problem is, then we will rest securely in His loving embrace. But if our minds are filled with doubts about His ability to deal with it, then we will open ourselves up to unbelief, fear, and panic.

The Bible presents the picture of a big God – one who is indeed powerful enough to deal with anything life might throw our way. Granted, He may choose to handle it in a way contrary to the way we would like, but His way is always best. He knows and does the best in every situation. And even in those times when His answer is diametrically opposite than that for which we hoped and prayed, His ability to deal with it is still valid.

According to the Bible, it is our faith in God that overcomes the world, and all that it throws our way. Faith enables us to see God, seated on His throne, in sovereign control over His creation, working in all things for the good of those who love Him.

Let’s not allow the eventualities of life to cause us to have a lesser view of the “bigness” of God. He is able to handle it all. And in conclusion let’s remember those powerful words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when they were facing execution by being thrown into a fiery furnace.

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image you have set up.

We know He can; we know He will, BUT IF NOT! That is faith in a BIG God. It sees beyond the immensity of the problem, and sees God enthroned, in control. Let’s trust this big God with all of our problems, and by faith live in the reality of His care for us.

Blessings!

The Great Divide

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Here we are again, in the shadows of still more senseless acts of violence. How have we arrived at this point? What has happened to cause this divisive rift that grows more pronounced with each passing day?

Yesterday (September 10) started out as a pretty normal day, I suppose, Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk probably started his day off as he did most other days. And I feel quite certain that he did not begin his day by thinking, “This is the day I’m going to die.” Those are not thoughts that we think, at least not usually. Under extreme circumstances I suppose the fleeting thought might pass through our minds, but it is certainly not something that very many of us would think on a regular basis.

Charlie Kirk’s assassination is appalling, to be sure. I encourage each one to lift his wife and children to the Lord in our prayers. Pray that His grace would prove once again to be sufficient for their needs in this present crisis. Pray that they will be surrounded by family and friends who will be able to console them in their time of grief. Pray for their strength to be sustained as they face the coming days, weeks, months and years.

But now I would like to turn our attention to something that happened in the hours after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. As U.S. senators convened on the house floor, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson called for a moment of silence for the family of Charlie Kirk. After that time, shouts of protest began to ring out through the hall. The protests were obviously directed at a request of Colorado representative Lauren Boebart to have a time of prayer. To this request shouts of “No!” rang out through the hall, causing Speaker Johnson to strike the gavel several times calling for order.

There was a time in our nation’s history when prayer would have been freely and openly lifted to our Father in heaven because of the recognition that we are one nation, under God, indivisible. But those days are past. It appears that we are no longer one nation, but rather a nation torn in so many fragments that it is like the children’s nuresery rhyme, Humpty Dumpty. Now, Humpty is not an egg, falling off a fence, but a nation, broken into so many different pieces that it appears to be irreparable. A nation that once took a sense of pride in being directed by the Word of God, and by Judeo-Christian principles, has now begun to destroy the very foundation upon which it was built.

Second, no longer can we say that we are a nation under God – at least not the God of Holy Scripture. We now have elected officials who openly embrace the religion of Islam, the very people who believe that to kill those who disagree with them – specifically Christian and Jew – will attain some special reward in the after life. No, we are not one nation, under God.

And third, we are certainly not indivisible. We are divided, and the width of the divide, and the depth of the chasm is becoming more and more pronounced with each passing day.

I believe the assassination of Charlie Kirk will prove to be a watershed moment of grand proportion in the coming days, weeks, and years. Mr. Kirk was a man who, through communication and education, and through the creation of his organization, Turning Point, spoke at colleges and universities across our nation, trying his best to share with students a conservative point of view in light of the liberal education they are receiving in many educational institutions across our land.

I pray that it will not be in vain, but rather that the silencing of his voice might be the cause of the rising of many voices speaking up in opposition to the liberal tide that has swept our land. And please, let’s learn from Mr. Kirk’s example that we can do this in a civil manner, speaking with those who will listen.

And let’s all learn to do this without turning to violence. When did we lose the ability to discuss matters of difference without being divided? Why can’t we agree to disagree, and do that agreeably? I ought to be able to respect another person’s beliefs even if I adamantly disagree with them.

And finally, let’s learn from the example of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He never returned evil for evil, violence for violence, hatred for hatred. He loved – even enough to let people choose to reject the offer of His grace. He knew full well where it was all leading, and yet He kept His face set toward His fulfillment of His Father’s will.

Today, let’s continue to pray for the family of Charlie Kirk, for his organization, Turning Point, and for the ongoing impact his life, and death, will foster in our nation. Let’s not let his message be silenced, but in boldness let’s let the truth ring out loudly and clearly.

Blessings!

What Are You Doing Today?

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There are some things in life that are constant – never changing, ever the same. One of those things is time. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you live, the number of “things” you own, the amount of money you possess, time is one thing you have in common with everyone else. Each of us has exactly the same amount of time in the course of a day: 86,400 seconds; 1440 minutes; 24 hours. Money can’t buy more. Position does not afford an addition of minutes. You and I – and everyone else – has exactly the same – to the second!

Granted, there are different spans of time in a lifetime. Some live longer than others in the grand scheme of things, but the daily allocation is the same. The question that we face is how we will use our time. Our daily allotment is divided into different segments. Your specific divisions will differ from mine and mine from others. For example, we allocate a certain amount of time each day for sleep. Some sleep five hours in the span of a day, while others sleep eight. Then, we have blocks of time designated for meals. For some this may be leisurely time spent with family and/or friends, while for others it is rushed through to leave more of the daily allotment for other things.

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-16

In this passage, the Apostle Paul contrasts two terms: wise and unwise. He uses these terms in relation to time, instructing his readers to be wise in determining how each will use their allotted amount. Each day, each one will make a withdrawal of exactly the same amount: 84,600 seconds. And we are to strive to use wisdom in how we invest our withdrawal.

Paul then adds a reason for striving to utilize wisdom in our decisions about the use of our time: the days are evil. It doesn’t take long to assess the tensions in the world and not realize that we live in extremely evil days. But our present generation is not the first to live in the reality of evil. Evil has been part of the world ever since the first act of rebellion committed by Adam and Eve in the garden.

So what are we to do? How are we to use our time wisely? Again, Paul gives the answer: Understand what the will of the Lord is. And what exactly is the will of the Lord? The passage under consideration offers an answer: the will of the Lord is to use Godly wisdom in determining how to use our time.

What, then, is the wise use of our time? The answer is simple on the surface, but rather complex deep down. For Christians, the surface level answer is the same for each of us: to glorify God in all that we do. The deeper level will differ from person to person. The deeper level is where we determine how each of us will flesh out exactly how we will glorify Him with a wise use of our time.

In conclusion, let me share one Biblical injunction that will assist us in going to that deeper level: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it all for the glory of God. Live life for His glory. Whether we are at work, or at home, or in the marketplace, or in the classroom, live life wisely and in a Godly manner so that the light of His life will shine brightly through us.

Until next time:
Blessings!

Isn’t God Good?

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A few years ago, I heard the story of a woman who went to her pastor and asked that he would pray for her husband, who had been ill for quite a while and was growing worse day by day. The pastor assured her that he would add her husband to his prayer list, which he did.

A few weeks passed, and the woman went back to her pastor to thank him for his prayers, stating that her husband had been completely healed. She then added the exclamation: “Isn’t God good!” The pastor responded in the affirmative by agreeing that God is indeed good, but then added a question: “Would God have not been just as good had He not healed your husband?”

I was thinking about that story this morning as I sat in the surgery center waiting room while my wife underwent gall bladder surgery. This type of surgery is pretty common, and the chances of something going wrong are minimal, but, surgery is surgery. There is always the possibility that an unforeseen problem could arise and a common, everyday surgical procedure could possibly go terribly wrong.

Teresa’s surgery was performed by the surgeon with no problems, and she is now sitting in the recliner across the room from me sleeping soundly and peacefully, for which I am thankful to our loving Father in heaven. And yet, during the procedure, as I waited for the text message that the operation was over, I knew that there was that possibility, be it ever so small, that things would go amiss.

Last night, as Teresa and I were talking about today’s surgery, she looked at me and said, “If something should happen…” I won’t share the rest of the conversation but suffice it to say we both committed her into the hands of God and trusted Him with the outcome of her procedure.

I certainly don’t want anyone to misunderstand the gist of this blog. Had something gone terribly wrong during the procedure and things did not turn out the way they did I would have been crushed to lose my soul mate. But at the same time, by God’s amazing grace and strength, I hope I would have given Him the glory for being a good God, never-the-less!

I remember years ago when I was about to be put under for surgery, the anesthesiologist came in and asked if I was nervous to which I replied that I was not. He then said that he would check my blood pressure to make sure everything was good, and when he saw the results he said, “Wow, you really aren’t nervous, are you? How can you be so calm?” This was one of those divine appointments in which God gave me the open door to share a quick word of witness with him, so I said, “In just a few minutes you are going to put me to sleep for my surgery. When I open my eyes, the first person I will see will be either my wife, or my Lord. Either one is fine with me.”

Admittedly, my faith is not always that strong, but on that day it was. Teresa’s was strong today. Why? Because God always gives grace that is equal to the situation at hand. If you are His child then it can, and should, be true of you. God is good, all the time. This morning Teresa and I experienced that reality once again as He brought her through this surgical procedure, and for that we give Him all the praise. Next time might prove to be different, and, by His grace, we will continue to give Him praise.

God is good – all the time.

Until next time:

Blessings!

Where are You Looking?

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If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1-2

It is so easy to become enamored with stuff – whatever “stuff” represents in your life. It might be cars, or houses, or bank accounts, or vacations to exotic places, or people, or what other people have, or a million other possibilities. Things, “stuff”, can become the driving force in our lives, consuming every waking thought, captivating our every wish, dominating our drive to attain. Stuff. Just stuff.

Please understand that the accumulation of stuff is not bad in and of itself. There are a lot of individuals who have a great amount of stuff, and they continue to maintain a proper balance, a healthy perspective, toward their stuff. But the danger is crossing an imaginary line between having stuff, and stuff having us. If, as I said in my opening paragraph, “stuff” dominates our drives and desires in life, then we have crossed that line – our stuff is no longer our possession, but rather we are possessed by our stuff.

A good question to ask ourselves occasionally is on whom, or at what, do I focus most of my attention? In the verses quoted above we read two admonitions: “Seek those things which are above,” and “Set your mind on things above.” There is a tendency for members of the human family to look in the wrong direction. Instead of seeking those things and setting our minds on those things above, the tendency is to seek those things and set our minds on those things of the earth. And when we allow that to happen, the things above lose their appeal.

As many of you know, Teresa and I took a 50-day trip to celebrate our 50th anniversary in the summer of 2023. One of the simple pleasures of that trip was viewing the star lit nights in areas of dark skies – areas where there is little to no light pollution from the lights of cities. When you are in an area that is in close proximity to a large city, then the night sky is polluted with man-made lights. You can still see the stars, but very few in comparison with dark sky areas.

The point is simple, yet it has a profound message for us. The pollution of the appeals of earth will diminish the brightness of the “things above” by drowning out the light. That is the reason the Apostle John gave us the somber warning found in his first epistle:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2:15

We are to maintain an upward look, seeking those things and setting our minds on the things that are above. We are to be captivated by the glories of heaven, not be enamored by the temporal treasures of earth.

Let’s enjoy the blessings the Father has given but never allow ourselves to become so attached to the things of earth that heaven loses its appeal. Our treasures should be laid up there, not stored and hoarded here. Let’s keep our attention focused on those things above.

Until next time:

Blessings!

The Turning of a Page

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It may be a one-day calendar on your desk, or a weekly calendar in your purse, or a monthly calendar hanging on the wall, but no matter what kind of calendar you use, today marks the turning of a page. A single page. The one-day calendar goes from December 31, 2024, to January 1, 2025; the monthly calendar goes from December 2024, to January, 2025. Regardless of which you use, today simply marks the turning of a page – one page – nothing more and nothing less.

None of us knows what the days of 2025 will bring our way. Each day brings its own share of certainties and uncertainties. There are things that we will all assume will happen – even though there is no guarantee that they will – and there are things that may catch us completely off-guard. A daily task is to maneuver through each day as best we can, accepting those things for which we are prepared, and responding to those things that catch us by surprise.

Perhaps one thing that will help us with this task is to remember that every day is a gift from God. The psalmist said, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” This day, and every day, is a gift from the Lord. Each day that we live is a precious gift from God.

But today we are thinking about the gift of life itself. Your life, my life, is a gift from God. We are His craftsmanship – created by Him, and for Him. Our lives are to be lived to His glory. So, the turning of the page of the calendar marks another day that He has made, and given to us to use for His glory and praise.

Your life is God’s gift to you; what you do with it is your gift to Him.

Someone made the following statement: Your life is God’s gift to you; what you do with it is your gift to Him. This is a statement that we would do well to commit to memory and rehearse in our minds throughout each day that we live. My life is a gift of God. Each individual day that I live is a gift of God. Each breath that I take is a gift of God. Every sunrise and sunset that I see is a gift of God. The sustaining of my life for yet another day is a gift of God.

Now, what will I do with this precious gift? That choice is mine – and yours. Each day offers me yet another opportunity to give my life to Him, or to hoard it all to myself. I can go selfishly through life, making every day all about me, or I can go selflessly through life, giving my life in surrender to Him, making it all about Him and using every moment to bring glory to His name.

Perhaps we could all start on this very first day of 2025 by offering today, January 1, to God. Perhaps we could make it a habit of doing that every day, at the very beginning of each day. Perhaps we could verbally say to Him, “Lord, I acknowledge that this is yet another day that You have made, and that You have granted me the gift of this day to use in whatever way I choose. So, I choose to gift this day back to You. Bring whatever You desire into my experience today and enable me to use it all for Your glory. I choose today to yield myself to You so that others might see You working through me, and that I could be a living testimony to Your grace.”

So today I say, “Happy New Day,” a day that the Lord has made and given to each of us. Let’s use today for Him, and tomorrow let’s do it all over again, and the next day, and the next, and – well, you get the picture. I pray that the days of 2025 will be vehicles through which He might use each of us to serve His purposes, and to bring Him glory.

And, yes – Happy New Year, everyone!

Until next time:

Blessings!

ThanksLIVING

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Thanksgiving is once again upon us. The official day set aside as Thanksgiving is one week from today. As I think about the many, many things for which I am thankful, there is one thing in particular that I would like to write about in this blog.

Teresa (my wife) and I, as many of you know, are full-time RVers. We have been living the RV life since my retirement in 2018. About 10 years prior to my retirement, we began planning for this new adventure, and for these past seven years it has been a huge blessing to see this dream come true.

Over these years of RV living, we have been met with mixed reactions from people when we tell them of our present living status. We have met quite a few who have responded by saying something like this: “That’s exactly what we want to do when we retire!” Others have said that they envy us for living our dream. And we have even had a few who said they wanted to be like us when they grow up! It is always a joy to share our adventures with others who express their excitement over the prospect of living the nomad life.

However, others have not been quite so enthusiastic about our decision. Some, without realizing that this was our decision, based on our dreams, have asked if we were forced into this lifestyle due to financial restraints. Well, I can honestly say that we are a far cry from being wealthy, but we were not forced into this lifestyle because of finances. We chose this lifestyle. Others have become somewhat incredulous over the thought that anyone would ever choose to live as full-time RVers. But we did – and over these past seven years we have met so many others who have made the same decision.

Let me take a few moments to share with you some of my thoughts of thankfulness for the incredible journey. Teresa and I have been married since 1973 – 51 years! We have traversed these years together through 40 years of pastoral ministry, teaching ministry, marriage counseling and seminars, and a countless number of personal, one-on-one ministry opportunities. I am so blessed for these opportunities, and thankful that God gave us these special blessings as we have served Him together.

But these past seven years have offered us ministry opportunities we would have never had if we had not decided to become full-time RVers. We have now lived in just three campgrounds during these past seven years: Camp Wilderness Campground at Carowinds, Mill Creek Campground (Pigeon Forge, TN) while we worked at Dollywood, and now Wateree Lake RV and Marina (Liberty Hill, SC) where I serve as campground chaplain. We have crossed paths with people we would never have met had it not been for living the RV lifestyle.

We realize that this lifestyle is not for everyone. But it is for us. And we feel it is for us because it is God’s plan for us at this stage of our lives. We are thankful for the amazing way He has opened door after door for us to meet people with whom we have been able to share His love and grace.

This Thanksgiving season we want to give Him the thanks and praise He so richly deserves for allowing us to share in the blessings of showing His love to others who might not hear otherwise. To Him be the glory, great things He has done.

Until next time:

Blessings

I Really, Sincerely, Don’t Hate You

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Please read the title once again before reading this blog. I am dead serious: I don’t hate you. You may find that difficult to believe, and you may stereotype me along with others who are today applauding the election of Donald Trump as our president elect. But please do me the favor of reading to the end before making a judgment.

I, first and foremost, am a conservative, Bible-believing Christian who simply believes in the God of the Bible, His precious Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God manifested in three Persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. The plans and purposes of God are recorded for us in His Word, the Bible. In this amazing book He gives us specific instructions in how He would have us live. And then, He lovingly, graciously, and without prejudice gives each of us the ability to choose whether we will live by those instructions or if we will choose to reject them.

The Bible gives explicit instructions on the matter of the sanctity of human life. Psalm 139 speaks of being “fearfully and wonderfully made” – a reference to the formation of a baby in the womb of his/her mother. Each human being is a distinct creation of God, created in the very image of God, and has a God-given, God-assigned purpose to fulfill in this life.

Many speak of the right to choose in relation to what to do about the baby growing in the womb. Their mantra is, “My body, my choice.” But the fact of the matter is, you made your choice when you decided to engage your body in sexual relations which resulted in your pregnancy. That was your choice. But now, the baby growing in your womb is not your body – it is his/her body. A real, living human being. That baby has no voice to cry out his/her desire to live: he/she is seeking safety in the environment of your womb so that he/she may grow and develop until the day of delivery.

My vote, cast for Donald Trump, was not a vote for him as much as it was a vote against a culture of death that would ravage our great land. You might accuse me of having tunnel-vision, focusing on just one major aspect of the Democrat’s platform. However, that simply is not the case. Even if abortion was not prominent in the election. I could never vote for anyone who had the audacity to tell the person who yelled out in one of Kamala Harris’s rallies, “Jesus is Lord,” that they were in the wrong rally. That let me know that Christians were not welcome in her political platform. And on the other side of the political spectrum, Donald Trump stated in his comments after being declared the winner of the election that he knew God spared his life for a purpose. There is a vast difference between one who acknowledges God, and one who chooses to show Him the door!

I will pray for those who have now been elected, just as I have been praying for those who are serving in the present administration. I do this because Christians are admonished in Scripture to pray for those in authority. I am praying that the transfer of power from the Biden administration to the Trump administration will be characterized by peace and respect. And I pray that as we move forward as a nation we will see clear evidences of the providential hand of God as He gives guidance and direction to those in office.

Jesus did indeed love everyone, but He did not accept everyone. Only those who came to Him on His terms, and those terms are clear for anyone who is interested in where He stood. His respect for individuals showed itself clearly as He offered His gift of grace, and then left the choice up to the individual as to whether they would accept His offer or turn and walk away. The choice is the same today. Please, choose Him.

Until next time:

Blessings!

Are You at the Wrong Rally?

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At a political rally in Wisconsin this past week, as presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke, someone in the crowd shouted out, “Jesus is Lord,” to which Harris responded, with a smile on her face, “I think you are at the wrong rally.” I’m not sure how that makes you feel, but for me, personally, I think it was totally disgusting.

I’m not sure how we are to take her quick response. Was it something that just came to her mind spontaneously? We’ve all had those moments where we heard something and our mouth went into action before our brains kicked in. If you’re like me, you usually regret having said it five seconds after the words come from our mouths. So, maybe it was a knee-jerk reaction Harris made without giving it any thought at all.

Or, perhaps, this was something she was hoping to have an opportunity to say. Maybe she had been rehearsing this quick jab over and over in her mind, waiting for the perfect moment to interject those words into a political arena filled with propagandized rhetoric. We all love those types of opportunities, don’t we? I know I do. I love it when the door is opened for me to share my faith, to give my personal testimony, to share the gospel. We cherish those moments – those divine appointments – when that door swings wide open and we are able to give a quick word about our Lord.

I don’t know if candidate Harris is looking back on that moment with a spirit of pride, and a feeling of accomplishment, or if she is looking back with regret. I, thankfully, am not her judge. However, if I were her judge, my judgment would not be pretty. For anyone to stand in opposition to the clear Biblical teachings on the sanctify of human life is an affront to God Himself. But, that really shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who has listened to Harris, along with her running mate, give words of approval to the taking of innocent lives.

Some may be thinking that we should not base our vote for president on one issue. In my opinion, this issue is the cornerstone of the Harris/Walz platform. It is the solid foundation of their stance against a nation whose trust is in God. Historically our politicians have given verbal assent to the Bible as the foundation of our republic. But the Harris/Walz platform stands against so much that Christians hold dear.

For example, they are in favor of paying for prison inmates to have sex-change procedures. Also, they are in favor of men being allowed to play in women’s sports. The taking of innocent, unborn, life is the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

So, when one says, “I think you’re at the wrong rally,” it’s time to move on down to the other rally down the street.

Until next time:

Blessings!

Are You a Good Person?

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Are you a good person? Take a moment and make this very personal. Ask yourself the question: Am I a good person? If you answer in the affirmative, then follow it up with a second question: What do I base my goodness on? It might help to take pen in hand and write down your answer to that question. Why not stop reading right now long enough to do that.

Now that you have written down your response(s), let’s give some thought to this matter of goodness. The Bible actually makes an alarming assessment of every member of the human family:

They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one. Psalm 14:3

No one, according to this verse, is good. And yet, we do good things. Even the worst among us can, and does, do good things occasionally. The drunkard, in times of sobriety, does good things for his children. The wife abuser, after a time of severe mental, physical and emotional abuse against his wife, may come back with pleas and cries, begging for forgiveness, promising to never do such an awful thing again. The habitual liar still possesses the ability to speak the truth. Yes, each member of the human family has the potential of doing good things.

And yet, none of us are good. Without assistance from outside of ourselves, we are incapable of doing good. So, what hope do we have of ever being good? What gives us hope to live good lives in light of the fact that the Bible asserts that none are good? It is possible because of what God has accomplished for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is possible because of what God has accomplished for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let’s get back to the question I posed at the outset of this blog: Are you a good person? And let’s suppose for a moment that you answered yes to the question. Your mind may have been instantly flooded with “good” things you have done – and perhaps you could make a rather long list of your good deeds. Now, let’s go a little deeper. Why did you do those “good” things? Was it because you can still hear the voice of your long-departed Mother, who instilled in you teachings about right and wrong, and about how to treat others? Was it because you are striving outwardly to live a “good” life in obedience to the teachings of a precious saint of God who invested his/her life into yours in a child’s Sunday School class? Was it because of a sense of obligation?

Or, was it because you have now inherited true, sincere, genuine goodness through your commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Do you now do good things because you have had His goodness imputed to you, so now, you do good things because He is doing those things through you?

This is the only sure way for us to be truly good: Jesus Christ living His life through us. It brings us to the point in our lives in which we are no longer doing good things out of duty, or obligation, or to honor the wishes of our parents, or to please our spouse. All of those things may play a part in our “goodness”, but they are not the root cause of that goodness. Jesus Christ is the source, and He deserves all the praise for making it possible that we should bear His likeness as we go about our daily lives. So, let’s let His light shine in us and through us so that others might be able to see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven!

Until next time:

Blessings!