"The Greatest of These is Charity..."

Howdy All!

Me again. You know, God is really good to us. Last night I was listening to a sermon by Pastor Sexton on the subject of Charity and it occurred to me: God loves me! This is obviously not a deep scholarly thought, but it is one that we find ourselves overlooking so often. We look for everything else in life to satisfy some desire deep down, but they all come up short. To the Christian, nothing can fill that gap in his heart. Except God's love. 

All Christians know that God loves them, but how often do we think about it? As I listened, I thought about how God saved me, what it cost Him to purchase my Hell-bound soul. He created this world, knowing how things would turn out. When people rejected Him, He reached out to them anyway. The Holy God of Heaven came down to man, because man could never go to God. He moved toward the cross, knowing full well what was coming, every ounce of pain He would endure. Yet He went. Jesus Christ, thinking of me, lay down His life. He gave it up for me.

We worry about so much nowadays, but why? We need to get back to basics and understand what it truly means to be Loved by God. 

With brotherly Love in Christ,

-Matt

A Pattern to Follow

Howdy all!

I've got a few minutes before my next class, so I thought I'd write a few words and say what's on my heart. In Homiletics, I've been studying John chapter 9 over and over, digging for every nugget of gold that is there. God has spoken to me so much through this passage, but one truth keeps shining brighter (no pun intended) than the rest: Jesus Christ is The Light of the world.  

In today's turbulent times, it seems as though Christians in America have it tougher than ever. A lot of things that were once standards have been torn from us. Today, more evil is open than in any other time of the history of our nation. But, Christ has promised us that "As long as I am in the world, I am The Light of the world." (John 9:5) Christ is still with us! And He shines as bright as ever! Don't be downcast and don't worry; God still controls the happenings of this world and He never makes mistakes.

Not only this, but Christ also left us something to do. Because Christ is in us, He shines through us. It says in II Corinthians 4:6-7 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. God has left us the task of showing Him, The Light, to the rest of the world which is stuck in darkness. That is an awesome responsibility. But thankfully, He's promised to be with us every step of the way, strengthening us and guiding us.

So, as a bearer of The Light, are you going to curl up in a corner because the world's getting darker? Are you just going to sit there while everyone else stumbles blindly into destruction? Or are you going to SHINE in the face of adversity and disappointment and tell this world what it needs to know: that there is a God in heaven, and He still cares for them? The choice is yours. As for me, time to muster up, polish and SHINE!

Your brother in Christ, 

 -Matt