To live is Christ

In the Bible Bee gift bags, Voice of the Martyrs gave the senior contestants a copy of Jesus Freaks: Martyrs. A few days ago, I had a little extra time and decided to read for a few minutes. About 100 pages later, I finally put the book down.

For some of the stories, they listed the ages of the martyrs. They were teenagers–just "kids" our age! Like the Jeremiahs and Timothys in the Bible, they were not afraid to proclaim the Gospel even when they knew it would be their death sentence. Not all the "Christians" stood firm during persecution, though; some counted this life above that which is to come.

Have you ever imagined what you would say if someone pointed a gun at you and asked if you were a Christian? I like to think that I would say yes, not caring what the consequences would be. But then I think of Peter, the apostle who said that even if all were made to stumble because of Jesus, he would never be made to stumble (Matthew 26). We read Peter’s story and wonder how–after declaring how much he loved Jesus and how he would never desert him–he could be so afraid of being associated with Jesus that he told a little servant girl that he didn’t know Him. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Many of us would say that we are more than willing to die for Jesus, but how many of us are really prepared to live for Him? Jesus didn’t define a Christian as "one who will die for Me" (although being a Christian sometimes includes that), but as "one who takes up his cross daily and follows Me" (Luke 9:23, emphasis added). We’re ready to die for Jesus or suffer for Him, but we’re not always ready to take up the daily little crosses. How many times a day do you deny Christ by not wholeheartedly following His commands? I doubt I could even count how often I disobey Him. As Paul said, "For me, to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21). The rest of that verse says, "and to die is gain." Sometimes it’s easier to think about dying for Him and receiving the gain of being with Him instead of present tense living for Him. If we think that saying we are willing to die for Jesus proves our love for Him when we are not willing to live for Him, we need to examine our hearts. Ask Him to help you learn to deny yourself and live for Him every day. The Greek word martys does not mean only one who dies for his faith, but also one who bears witness of his faith. You can be a martyr for Jesus while you’re still alive! Don’t wait for the day you die to prove your love for Him–let your life be a shining testimony to the world; show everyone what it means to have the Love of God alive in your heart!

The Guiding Light

The idea of Christ as the Light of the world has always fascinated me. Even the world recognizes that the “Dark Side” is evil and it takes a supernatural force to conquer it. But they leave out what kind of force it takes to conquer the dark. A light saber doesn’t cut it. All it does is glow in the dark. The world needs a light that expels darkness, turning the darkness to light–not a laser beam. Jesus is the conquering Light; He is the One who gives direction to our lives. On our own, we are helplessly lost in the dark. I remember when we were visiting my grandparents and I went down to the basement early in the morning to study. I was carrying down my laptop and a stack of books and couldn't turn on the light. I miscounted one stair. You get the picture–without a light shining on our otherwise dark path, we’re bound to mess up.

John 1:4-5 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Psalm 119:105 Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

The light which on my way once so brightly shone
First flickered, then darkened to dimmer glow
When I the wind-blown path did own.

Then I, lamp burning with flame low,
Strayed from the straight and the narrow way
To be carried about, tossed to and fro.

I knew no right or wrong; all was grey
As I blundered about in darkest night
Till I knelt down in deep despair to pray.

Then a hand struck a flame and rekindled my light
And gently leading me back to the path from which I stray’d,
Taught me not to trust again in my own might.

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Today is the halfway point--six months from today, 300 Bible Bee contestants and their families will be in Nashville!

The Day of Despair

Can you imagine the despair of this day?
Jesus is DEAD. As Ashley has reminded us, He really did die. Everyone knew it. He was gone. In a tomb.

The disciples are in hiding. We often act as if this was shameful or cowardly, but put yourself in their places! They had followed this man for three years; they had followed Him out in the open, so they were well-known. Now He was gone.

What were they to do with their lives? Would they even get a chance, or would they too be hunted down and killed?

They could not see how this day was necessary. Have you ever come to a point of utter hopelessness and helplessness? Have you every looked at your life and seen no point, no purpose?

That's where we are without Christ. We are hopeless, without God in the world. We are separated from our only hope because of our sin. We are in despair. In our sin, it doesn't matter if the sun is shining, because we are bound to a place of darkness and utter isolation.

Have you ever seen yourself as this kind of sinner? HOPELESS?

We all know that the story doesn't end here, but in order for the story of the resurrection to be as joyful and hopeful as it is, we must understand our condition without it.

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:8

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23

"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a

"And you were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now at work among the sons of disobedience..." Ephesians 2:1-2

"Remember that at that time you were separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12

"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." Romans 5:12

The disciples didn't know the rest of the story, as we do. Today, meditate on who you are without Christ. Though it is not a pleasant thought, maybe it will help us to be bolder in sharing our faith, because we KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY.

All those around us who do not know Christ live like this every day of their lives. They have no hope. They are separated from Christ. They live Black Saturday every day.

As the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2, "REMEMBER..." Remembering our sin makes the Resurrection GLORIOUS! But if you don't know Christ as Savior, today is your life. Don't wait to turn to Christ and see how your darkness can be infused with His LIGHT!
If you have any questions about how to know Christ, comment on this post, or click the "contact me" button on the side of this page, and we would love to tell you about the REST OF THE STORY.

Be the moon

I've heard this catchy quote before and really like it; "Be the moon; reflect the Son." The moon, without the sun, is just a dark object in space. But the sun shines on it and the moon reflects that light to us on earth. I think this a great example of what we, as Christians, are. We are like the moon. Without the Son, Jesus Christ, we would be dark. We would have really no meaning. We would be lost without the light that Christ gives us. I mean, besides affecting the tide, the moon doesn't do anything expect to reflect the source that gives it light. The Son has brought us light. He is the Light. Now we have one purpose; to reflect the Light. We are to take the Light that God has given us and share it with others in darkness.

Now picture this with me: If the moon just took the light that sun gave it and never reflected it to earth, what would be it's purpose? It would be meaningless. It's job according to Genesis 1:14 is to "be a light for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth" and "to rule over the night." That's the purpose that God created it for. So, if it wasn't doing that, it would be living a purposeless life.

Now, compare that to us: If we, as Christians, just took the Light that the Son has given us and never reflected it to the darkened world around us, what would be our purpose? We wouldn't have any meaning. God didn't just give us Light so that we can hide that Light and keep it to ourselves. No; we are "the light of world"! A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your goods works and GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN!!!!" We are not called out to isolate ourselves from the world, but we are called to light this world. You see, this world is a dark place. It is filled with sin and death. People are blinded and lost in the darkness of their sin. They need light.

It's like the night that the moon shines in. It's dark. Without the light that moon gives, it would be very hard to see (of course, with all the modern technology, things have changed...but think back a few hundred years ago when the moon (and the stars) was the only source of light). Have you ever woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink or something? I have. I got up in the darkness and was trying to make my way to the bathroom and switch on a light. Well, on my way out of my bedroom, I knocked into something with my foot. You get the picture -ouch!!!! Once we were at some friend's house playing hiding-go-seek in the dark in their back yard. My sister had been caught and was at base. Now, the way we play, we have two teams and one team hides and the other counts. Once you're caught, your teammates can come to base and give you a jailbreak. Well, there was a jailbreak and my sister started running away from base to go into hiding again. Remember, it was pitch dark and she couldn't see where she was going. She ran right into a low tree branch. The branch missed her eye by a forth of an inch. She ended up going to the emergency room....and after awhile everything was fine...but back to my illustration...When it's dark, people are lost and cannot see. They need light.

The people of this world are living in darkness. They are in extreme danger. Living in sin does not lead to any good. It only is bad. It leads to an eternity of torment and judgement in the Lake of Fire. And yet, "men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." People are afraid of coming to the Light because their evil deeds will be exposed. It's like in the morning, when you wake up. You walk into the bathroom and flip on the light. What you see in the mirror doesn't look too pretty, does it? If you never turn on the light, you would never know your condition (and how pitifully bad it is). But when you turn on the light, you are able to see your flaws. You don't like what you see, but you know now what you need to do to fix them. It would be illogical to try to hide from the light and act like everything is okay. And yet that's what so many people are doing! They think that they can hide from their sins and act like everything's okay. But the truth is that they cannot escape the Light. One day everyone will face the Light and have to answer for all the things that they did in this life. Their deeds will exposed and judgement will afflicted on them for not coming to the Light while they had the chance.

We, as Christians, need to be bright lights in the dark world in which we live. Some people will hate us for it ("for everyone practicing hates the light..."), but don't let that stop you from shining! Realize that people are lost and blind. Realize that it's only the Light that will ever open their eyes. We need to be reflecting that Light. We can do that by living out the Word of God in our lives. Here's an example; "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." So, in all areas of life; Be the moon; reflect the Son. Don't let "clouds" get in your way. Don't just be a "sliver" or a "half" moon. Be a full moon, radiantly shining and glowing in a dark and dying world, pointing others to the Son.

The Great Light!

Light is a HUGE part of Christmas and for good reason: JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD!
Meditate on these verses and praise Him for being our light!


"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." - Isaiah 9:2


"At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, becausethe darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining." 1 John 2:8




"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:4-5
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Cor 4:3-4, 6