“14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 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. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 The command to be in this world is not really a matter in which we have a choice. We are undeniably citizens of this world. We have physical bodies with physical needs governed by physical laws. The war that we fight, though, is not of this world (Ephesians 6:12). The banner we carry distinguishes us on moral, spiritual, and Godly matters. We are a lamp whose purpose
As we read through the Gospels in the New Testament, we see an interesting dynamic at play between Jesus and Peter. It seems as if Jesus is always coming down exceptionally hard on Peter in his pursuits to improve his service to his Lord. Much of this is certainly due to Peter’s own lack of understanding regarding the situation surrounding Jesus, but it’s also attributed to his own faulty philosophy on strength and loyalty. We have a classic example of Peter’s idea of zeal in John 18:10 when Jesus was about to get arrested just prior to his crucifixion. “Then Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear…” Peter sure did show a willingness to
We’ve seen it happen before. Whether we are a witness, victim, or instigator of it, words are misinterpreted, assumptions are made, and before we know it, a problem arises that no one was asking for. These situations become confusing and complicated. We, as a Church, have to be careful about how we go about such issues, and most importantly, how we go about them in a godly manner. We need to consider a couple important ideas when we come upon these situations: First, we are humans, seemingly prone to mistake. There have been so many instances, especially over indirect means of contact (like texting or email), that words and meanings have been misinterpreted. We have to be careful with how we
