Stepping in the Light

“A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father?” Matthew 21:28-31

The Pharisees were questioning Jesus’ authority and trying to find ways to trick Him into saying something that they could use against Him. Instead of answering their questions directly, Jesus asked them a question about John the Baptist. After they declined to answer because they were afraid of what the people would think, Jesus gave them this parable. A man has two sons, and he asks them both to work for him. One agrees politely but doesn’t actually go; the other son refuses to go but later changes his mind. In this parable, both sons did something wrong. One was disrespectful and the other was deceitful and derelict in his duties. Jesus asked, “Which one did the will of his father?” The obvious answer helps us set priorities for our actions and attitudes. Any father would enjoy hearing his son speak respectfully and appropriately. Any father would be disappointed with a son who rejected personal responsibility. This father experienced both, but at the end of the day, what he needed most was to have the work done. God is more concerned with what we do than He is with what we say we are going to do. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could be the kind of Christians that not only would say that we loved God, but were willing to prove it by obeying His Word?

 “And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.” Exodus 27:20

God gave Moses instructions to make a beautiful candlestick with seven oil lamps and place it in the holy place inside the tabernacle. The lamps would give light to the priests who came in to minister before the Lord. God told Moses that He wanted the lamps to be always burning; but in order for that to happen, someone had to provide a constant supply of oil. There are many parallels to the Christian life found in a study of the articles within the tabernacle, and we can find a practical lesson in the continual demand for oil to keep the fire burning in the lamps of the candlestick. The Israelites were in the wilderness, and there were probably not very many olive trees there. The olive oil that they did have would have had to have been carried with them everywhere they went and carefully stored each time they stopped along their journey. Depending on the size of the lamps and the type of wicks that were used, the lamps would have needed tending quite often, both during the day and at night. Some of the Levites were given the sacred responsibility to ensure that these lamps never went out. Just like it required a great deal of effort for them to keep the oil lamps burning, it requires a great deal of effort to keep our spiritual lights burning. God’s Word is the source of our light, and it is important that we consistently spend time in its pages in order to keep His light burning brightly in our hearts and minds.

“But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:26-28

Jesus spoke often about humility. He used Himself as an example for His disciples, but they had a difficult time understanding. They had been waiting all of their lives for the Messiah to come, and they had the idea ingrained in their minds that He was going to be a mighty military leader and establish a world-wide kingdom based in Jerusalem. In their view, He would need to choose cabinet members, governors, deputies, generals, and fill many other positions of power in order to enable this new government to function properly. The disciples were excited about the miracles He performed, but they kept waiting for Him to begin talking about military strategy and political structure. When that time came, they wanted to be ready. They wanted to secure the highest position possible in this new government. It was an idea that they could not get out of their minds. They must have been so disappointed every time they brought it up and Jesus responded by talking about the importance of being a humble servant. The completed New Testament gives us a perspective that the disciples did not have, but when it comes to following Christ, we don’t often do much better than they did. Do you have a desire to be more like Jesus? If you do, then look for ways to be a servant to others.

“The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” Matthew 19:20-22

Some people read this passage and come away with the impression that we can earn our way into heaven by giving away all of our possessions. But that cannot be true because of the overwhelming number of passages that point to salvation by grace through faith without works. So what does it mean?

This man was presented with a difficult choice: spiritual gain or temporal gain. We know that there were wealthy people such as Joseph of Arimathaea (John 19:38) who did follow Christ and were not asked to give up their wealth first. So, a vow of poverty is not a necessary step to salvation or even to becoming a faithful Christian. Then why did Jesus make him choose? The answer is in the choice that the young man made. He chose his possessions just like Jesus knew he would.

If you were faced with the same dilemma, what would you choose? We know what the right answer would be, but how easy would it actually be to sell everything and give it away? The Lord isn’t asking us to walk away from those things; He gave them to us. He wants us to value eternal things most and to use our temporal possessions for eternal purposes.

“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22

At the beginning of Matthew chapter 18, the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him which one of them would be the greatest. Jesus answered by placing a child in their midst and telling them that they needed to humble themselves as a child if they truly wanted to be great. Jesus then continued to teach them and it seemed that He changed subjects several times, but each new topic was related in some way to how much God values us and how that should impact the way we value each other. In verses 15-17, Jesus explained how to deal with another person within the church who has wronged us. When Jesus finished speaking, Peter asked, “When someone wrongs me, how often must I forgive them?”

As it relates to the rest of the passage, forgiveness is all about value. We naturally tend to see ourselves as more important than everyone around us, but all of us are equally valuable to God. Considering this truth will help us understand why He wants us to forgive each other. Was Jesus suggesting that when someone wrongs us, we need to begin keeping a tally? That’s one. Only four hundred sixty-nine more times, and I’ll never have to forgive you again! I don’t think so. I believe that Jesus was saying that He wants us to learn to be forgiving.

“Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19-20

What does it take to impress you? The longer I live, the more places I have been, and the more things that I have experienced, the more difficult it is for me to be truly impressed with anything. Whenever we are impressed, we are impressed with unusual speed, power, size, beauty, strength, dexterity, knowledge, ability, etc. God looks at things from a totally different perspective. He is not impressed by the things that impress us; and, all too often, we are not impressed by the things that impress Him. When it comes to churches, we might be impressed with a big crowd or a beautiful building, but God is impressed with the hearts and the minds of the people who are gathered together. We learn from the scripture above that God wants to answer the prayer of any two people who agree regarding the petition that they bring to Him. If two or three people are gathered together in His name, He promises to be in their midst. No one takes notice of a church that only has three people there, but God does. What is He looking for? He is looking for those who love Him and are faithful to Him to come together in His name, believing in Him, to ask for His help in His cause. Will you be one of those faithful ones?

“And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” Exodus 14:13

The Israelites were terrified beyond what most of us could possibly imagine. Pharaoh’s army was bearing down upon them and they were certain that they were about to be destroyed. Moses’ message to them in this passage is one that we would do well to remember in our times of distress. They wanted Moses to do something about their situation. They would gladly have done something themselves if that were possible, but they were no match for Pharaoh’s army and there was nowhere to run. There was no escape. Nothing they could do would change their situation. Moses told them not to be afraid. They were to stand still and watch what God was going to do. Before it was over, there was one thing that they would have to do; walk through the Red Sea. But first, they had to stand still and wait for God to part the water. They did not know what they were waiting for God to do; they were just told to wait. Sometimes our circumstances don’t quite make sense to us. Sometimes we feel that God needs to do something immediately or all will be lost. That is often when we need to just stand still and let God work. When we have prayed all that we can, and when we have done all that we can do, we must stand still and let God do what only He can do.

“But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” Matthew 15:26-28

Jesus told this woman that she had great faith, and that because of her faith she would receive her request. Her daughter would be made whole. When she first made her request, Jesus did not answer her. She probably felt ignored, and perhaps she felt as if He did not care about her problem; but she would not be deterred. She requested that the disciples help her get Jesus’ attention, but their response was to ask Jesus to send her away. When Jesus finally spoke to her, what He said sounded like a refusal to help her at the very least, and it could even have been taken as an insult. In her reply, she showed humility by likening herself to a dog and portraying Jesus as her master. This woman believed Jesus was so powerful that this miracle would merely be “crumbs” compared to the “main course” of His potential. She knew that Jesus was her only hope, and she was determined to continue asking for His help until her daughter was made whole.

How is our faith today? Are we as humble and persistent as this dear lady was? God wants to meet our needs, but first, He wants us to place our complete faith in Him and Him alone.

“And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only? And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.” Exodus 8:9-10

Frogs were everywhere. How disgusting! This was not just a bad day, though; it was a plague sent from God upon the Egyptian people. Moses warned Pharaoh that the frogs were coming, and not long after the land of Egypt was filled with frogs, Pharaoh called for Moses and asked him to pray that God would take away the frogs. When asked when he would like for the frogs to be removed, Pharaoh said, “Tomorrow.” Tomorrow? Why wait until tomorrow? Why not ask for the frogs to be removed today?

Sometimes we are a little bit like Pharaoh was about the frogs. We have this terrible problem, and we would do anything to get rid of it, but we are willing to put it off until tomorrow. Procrastination is something that all of us have to deal with in our lives from time to time. Sometimes it can be something harmless like taking out the trash or fixing a leaky faucet. Sometimes it can be dealing with sin or difficulties in our interpersonal relationships. Pharaoh’s life would have been better if he had said, “Now!” It is no different for us. Now is the best time to deal with a problem. Take care of it today!

“And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” Exodus 4:10-12

God chose Moses to lead the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt. Moses was intrigued when he saw the burning bush, he was in awe when he heard the voice of God, but he was completely overwhelmed with the idea of leading the people because he felt that he could not speak well. Moses doubted his own abilities to the point that he could not imagine that what the Lord told him was possible. Moses saw obvious physical miracles that day: the burning bush, the serpent from the rod, and the leprous hand. It seems that Moses was more afraid of public speaking than he was of snakes and leprosy combined! He was convinced that it would take an even greater miracle than the ones he had seen that day for him to have the ability to speak in front of people. In spite of his objections, Moses eventually did speak to the people. He did lead them, and he also penned the first five books of the Bible, about one fifth of the entire Bible by word count. In an area where Moses felt especially weak, God made him strong. Is the Lord asking you to do something out of your comfort zone? When we yield ourselves to Him, He can do great things through us.