Light of The World

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." —Acts 2:38–39 From a human standpoint, there was no way the disciples were ready for the task of being Jesus' witnesses to the world. Their faith was weak. They had failed in their public witness and in their private faith. Simon Peter, their acknowledged leader, had openly denied the Lord. How could they ever go out and change the world? How? By the power they didn't have yet—but would have soon. Jesus told them, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In other words, "...

He has made everything beautiful in its time. ( Ecclesiastes 3:11) When I look back on my life, at the things God has allowed me to do and the opportunities He has opened up, I can see the wisdom of His perfect timing. Our tendency is to rush things, but just because something has not yet happened in your life doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen tomorrow. And that doesn't mean it won't happen a month or a year from now. Perhaps one phase of your life is ending and another is beginning. Maybe everything that has happened to you up to this point in your life has been preparation for what is still ahead. Late bloomers Moses' ministry didn't get going until he was 80 years old. Wandering out there in the desert of Midian with his little flock of sheep, he probably thought his life was pretty much over. In reality, it was just about to begin. Then there was Caleb, another Israelite who left Egypt in the Exodus. Along with Joshua, Caleb came ba...

"On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." —Matthew 16:18 I have noticed that it has become popular of late to critique the church. I read about one church that did a 2011 Easter campaign in which they put up signs all over town that read, "Church sucks." Supposedly the idea was to attract would-be churchgoers to their website. But I was actually offended by it. How dare anyone say that church sucks? Who are they to say that about the church? Do I think the church is perfect? No. Do I think the church has flaws? Yes, because people like me are in it. But I also know the Bible says that Jesus loves the church (see Ephesians 5:25). So I would never speak critically of that which Jesus loves. Some are disillusioned by the church today. They are bitter with the church and complain about the hypocrites who are in the church. But there is no such thing as a church witho...