This Little Light of Mine...

Matthew 5:14-16 is a very well known passage of scripture.  Because of familiarity though, we sometimes read and just passed right over it.  This passage says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl (or bushel). Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

This is a very exciting scripture!  Jesus says that we are the light of the world.  We know that He was the light while He was here on Earth as He stated in John 8:12, but He says that WE ARE now the light of the world.  Yet, what are the implications of His statement? 

Well if we are truly the light, and with this world as dark as it now is, we should be shining brightly and with purpose! Verse 15 tells us that people don’t put a lamp under something to hide it’s light. On the contrary, they put it ‘on a stand’ so that all may see by its light. Our light shouldn’t be hidden, but placed on display so that all may see. 

I’m not saying put your life on display so that others may see ‘you’. Certainly some have done that and have exalted themselves.  That’s clearly not what Jesus intended. Yet we are instructed to let our lives shine ‘before men’.  We should put our lives on display in such a way, that our deeds point others to Christ. 

The scripture says a lamp is placed “on a stand”. Our jobs, our ministries, our outreach efforts, even the raising of families, among other things, can be stands that lift up the light in us to display it to the world.  What platform has God given you to shine His light in? Whether you see it as big or small, we all have some area of influence. Has he given you that influence, that lamp stand so to speak, so that the world might see you, or that you might show the world Jesus?

We are often given great opportunities to let our light shine personally and corporately. Let's use whatever venue, to place the light of Christ in us firmly atop it’s stand so that others might see Him in us.  I believe with all of my heart this is God’s desire for us as His church, in our local fellowships and in this community.  Shine now!  In your home.  In your work place.  At your child’s soccer game.  Walking your dog down the street. At the neighborhood yard sale.  You can display Jesus! Let us set His light atop it’s stand, and let His light shine in our communities!

Your light may seem insignificant to you, but it certainly isn’t to God. Even the smallest light can be seen from the greatest distances in the dark. So shine today! This world around us is so dark, who knows, your light might be seen around the world!

Cry Out To Jesus

In Luke chapter 18 verses 35 to 43 there's a story of a blind man who cried out "Jesus thou Son of David have mercy on me!" 

The Bible tells us that Jesus heard him and stopped. Then he had the man brought before him and He asked the man "What would you have me to do for you?"

The man said "That I might receive my sight."  Jesus healed him and the man followed Him praising God.

I was reading that this morning and noticed the phrase "and Jesus stopped" some version say "Jesus stood still." Then it says that "Jesus had the man brought before Him."

Don't be afraid to cry out to Jesus, no matter what your situation. Our cries can stop Him in his tracks! His word also says that "His ears are ever open to the cries of the righteous." 

Jesus is listening for your cry today. Cry out to Jesus! Your cries may cause Him to stop and take notice. And then even greater, He may bring you before His presence!

In His presence there is fullness of joy! In His presence is where we find healing. In His presence is where we find restoration. In His presence is where our needs are met. In His presence even those who were once blind, can look upon his face!

I Asked the Lord to Teach Me To Love...

As I was praying today I believe the Lord revealed something to me.  It was pretty profound, to me at least. While praying, I told the Lord that I love Him, but I also asked that He teach me to love Him more.  And right then, the Lord really quickened my spirit. 'We 'don't even know how to love Him.' 

As I prayed I realized, we've been taught to love the things of this world. Even though it may have been taught to us unintentionally, it was taught. We know how to be affectionate toward this world.  It comes naturally, because we are in the flesh. We can look at our own lives and see that it's true... But we need to be taught how to love God.

That's when I felt that I heard the Lord say, "Love is surrender."   Pure, simple, easily understood… “Love is surrender.”  Clearly, God was teaching me to love Him. 

I try to show my love to Him in many different ways.  I pray, and try to submit my will to His. I try hard to be a godly example to the people in my life.  I read His Word, sometimes just because I know I need it.  I offer the very best praise I can muster, on a regular basis.  And none of that is bad, but God said, “Love is surrender.”

So, I began thinking about this statement, and it seems so foreign to us.  Because of our teaching, we are programmed to look at everything through the eyes of flesh.  So, we may see love as a completely different thing. We are not taught to surrender. On the contrary, we are taught to stay on guard or to even conquer. 

When you’ve lived a little while, you know that if you don’t guard yourself from others, you will often end up hurting. So when we love, we put conditions on it.  Sometimes, because of our tendency to guard ourselves or even as we try to gain control of situations, or people, we find that we have caused hurt ourselves.  I believe we often, wrongly, carry this ideology into our relationships. If we aren’t careful, we will have walls of protection built up even against our spouse or children.  And certainly we do the same toward our God, but that isn’t what surrender looks like. 

I’m sure you are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.  It says, 

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Doesn’t that sound an awfully lot like surrender?

Let’s look at this from another angle: At Calvary, God surrendered to His own creation, in a great display of love.  He didn't conquer us, although He surely could have. He didn’t even guard Himself.  Instead, He ‘offered Himself’ in the person of Jesus Christ. Though He was God, He humbled Himself and offered all that He is, to us. We crucified Him in return.  At that crucifixion, we displayed our 'love' for power more than our love for Him. Yet, He displayed love that we cannot even fathom, through His surrender.

Love is scary.  It can really hurt if it isn’t returned like we are giving it.  Love isn’t always easy. So we hide our hearts and guard our feelings, and sometimes even try to go after things, instead of opening ourselves up to possible hurt. 

If real love is surrender, and I believe that’s what it is.  Then it’s best displayed when we give it fully with no reservations.  I know that’s scary, but ‘perfect love casts out fear’.  When love is perfect, there is no fear of hurt.

God’s  love toward us is perfected.  We can see that by looking at Calvary, where He surrendered to us.  So we need not be afraid to surrender to Him.

In response to my request, "Teach us Lord to love you!"  He simply says, "Love is Surrender."  We say that we love the Lord with all our hearts, but have we really surrendered everything to Him?  Because that’s what love looks like.

If you want to know how much you really love Him, ask yourself this question.  Am I fully surrendered to the Lord?  And, if you want to know how much He loves you, ask yourself; “Did He fully surrender for me?” 

Love, my friend, is surrender. 

What are you passionate about?

What are you passionate about?  We all have something that inspires us, motivates us, or stimulates us to action.  And then, we all have things that bore us, makes us lose our motivation or causes us to fall into complacency. But what is it that you are passionate about?

At the beginning of each new year many of us make resolutions.  If you are one who does that, take a look at those resolutions.  The ones you are most passionate about are the only ones you will keep.  The others will be forgotten in a month or so.

The same goes for your commitment to Spiritual things.  Whatever you are most passionate about, is what you will stick with and make a part of your spiritual disciplines. Your passions become the most important things in your life.

Do you love to pray?  If prayer is a passion, you will pray about everything.  You’ll pray for your neighbors, your bank teller, and your drive-thru attendant.  You’ll pray for your job, your city, your kid’s school… if prayer is your passion. You will ask God for direction.  You’ll ask Him for healing. You’ll ask for wisdom, and fulfillment, and peace.  If prayer is your passion, then you will develop an intimate relationship with God in those times of communication with Him.

If we are passionate about worship, we’ll forget about those around us and offer our all to God in praise.  If we are passionate about church attendance, we’ll be there often and on time and we will love our time in His house. If we’re passionate about people, we’ll be loving and caring and people will know that they are important to us. If we’re passionate about family, or ministry, or our community, people will see it.

Whatever you are passionate about will be evident in your lifestyle.  If you’re passionate about God the world will know it. If your passionate about justice, or civil rights, or child safety, the world will know it.  If your passionate about your sin, those around you will know it to, even if you try to hide it. You can’t hide passion.

Sometimes it’s harder for us to label our own ‘passions’, or lack thereof, than it is for others to label us.  Whatever it is that stirs you, moves you, or motivates you, will be clearly seen by those around you. They also easily see our lack of passion. So what are you passionate about?  What is the world seeing when it looks at you?  How would they label you if they were trying to name your passion?

I wonder… What do those around us think are the most important things to us?

In this New Year, why not return to our first-Love, Jesus Christ, and serve Him passionately?? If we do, the world will know it.

Christmas?

Approximately 2000 years ago prophecies hundreds of years old, a few perhaps thousands of years old, were fulfilled with amazing precision when a baby was born in the city of Bethlehem.  Nothing has ever been the same since.  The way we record time even changed and we now refer to the day after His birth as the common era (C.E.), or year of our Lord – Anno Dominus (A.D.).

Jesus didn’t stay a baby though.  He grew in stature and wisdom.  He showed us the Father.  He died.  He arose from the dead.  He ascended to the right hand of the Father.  He now makes intercession for those of us who have our faith in Him.  Soon he will return to receive us to Himself.

The celebration of Christmas is under scrutiny within the church and from outside the church. Outside the church, the effort is to silence the message of Christ, plain and simple.  Within the church the efforts to stop the celebration of Christmas, by the Christian, is usually based in the belief that it this celebration is pagan in its origins and shouldn’t be participated in by Christians.  Sometimes though, it is rejected simply because of the materialism that the holiday has become known for.

While Christmas isn’t a holiday that is reported in scripture, or even necessarily celebrated by the early church, not beginning until around the year 336 AD, most of us have chosen to commemorate the birth of Christ on this day.  Was Jesus actually born on December the 25?  No, very probably not.  It was more likely in March. Is this a celebration instituted by God?  No, it was instituted by the early Catholic Church, thus the name “Christ Mass.”  Don’t the celebrations of the day, have roots in paganism?  Some of them do.  Hasn’t the day become just a marketing ploy for the materialistically greedy corporations to take advantage of the public?  Perhaps, because it truly has become far too materialistic.

So, is it wrong then to celebrate Christmas?  I think not, if we keep Christ at the center, but I’ll show you why.

In the celebration of Christmas we, as Christians, look back to the birth of the promised Messiah of whom it was foretold that He would come to save His people from their sins.  We also have opportunity to look presently into our own hearts and their condition, whether close to God or distant from Him; as we are reminded of the greatest gift ever given to anyone.  “For God so loved this world, that he gave…”  Hopefully in this season we will allow the reality of Emanuel, God with us, to cause us to let go of any greed and follow the example of our Father, giving our best gifts to God and men, as well of telling others about our Lord and his life-changing power.  We can, and should, also remember that His birth represents only the first coming of this Messiah, and that He is soon coming again.

If these things happen at Christmas, then the day serves as a great reminder of how we should actually be living our lives every day because of the appearing of our Savior, and because our relationship with God now, through Christ.

While Christmas may not have been celebrated by the early church, the birth of Christ was surely celebrated by the angels of the Most High God, as we read of the heavenly hosts praising God at Jesus birth.  It was celebrated by wise men who left their homeland and traveled far to look upon Him and to bring offerings.  It was celebrated by the shepherds who left their flocks, and so their livelihood, for long enough to see this amazing child – the Holy One of God.

Also, the pagan influences from ancient times have lost their meaning to us and are not the reasons of our celebration.  Just as the names of the days of the week, also had roots in paganism but have lost the association.  In fact, many of the traditions associated with Christmas, that were originally pagan in practice, were repurposed, and refocused, by the church to point people toward Christ.  This is much like the Apostle Paul’s use of the altar built to the “unknown god” as a way to preach Jesus to the people of Athens, Greece.  That altar was built in pagan worship simply out of superstition, to some god – whoever he might be – just in case they had failed to remember or recognize him.  So Paul claimed it for the Living God.  He told them that Jesus was the man appointed by God, the God previously unknown to them, but who might now be known by them, through Christ.

Another reason I think the celebration of Christmas is appropriate for us, if we choose to celebrate it as Christians, is found in principle in, Romans chapter 14 and in 1 Corinthians chapter 8.  The Apostle Paul made it clear that some of us would see things differently than others.  While one would NEVER eat meat offered to idols, someone else may not see that as anything to even consider, knowing that idols are ‘dumb’, simply objects and not truly God.  He admonishes us to not judge one another in these things, but adhere to our own God given convictions, knowing that God who knows our hearts, will judge each of us.

If you feel it is inappropriate to have a tree in your home, or to even celebrate the day, be true to that conviction.  If you have no such conviction, don’t feel pressured to give up your celebration.  Don’t judge one another though, if you don’t see eye to eye.

Here I’m sure all will agree, Jesus is the reason for this season.  He deserves worship.  He deserves praise, so if you do any celebration this Christmas, be sure HE is at the center of it: not materialism, not paganism, but Jesus. 


Merry Christmas from the Laudermilk family.

The Debt Ceiling

The "Debt Ceiling" as it is being called is nothing more than actual, physical (and fiscal), bankruptcy in our government. The name debt ceiling sounds so much nicer though, doesn't it?

The fact is, we're broke. We're flat broke! We’re in debt up to our eyeballs. What the House and Senate (and perhaps the President; I'm unsure of his motives) are trying to do is simply come to some agreement on what 'plan' we should put in effect to put off the date of reckoning for our lack of fiscal responsibility. If an agreement is not reached we face ‘judgment day’, so to speak, NOW. If they can come to some agreement, we keep the judgment at bay another day.

I’m no expert on world affairs and I may not have all the facts but the way I see it, here's what's at stake… If we pass through the deadline tonight, at midnight, without a solution in place, then our country defaults on it loans and therefore has no money to pay its bills. What bills does a country have? Well, there are plenty but I'll name a few: US Savings Bonds that are mature seem to be what's making the news. They seem of little consequence to most people, but read on because I'll deal with them in a moment. Another big news item is governmental employees paychecks. I agree this is an issue, however much bigger problems are just down the pike. “Like what?” you ask. A MUCH bigger problem is Welfare, Unemployment, Disability payments, Food Stamps, and etcetera. The people receiving these payments would very soon stop receiving anything what-so-ever. Then, because of savings bonds having no value, (here we go) interest rates would rise making inflation run rampant. Finally, in light of all the other things, the US dollar devalues. If the dollar is devalued, it doesn't even matter if you have money, it will be nearly useless. This could happen because our US dollar is no longer backed by gold. It’s just paper. The bible talks about a loaf of bread costing a day's wage. That is exactly what will take place if our dollar loses its value. All of this would be devastating and would cause widespread panic and unrest, perhaps even civil war or a revolution, but certainly riots at the least.

Even more disturbing, is the fact that a loan in default suggests a borrower and a ‘lender’. We are the borrowers, but who do we owe this money to? Mostly, we owe China, the other world superpower. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but if there is a loan, whether it’s defined or not, there is also collateral. If we default on our loans to China, no matter what the analysts might say, we are in danger of invasion because if we aren’t able to keep our commitment in paying off our debts they will want something of value in return for their loan. Besides just wanting repayment, if they are defaulted on then their economy begins to tank as well.

Here’s the long and short of it. Even if the Senate and the House come to an agreement and the debt ceiling is raised and the deadline is extended, until December; or whenever. Even if they make an allowance and give the U.S. Government more money to operate on, we are in a very precarious position as a nation. We had better wake up and look around us, these are the end times. Months or years aren’t needed for things to fall apart in the world, or even for us as a nation. Within days, our nation could be on its knees because of poor management. Within weeks the world economy could follow. We are in a precarious position indeed, and perilous times I might add.

Be wise. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, but expect the return of Christ soon. What does that mean to the common person? First, know Christ intimately. If ever there was a day to be close to God, it’s now. Second, don’t follow the example of our nation. Get out of debt if you can, and don’t go further in debt. Put aside some reserves; by that I mean food, water, bartering items, and procure means of protection for your family - whatever that may mean for you.

I warn you of this not out of fear, but for wisdom’s sake. Proverbs 22:3 says, “A shrewd person sees danger and hides himself, but the naive keep right on going and suffer for it.” Even if the ‘judgment’ of this nation is stayed tonight, it’s coming shortly. If it isn’t the judgment of God, it will be the judgment of our peers, and we have brought it upon ourselves. We as a nation have allowed for no other option than judgment. When it’s coming is the question.

Will Jesus come before all this? Who knows. Even so… come quickly Lord Jesus.

Do-over Days

I woke up this morning thinking about how nice it would be if we had 'do-over' days. If rough days, like yesterday for my daughter Lauren, could be relived with the knowledge we have now, we would certainly make different choices! For her, it would have probably been to skip that soccer practice...But we don't get do-over days. However we live today, whatever we do, goes straight into the record books.  

Live your life today with the leading of God's Spirit. He knows what today holds. Live it right the first time, because we don't have a second chance at some things. 

IF you mess up, and we will some days, learn from it and move forward. If you sin, repent. If you break a bone at a practice that hardly anyone else even showed up for, you'll heal with the knowledge that you were doing your best and you were faithful. Keep going. 

We don't get do-over days, but hey, that's what 'new days' are for. Start today with yesterday's knowledge and go forward. Better days are ahead for you if you just keep going.