BLUF: Another reason to believe.

Of the biblical writers, I very much track with the apostle John’s style of writing. I think it is because he is such a master of imagery and antithesis in literature. He uses the metaphors and concrete images of light and bread and water, etc. for the Lord Jesus. And he uses manifold antitheses or foils to illustrate contrasts: light vs. darkness; holiness vs. sin; hearing vs. deafness; sight vs. blindness, etc.

Connection to Scripture: In John’s first letter, he writes the following:

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ² the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-3 ESV)

Here John indicates they “touched” the Lord Jesus, that he (Jesus) was and is the “word of life,” that the Lord Jesus was “made manifest to us,” and that by being grafted into the Lord Jesus, Christian fellowship is the overflow and joy. I think it is one more reason why the Lord’s Supper is so powerful. We “feed upon” the Lord Jesus’s person and work by the Spirit of God. We celebrate what he accomplished in the past; we look forward to what he will sum up when he comes again; we have fellowship because we are indwelled by the Spirit who searches all things.

Encouragement: Another reason to believe, you see. It’s the religion of history because it’s centered on the God who rules history. It is His story. Over the holidays, some folks may attend a church or a Bible study or a Christmas ceremony of some fashion. Odds are, they may not otherwise come again until next year. As we go through this holiday season, may God’s people feed upon the deep things of God. May the true church overflow with God-saturated fellowship, so that the world will say, “Behold, those people know the real God.”

Eudora Welty cut linguistically to the heart of things. Here’s an example:

“Of all human moods, deliberate imperviousness may be the most quickly communicated–it may be the most successful, most fatal signal of all. And two people can indulge in imperviousness as well as in anything else” (from Welty’s “No Place for You, My Love”).

BLUF: Because God is light, He is the wholly trustworthy being. It only makes sense to trust Him.

Intro: It should go without saying, but sometimes it can be hard to trust many people. It is possible to become cynical. I used to have a peer who had retired from one of Atlanta’s police investigative units and he would tell me, “Jon, everyone is guilty; it’s just a matter of finding the evidence.” He did not say it jokingly. He had grown calloused and skeptical of every human institution, and he left each job he undertook a bitter man.

Segue: This morning I was reading some wisdom from the apostle John about how and why to trust God: “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God, is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV).

John was of course Jesus’ closest friend. He knew Jesus. They hung out. He learned from the Holy One of God. He suffered immensely for bearing witness to Christ as Lord. He penned 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Revelation, and the book of John—not exactly a small contribution to the canon of Scripture.

Encouragement: As we are amidst the holidays (the term came from holy days, by the way) it is a good time to focus upon the wholly trustworthy God whose incarnation of the Son is the very raison d’etre for Christmas and the holy days. Happy holidays. As you celebrate, may you and I contemplate the Light of all lights, the One in whom is no darkness at all.

Today was just about perfect. The saints from class came out and helped us minister to one of the men from class.

We enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship, co-labor, and a good meal afterwards.

Then ran some errands with CJ and came home to study for teaching tomorrow, and watched my beloved deer.

Saw a lot of pretty ones today from the back porch, even this pretty boy:

“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.”

BLUF: Gratitude only makes sense if the world is personal. 

Explanation: If man is reduced to matter only (molecules in motion), then the idea of rendering thanks at Thanksgiving, or at any other time, is pure drivel. But because all people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), rendering thanks is the most appropriate action sentient creatures should demonstrate. 

The Bible’s Poetry Says It Best: Psalm 8 expresses this reality:

1 O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2     Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
    to still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
    and the son of man that you care for him?

5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b]
    and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under his feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Takeaway & Encouragement: Gratitude is a virtue, near the top of the virtues, in fact, for good reason. It demonstrates the correct relationship between wisdom and humility. We render thanks because of benediction and also trials, knowing that behind both is the sovereign and holy God by whom all things exist and were created (Colossians 1:16). Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may it be rendered on each day, not just one Thursday a year. 

BLUF: Why Thanksgiving? Have We Even Thought about the Word? 

Admittedly, a literary nerd. No running from reality. Words matter. Profoundly. The word “Word”(Logos in Greek: λόγος) is crucial: it is Christ, the Word. God incarnate. 

True Story: I cannot think of a man that I loved more than Papa. His name was Randy. He was my father-in-law. I know of very few people who lived their testimony as consistently as Papa, He was, to be cliche, the real deal. No fluff. He was consistent, day in and day out. The same man. And there is comfort in dependability. There are few folks who are the real deal, and when you find one, befriend him/her. 

Segue: Papa is gone unto his reward now. And I have no doubt his reward is great. But where does that leave us–we who are still here? Well, some encouragement for us is below:

* God says that all will be brought to light (Luke 8:17).

*God says that we’ll answer (Romans 14:12).

*God is the Judge (Acts 17:31). 

Encouragement: If and when you clasp your hands this week, and utter a prayer, have the intellectual consistency to admit this: You are grateful for the goodness and truth that has come your way, and it is not by accident or chemical reaction by unguided forces, but by the hand of the sovereign providential God who is. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

“May I share something with you?” the person asked.

“Of course,” I responded.

“It’s from Ephesians 5, where Paul is talking about discernment.“

Then, the person read it aloud to us both. I followed along with my finger in the text:

⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become partners with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
    and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

I am teaching through Matthew’s gospel account of Christ currently, and I am camped out in chapter 13 for several weeks. Why? Well, it’s about how so many are blind to what is right in front of their eyes. It is staggering how much of the Bible is about willful ignorance and suppression of the truth.

My Prayer: Lord, Shape your saints to be a people characterized by wisdom and love for the truth and for the body you purchased. Expose the lies; reward the good, true, and beautiful. Glorify your name. Amen.