Tag: morals

The Pathway to Hope

Isaiah 35:8
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

Each day’s news and headlines confirm that from a spiritual perspective the earth is a den of iniquity, a vast barren desert. It is a rare case indeed when holiness can be found in the news. Looking forward, the content of the news is not likely to improve but to get worse and more hopeless. The social and political systems of mankind are offering nothing that will change things. As time moves forward, the barren desert is converting to a total wasteland through the ongoing deterioration of the morals of mankind.

There is a way of escape, however. There is a pathway that offers hope for anyone and everyone who takes it. The way out of the barren desert is through Jesus Christ, Our Redeemer. He is the way, the truth and the life. Because Jesus took His place on the Cross as part of the Father’s will for His life, we as the redeemed children of God can stand up and find victory in the most difficult of circumstances.

Although our flesh will fight us, by the Word and Spirit of Christ, we that are spiritually blinded by the world can be enlightened. We that are spiritually deaf to the calls of God can be made to hear them readily. We that are struggling in service can be made active and joyfully productive. We that find it difficult to speak of God or to God can have our lips opened to bring forth His praise. We that find it hard to love one another can have our hearts filled with the perfect, loving forgiveness of Our Father in heaven. Most importantly, we that stand alone against the world can find victory in all things of this earth, no matter how trying, if we all stand together in Jesus Christ.

Let us seek the way of holiness that is found in Jesus Christ. Let us learn to live in the light of Christ even though the world around us lives in darkness. Let us become beacons of His light.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for providing the way, the truth and the life that is in Jesus Christ. We thank You for loving us first, so that we may love You and abide in Your will for our lives. We pray that You enlighten us and strengthen us so that we may see and follow the way that You have set aside for us as individuals and as a worldwide community. May Your grace be upon us so that we may be living founts of Your love and holiness to be shared with the world around us. May the world be changed as we all stand together united with Our Savior. We ask all these things in the name of Our Refuge from the Storm, Jesus Christ.

Living Under the Divine Authority of the Word of God

Mark 1:22
The people were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority–quite unlike the teachers of religious law.

The Jews were astonished at the great truths that Jesus was teaching. The nature and importance of what He was teaching was unlike anything that they had ever heard. The teaching of Jesus was distinctly different from the teaching of the Scribes, who relied so heavily on traditions. The manner in which He taught was also different. He taught with such grace, such gravity and such majesty. His teaching was rich in evidence and power. He taught as if He had the authority to do so and needed to rely on no one else for the basis of His teaching. He taught independent of all men, all tradition and the religiosity that preceded Him. He taught fully dependent on His Father in heaven.

What made Jesus’ teaching distinctly different from the teachers of the law was that He taught and lived under the absolute authority of Almighty God. Everything that Jesus did was based on the truth in God’s Word. No wonder he stood out from teachers of the law who based their teaching on every other form of authority. Some sought their authority based on the things that they had reasoned through their own logic. Some sought their authority based on the traditions that history had revealed to them. Some sought their authority based on the trending ethics and morals of their culture. Some even sought their authority based on their emotion. It is no wonder that the people were able to recognize the brilliance of Jesus’ teaching.

Although we may never be teachers, we must decide under what authority that we will make our daily life decisions. Shall we make our life decisions based on our own reasoning? Shall we make our decisions based on what traditions teach us? Shall we make our life decisions based on what is trending in our culture? Shall we make our life decisions based on how we feel? If we follow any of these false forms of authority, we will open ourselves up to short-term regrets and eternal risks.

Let us make all of our life decisions under the only real authority. Let us build and sustain our lives based on the absolute authority of God’s Holy Word.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending us the Truth, Your Son, Jesus. We thank You for the amazing and life-changing doctrine that He delivered to us with divine authority. We praise You for inspiring the authors of the Books of the Bible so that we might have the Good News of the Gospel for presentation throughout the ages. We pray, Lord, that our lives will be living testimonies to the way, the truth and the life that Your Son secured for us on the Cross. May the world around us be drawn to Your Son, Jesus, as they see us living under the divine authority of Your Holy Word. We ask all these things in the name of the Witness to the People, Jesus Christ.