Tuesday, December 1, 2009

The Greatest Gift

When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. – John 12:44-46

“I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” What a wonderful truth for us to receive, take in and meditate on. Have you ever tried to imagine complete darkness? (Personally, I do not want to go there even in my imagination. I like the light! I like it when on December 22 the daylight hours start becoming a longer part of our day.) But, have you ever tried to imagine no stars, no moon, no sun, no street lights, no lights from a neighbor’s house, not even a single match striking to light a single candle? To me, complete darkness – total absence of light – does not depict a very inviting place to be.

Which is why I love this scripture so much! Jesus, sent by Father, came to show the Way, to light our path, to bring us out of darkness into his wonderful and marvelous light (I Peter 2:9) and to eternal life.

During this season of thanksgiving, where we usually give thanks for a lot of things in our life, let us not forget to give thanks for the most wonderful and greatest gift of all -- Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Let’s give thanks to God our Father for sending (giving – John 3:16) us His One and Only Son --- the Light of the world who has taken us from dreadful darkness into lighted pathways where we can walk hand-in-hand with Him.

Bottom Line: Jesus Christ, the greatest gift of all is the Light of the world and everyday for those who believe in Him, He faithfully lights up the pathways for us to follow.

MG

Monday, November 9, 2009

Be Active

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. – Philemon 4-6

To be active in our faith requires some type of action on our part. It is not enough just to go to church on Sundays. It is on each one of us individually to share our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with others. It is so easy to say, “That’s the role of the pastor or the evangelist.” I may not have actually said that in past years but I have certainly thought it.

This scripture was not written to a pastor or an evangelist. It was written to Philemon, a business owner in Colosse, whom Paul had converted to the Way. Philemon hosted the local home church there. It could have been you.

The point to me is that we need to be constantly emptying ourselves so that more of Christ can come in and then we begin emptying ourselves again and more of Christ comes in. By being willing to be “active in sharing our faith” we make room for more of Christ in our own life. And then we begin having a “full understanding” of all we have in Christ.

Let me ask us all some questions. And I do mean all so that includes myself.

Are you actively sharing your faith? Are you telling of the changes He has brought about in your life? Are you sharing what He has done for you? Are you telling of His goodness and mercy and grace in your life? Are you gaining in the “full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ”? I believe we all need to seriously be in the process of answering those questions.

Bottom Line: Are you active in sharing your faith in Christ Jesus?

MG

P.S. Let's be thankful this Thanksgiving season for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and that we live in a country where we are allowed to be active in the sharing of our faith.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Press In

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you -- James 4:8

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. -- Hebrews 10:22-23

A few Sunday mornings ago I delivered a word I received from the Lord for us to, "Press In". I want to encourage us in that again for this month's Bottom Line. The actual words I wrote down from the Lord are as follows:

Press in. Do not be afraid to press in. Get close to Me. Inquire of Me. Listen to Me. Receive from Me. Press in. Press in. Press in. I do not reject you. I receive you. Press in.

With all that is happening around us in the world this day and time, be it in our homes, in our work places, in our cities, in our states, in the nations -- which encompasses His world that He created -- let us be ever-the-more mindful to "press in" to "draw near" to Him. Let us get even closer in our walk with Him, in our conversations with Him, in our worship of Him, in our thoughts of Him than ever before. He is our source of strength, our source of wealth, our source of faith, our source of salvation. He is our connection to all we need or ever will need.

Bottom Line: Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Press in! Press in! Press in!

M.G.

Monday, October 12, 2009

A New Beginning

Can hardly believe I am doing this -- blogging that is. My daughter, Aimee is a pro at this and is absolutely great at writing (blogging) about her family. She helped me get this whole thing set up. So, this is my first blog -- a new beginning for me.

Aimee is also into Facebook. Me? I'm into Facebook, too -- well, kind of, sort of? -- I just do not know what to do with all these invitations of being friends so at this point all those emails of invitations are stored in an email folder called "Facebook". I'll get to them eventually. Aimee said she would help me. Like I said she is the pro. As a matter of fact, if you are on this blog reading this -- you know that whole thing to the side of the page -- About Morris Gurr? I lost it. I completely removed it and could not find it. It was no where on my blog page! Thank goodness Aimee was here and could help. Like I said, she is a pro and within less than two minutes of clicking here and clicking there she found it.

Hopefully, I will put out a blog at least once a month. At least that is the plan at this time. So --- here's to happy blogging! Wish me well. It is definitely a new beginning for me. And Aimee, if you are reading this -- I'll try not to lose anything else.