The Light of the World

Let Your Light Shine

Luke 11: 33-36

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.  If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

We are familiar with the premise here, every year for the last few years our hashtag for Christmas posts have been #LightTheWorld so the idea of being a light in the darkness is not new.  The question I am posing today is do you really understand how we are the light of the world? I can tell you my version and am happy to accept comments on what your version is.

As a light in the world our behavior and words need to match. If we say something is right then we must act on what we say. People notice behavior and they really notice when what you say doesn't match what you do. We are a light just by living our beliefs. Helping, forgiving, serving, reading and studying our scriptures, showing mercy, and even the simple act of following the word of wisdom. I have had people ask me if I am a Mormon just because they had realized I don't drink coffee (I work in a call center, I am absolutely in the minority regarding coffee).

Putting out light in a secret place or under a bushel (hiding who we are and what we believe) will not draw others to the light. Jesus goes on to say "Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness" I am open to corrections here but I take this to be a warning to those like the Pharisees - who flaunt their good deeds and prayer in public but its all a show and not what they really believe. Doing good deeds when they don't mean them but only to gather attention. Examine your testimony, be sincere in your beliefs, and live your talk and you will be a light unto the world. 

Hearing, Listening and Obedience

One of the first things I learned in higher education is something that I wish had been specifically taught many years before. Maybe they teach it now, I hope so. It is a very simple concept:  hearing is not listening, and listening doesn't necessarily translate into doing.  In today's world very often the words hearing and listening are used interchangeably when they are not actually the same thing.

Hearing is the physical act of hearing someone talk, listening is paying attention to what is being said. This includes comprehension and thinking actively about what is being said. Finally there is the act of doing what is said. In the secular world this is applying the knowledge, when we are talking about Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Spirit this is an act of obedience.

Luke 6:46-49 

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

I don't know if it a change in common usage or a translation aspect (remember these words originally come from Aramaic and Greek). Either way it seems to me that the word hearing here is referring to both aspects hearing and listening.

When we heard the word of the Lord we become responsible for doing what we have been instructed to do. You may recognize these verses as the inspiration for the children's hymn about  The Wise Man and the Foolish Man. It is worth a look again as an adult. We not only have to have a strong faith to build upon our rock but we must act on the knowledge and faith. We are responsible for doing what we have been taught. The rains and the floods will come, if we have acted on what we have been taught we will be the wise man whose house stood firm.

And that leads right back into the first statement Jesus made: "Why do you call me Lord and not do the things I say?"

The Spirit of the Lord and Temptation

Temptation and the Spirit

Here we are and I'm a month behind again. That makes this weeks lesson even more apt.

The week of Feb 4-10th  in Come Follow Me is titled "The Spirit of the Lord is With Me"

Matthew 4 and Luke 4 both contain the account of Jesus being tempted in the desert. Luke 5 contains remarkable accounts of faith, healing, doubt and the Pharisees accusing Jesus of breaking Gods law. I highly encourage not setting aside Luke 5 because there are amazing lessons that we can learn. I however am led to the temptation of Jesus in the desert.

We know from the accounts that Jesus went into the desert to fast and pray - he stayed there for 40 days and 40 nights. I am unable to mentally comprehend the reality of 40 days and nights of fasting.

Luke 4:2  Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

 We, I believe can safely assume that He did drink water during that time, which to this day is a common rule for fasting.  I think also that "he hungered" might be the ultimate understatement. In addition let me point out that many of the stories about this time in Jesus life portray the devil showing up at the end of the fasting. Instead its "Being forty days tempted of the devil" he was being tempted the whole time, we are only told of 3 specific temptations.

1) Luke 4:3-4
And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

This is the temptation of the body. We see this prevalent through our culture. It is becoming nearly a worship of food. And do not get me wrong, great food is just that - great. When you have a plate of amazing food that has a fantastic presentation should be appreciated. What it should not be is glorified and essentially worshiped.  The old phrase eat to live, not live to eat comes to mind. Be healthy and nourish your body,  plan meals and enjoy the act of creation that cooking brings. Learn new cooking skills,  but don't place food above all else. 

The way that Jesus answered the temptation with the scripture is remarkable. He acknowledges food is necessary, but so are the scriptures. Both the mind, spirit and body must be nourished.

2) Luke 4:5-8
 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

This is the temptation of power.  In the world we are encourage and even pushed to "try and get to the top". And again moving your career along is not in and of itself evil.  Coveting and worshiping the power and position is the issue. When you worship the power the act and idea of getting to the top over takes every aspect of your life, pushing aside family, charity, and of course God.  Another point is that Satan was offering Jesus that which he already owned. Jesus created the world under the direction of his Father. (Ephesians 3:9)

And again Jesus answered Satan with the scriptures -worship the Lord only and him only shalt thou serve.  If your talents lead you to being in a position of power- fantastic but don't worship the power use it to serve God in all things. Be the light that all around you can see.

3) Luke 4:11-12
 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence:

For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee:  And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

This is the temptation of pride. Pride in who Jesus is - he is the Son of God, His only begotten. Satan is essentially saying "prove it". It is important to note here that Satan knows the word of God just as well or better than anyone on earth. He twists the words here to tempt Jesus.  

Jesus returns the answer with another scripture -don't tempt the Lord.

The sin of pride - beware of being overly proud, beware of false humility. Be proud of the work and effort as you put forth your best effort. However never forget that even your best effort is due to our Heavenly Father. He gave you the talent, He put the people in your life to help you succeed.  All things work to the Glory of God is the shortened form of Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose

The conclusion...

Luke 4:13 

And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.  And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.

Jesus passed through temptation and the Spirit was with him as he taught.  There are lesson we need to understand. First and foremost in my mind Jesus answered with scripture and did not debate the devil. To answer temptation with scripture we must of course read and study the scripture. In addition songs based on scripture are fantastic ways to remember scriptures.

Secondly, the temptations are common and widespread.  The Catholic church lists "the Seven Deadly Sins" as lust, gluttony,  greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride. Satan tempted Jesus with three of these.

We as children of God will not be perfect, we will succumb to temptation we will falter. What we can do to arm ourselves against temptation is to recognize it, to pray, and to learn our scriptures. Don't debate about it with the tempter, recognize, resist and give it to God.

The Fruits of the Tree

Most of the topics recommended in the Jan 28-Feb 3 Come Follow Me deal with repentance and the baptism of Jesus. Both important topics, but as always I want to talk about what struck me in this chapter as we are instructed to follow the Spirit in our studies. So here we go, please check out these verses. 

Matthew 3: 9-10 and Luke 3: 8-9
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Matthew 7:16-19

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.   Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Jacob 5

Grafting and redeeming olive trees- adding new limbs to the old

Mark 1:17 

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

Are you seeing a theme? I did, because as soon as I read Matthew 3 I remembered the story in Jacob. When I read Luke 3 it was reinforced, and remembered Matthew 7 (I remembered the story and had to look up the location) When I read Mark 1 I felt a connection made.

Matthew 3 and Luke 3 both talk about how trees that bear bad or poor fruit are cut down and cast into the fire, and both discuss bringing forth the fruit of repentance. Most of the people who came to John confessed their sins and were baptized. The Pharisees did not.  Matthew 7 talks about how "ye shall know them by their fruits", in the end good works (fruit) don't come from evil/bad people. Things might look temporarily good, but in the end a shiny healthy outside won't matter if the inside of the fruit is rotten. 

Does that mean people who do bad things cannot be redeemed -no it does not. Those who came to be baptized confessed their sins and wanted to change. The Pharisees did not. Jacob 5 illustrates that as well when the owner tended the tree to make is whole and well. 

Jacob 5 also talks about another part that ties in to Mark 1 - grafting new branches to make the tree strong and healthy. Jesus called many apostles to him - not one of them was a Rabbi or teacher of the gospel. He called new people to him, people with different backgrounds who were willing to listen and learn. People who didn't pretend to have all the answers and taught them, and they went out an taught others. Jacob 5 address the why of this, the new branches will go on and become new trees so that even if the original tree dies off the branches will continue. Jesus did die and live again, continued his teaching and ascended into heaven. His branches lived on and continued his work.