Tag: Faith

¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ~ Matthew 5:14-16

In John 9:5 Jesus states that as long as He is in the world, He is the Light of the World. Jesus however, prepared His followers for His leaving the world and them taking up the mantle of being the light of the world. Now, what I find interesting is that Paul takes this a step further and states that it is no longer us who live, but Christ who lives through us (Galatians 2:20).

We, the Church, are now the light of the world. It’s up to us to spread the Gospel. It’s up to us share the good news of Jesus to all people willing to listen. So many Christians today say that we should keep our religion and beliefs to ourselves. They even say that if we tell others about Jesus and warn them about sin, that we’re hateful and unloving. That we’re nothing like Jesus.

Jesus told us to be the light of the world. To shine His Light, His Truth, His Gospel into the world. That we shouldn’t hide our faith, testimony, or beliefs. Therefore, how can we do anything other than share the Word of God with others? When did Jesus remain silent? When did the disciples remain silent? Never. They spoke the Truth of the Gospel, Jesus, sin, and faith. How can we expect to make it into Heaven and do anything less? Our faith isn’t for us alone. It’s to share with the world that is trapped in darkness.

That was the mission of Christ. That is the mission He passed on to us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Hide.

¹¹ For the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ¹² “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. ¹³ But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ¹⁴ And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.” ~ Isaiah 8:11-15

Temple Mount is one of the most controversial and sacred sites on earth. Three major religions all revere this one area. The Muslims. The Jews. And The Christians. Why? Muslims believe that the Dome of the Rock is “al-Sakhrah,” which simply means “the rock.” They believe this is the stone that Muhammad stood on and ascended to heaven from after his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem. Now, Jews on the other hand, believe this same stone to be sacred as well, but for other reasons. The Jews believe that this is the foundation stone. That this stone is the center of the world, from which creation began, the location where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac, and the place where the Holy of Holies stood in the First and Second Temples—the most sacred part of the Temple, where God’s presence dwelled. Now, this is where Christians begins to differ.

Both the Muslims and the Jews cling to this site because of this stone, whereas Christians don’t cling to this site because of the stone but because of the Temple. See, most Christians don’t even realize or have any idea about the Foundation Stone or al-Sakhrah. Most Christians have no idea why the Dome of the Rock is even important to Muslims and they have just the mere basic understanding of why it’s important to Jews. Most Christians, if you were to ask them, would most-likely tell you that the Dome of the Rock is a mosque. When in actuality it’s a shrine to al-Sakhrah.

This rock deemed sacred and in need of reverence by two major world religions is quite overlooked and unimportant, if you will, to Christians. Why? Because our Rock that we hold sacred is Jesus. Jesus, who to Jews was simply a criminal and rebel who tried to start an insurrection and was killed for it, and to Muslims was simply a prophet and the Messiah. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Jesus, the Rock, has become a stumbling block to both of Abraham’s two eldest sons (Ishmael and Isaac). See, both of these religions can see the importance and sacred nature of a simple rock. An inanimate object that cannot see, hear, or speak. Something that has no way of communicating with them or helping them. Something created by the Creator, yet they still revere it and hold it as sacred. But the Creator. The Word of God. The literal Rock they stumble over. They misrepresent and they try to overlook in order to not bow their knee to Him. Why? Because He doesn’t fit their idea of God.

What both the Muslims and the Jews stumble over is the very key to salvation. Jesus. He is the way. The Truth. And the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. He is the Rock. The only Rock worthy of reverence and worship. The only Rock worthy of praise and adoration. The World can say what it wants to say. It can deem a created rock as sacred if it so chooses to, but it can never change reality. And the reality is that Jesus is The Rock.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Revere The Rock.

¹³ … as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap. ~ Joshua 3:13b

God went ahead of the Israelites after they left Egypt, just as He had promised He would. He led the way, because they had not passed that way before. So, if He went ahead of those who acted in faith under an action-driven covenant … how much more will He go ahead of those who act in faith under our New Covenant of faith?

But it will require action along with faith, just as it required action for Peter and John when they healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3:1-10. We can’t wait until we see the results; we must act believing the results.

Remember, it was not until they had “Step Out into the Waters” that the waters stopped flowing and were cut off. God requires faith followed by actions. Actions = Obedience = Faith, which results in signs, and wonders, and miracles. As Christ-followers, we are not called to sit on the bench until the ideal situation or moment of impact, and we know all outcomes.

We walk by faith—ho pistis— and not by sight.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk Not By Sight.

²⁷ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, ²⁸ and they said to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer Me.” ³¹ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ³² But shall we say, ‘From man’?”—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” ~ Mark 11:27-33

The next morning, Tuesday, they arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders came to Him, and it was like they attacked Him, ‘By what authority are You doing these things?’ ‘And who gave You authority to do this?’ But Jesus was and is way smarter than they were and would not allow Himself to be trapped by their questions. So, instead of giving them a right-out answer, He, instead, asked them a question in order to receive an answer. He asked about John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? But they were on their toes. They knew Jesus was clever and was always trying to lead them to admit and receive the truth. So, after discussing it among themselves, they simply answered, ‘We don’t know.’ So Jesus wouldn’t answer their question either.

See, Jesus didn’t just toss out a random question when He asked about John’s baptism—He was shining a light on the hearts of those chief priests, scribes, and elders. He knew their question about His authority wasn’t sincere; they wanted to trap Him, not learn from Him. By asking, “Was John’s baptism from heaven or from men?” Jesus cleverly turned the tables. John had pointed straight to Jesus and proclaimed Him the Messiah, so if they admitted John’s work was from God, they’d have to face their own rejection of Jesus. It was like Jesus was saying, “You already know the answer, but will you admit it?” His question wasn’t just a debate tactic—it was an invitation to truth, a chance for them to see that He was sent by God. But their hearts were too hard, too tangled up in pride and power to take that step. Jesus’ wisdom left them speechless, showing us He’s not just smart—He’s the Truth itself, calling us to trust Him fully.

Those religious leaders squirmed under the pressure and finally muttered, “We don’t know,” because they were caught between a rock and a hard place. Say John’s baptism was from heaven, and they’d have to explain why they ignored him and, by extension, Jesus. Say it was just human, and they’d lose the crowd, who loved John as a prophet. So they dodged the question, too scared of the people and too stubborn to face the truth about Jesus. Their answer wasn’t just a cop-out; it showed they cared more about looking good than knowing God. It’s a warning for us—when we dodge Jesus’ call or question His place in our lives, we’re not fooling Him. He sees our hearts, just like He saw theirs. That’s why this moment matters—it’s Jesus asking us, too, to stop hiding and let Him be LORD, no matter what it costs.

Heavenly Father, lead me in the truth of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to submit totally to Him and let Him be LORD of my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

²² And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. ²³ And when David inquired of the LORD, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. ²⁴ And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the LORD has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” ²⁵ And David did as the LORD commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer ~ 2 Samuel 5:22-25

When David was anointed king over Israel, the Philistines heard about it and went in search of him, apparently to execute him. Remember, David was actually living with the Philistines, the enemy of the Israelites, because King Saul was hunting him in order to kill him. The Philistines even gave him and his men the city of Ziklag (1 Samuel 27:6). It is likely that they even considered him their friend and ally because when he was anointed king of Judah, the Philistines stayed where they were because Abner, along with Israel, had anointed Saul’s son king of Israel. But as soon as Ish-bosheth was assassinated and David was anointed king of Israel, they went in search of him. David then inquired of the LORD, shall I go up and fight against the Philistines? And the LORD said go, and so he went and defeated the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17-21).

The Philistines regrouped and tried again, according to 2 Samuel 5:22-25. This time, when David inquired of God whether he should go up and fight the Philistines, God answered no. Do not go up and fight, but go behind them and wait. Then, when you hear the sound of marching in the balsam trees, rouse yourself, for then you will know that your God has gone out before you to defeat your enemy, the Philistines. And David did as God instructed.

Remember that David is a warrior; his instincts are to get up and fight. Com’on men, strap on your swords; we got a fight in front of us. But God said no, not this time, don’t do what you do best, but rather, wait for me, and you will have victory. It’s difficult to just sit and wait, not knowing what is going on or how long you will have to wait. Especially right after having such a great victory as the one earlier against the same Philistines. The words, “I can do all things,” springs to attention in the mind in times like those.

You have to rest in the assurance that God can use anything and anyone. This time, He chose to have David wait, which is a lesson in trusting and obeying, even when it seems almost nonsensical. If the general of today’s army told his men that is what he was doing, waiting for a certain sound in the tops of certain trees, they would probably lose all confidence in their commanding officer. But, the Word of God says, …to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22b^NIV). For David, his full confidence was in God, and for his men, their confidence was in knowing that David had a relationship with God and heard from Him.

So, the next time you feel like running on ahead with a certain project or a certain way of doing things because you’re good at it, pray, listen, and wait for the LORD. He doesn’t always do things the same way every time. He is a God of variety and color. It does not matter how silly it seems to others or even to yourself, but if you get a word from God, follow that word and trust and obey, no matter how silly or how nonsensical it may sound to others or to you.

Heavenly Father, thank You that you can use anything and everything, anyone and everyone. Nothing is too difficult or too easy, but all things are possible for You. Thank You, Father, that you work everything to the good of those who love You. Teach me to wait on You. Teach me to trust and obey. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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