Light brings clarity to our lives.
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6
Unhappy fans voiced their displeasure when Scott Hoch refused to hit his 9-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole of the 2003 Ford Championship at Doral in Miami, Florida. As darkness fell, Hoch was unsure about the lay of the green. So the tournament's sudden-death finish was delayed until the next morning, when many fans could not attend.
Hoch, 47, sank his putt the next morning and then birdied a third playoff hole to win $900,000. Had Hoch tried to finish the tournament on Sunday, he probably would have lost. In the dwindling light, Hoch, who has had five eye operations, thought the putt would move left. His caddie saw it the other direction. The morning light proved the caddie right. Based on information from an Associated Press article by Doug Ferguson (3-11-03); submitted by Rick Kauffman
In the same way, Christ shines his light in our hearts to give us the knowledge of Him, and help us understand how we are suppose to live to please God. Even more valuable than a tournament winning putt is the game of life. Because life is so important, we should not guess as we make decisions about our future. Without Christ’s light, we walk around in the darkness of deception and sin.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm 119:105).
Do you allow God’s word, the Bible, to direct your decision making? If not, what guides you in your decision making? I look forward to hearing from you.
This Sunday, April 1st, Jim Laffoon will be speaking at Every Nation Tallahassee about Jesus' proclamation that He is "the way, the truth and the life", which is our fifth message in our Vintage Jesus series. He will also be doing some prophetic ministry after his message.
See you this Sunday at ENT...it's dynamite!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Vintage Jesus: "I AM the Light of the World""
In my bathroom at home above the mirror is a light fixture that contains four 100 watt light bulbs. My wife affectionately calls my side of the bathroom “grand central station.” The reason I have so much light above my bathroom mirror is because I want to limpidly see my reflection. You see, I have a fixation with three things concerning my face—straggly nose, eyebrow and ear hairs, un-popped pimples, and visible pieces of dried nasal mucus. My greatest fear is to be caught in public guilty of displaying any of the “big three”.
Josiah and Ethan, my six and four year olds, insist on mom grooming them after they get out of the shower. They hate for their father to clean their noses because I will dig and dig and dig until I get every booger in their tiny noses. I can transform a tissue into a state of the art fishing pole. I get my catch every time.
In my office in my house, I have two 75 watt halogen indoor floodlights that are positioned directly above my desk where I read and prepare for my Sunday messages. At age thirty eight, I still have 20-15 vision. I attribute my good eyesight to two things. First, I thank God because he has blessed me with good genes. Second, all my life, I have always read and studied in very illuminated conditions. The good quantity and quality of light has kept me from straining my eyes and allowed me to clearly focus on my work.
Around the outside of my house, I have sixteen floodlights with automatic sensors. When we pull into the driveway at night, there is plenty of light to see. Also, this makes my wife feel safer when she is arriving home at night by herself. When all of my outside floodlights are on at once, it lights up like a football stadium. My boys love the bright lights especially when they go toad hunting in the summer. No amphibian is safe from two determined future crocodile hunters on a late night trapping expedition.
Like my family, I am sure you enjoy the privileges of modern technology in regards to illumination. Whether it’s driving at night, grooming yourself after a shower, reading, or doing some activity outside after the sun has gone down, all our lives are enhanced by light. Can you imagine what life would be like if we did not have the light bulb? Thank God for Thomas Edison.
All of us are the recipients of the benefits this wonderful invention has brought to our lives. However, not everyone improves their lives by allowing the most important light of all to shine in their hearts—Jesus Christ. Is Christ shining in your heart today? If so, it should be obvious for all to see.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
It is the light of the Lord that illuminates us to live a life that pleases him. Only as his face shines upon us, can we make known on earth his salvation among the nations. Throughout history, God marked his people for a special purpose. More than anything else, what made God's people unique was the evidence of his presence.
From the creation of Adam to the building of his church, God has always desired to live and dwell among his chosen ones. As a people belonging to God, we have been foreordained to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Only God’s Spirit can ignite his fire in our hearts, and wake us up to the reality of our destiny. As his fire burns within us, may his light shine from us in a way that would bring the world into fellowship with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the earth. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Isaiah 60:1-3
Josiah and Ethan, my six and four year olds, insist on mom grooming them after they get out of the shower. They hate for their father to clean their noses because I will dig and dig and dig until I get every booger in their tiny noses. I can transform a tissue into a state of the art fishing pole. I get my catch every time.
In my office in my house, I have two 75 watt halogen indoor floodlights that are positioned directly above my desk where I read and prepare for my Sunday messages. At age thirty eight, I still have 20-15 vision. I attribute my good eyesight to two things. First, I thank God because he has blessed me with good genes. Second, all my life, I have always read and studied in very illuminated conditions. The good quantity and quality of light has kept me from straining my eyes and allowed me to clearly focus on my work.
Around the outside of my house, I have sixteen floodlights with automatic sensors. When we pull into the driveway at night, there is plenty of light to see. Also, this makes my wife feel safer when she is arriving home at night by herself. When all of my outside floodlights are on at once, it lights up like a football stadium. My boys love the bright lights especially when they go toad hunting in the summer. No amphibian is safe from two determined future crocodile hunters on a late night trapping expedition.
Like my family, I am sure you enjoy the privileges of modern technology in regards to illumination. Whether it’s driving at night, grooming yourself after a shower, reading, or doing some activity outside after the sun has gone down, all our lives are enhanced by light. Can you imagine what life would be like if we did not have the light bulb? Thank God for Thomas Edison.
All of us are the recipients of the benefits this wonderful invention has brought to our lives. However, not everyone improves their lives by allowing the most important light of all to shine in their hearts—Jesus Christ. Is Christ shining in your heart today? If so, it should be obvious for all to see.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
It is the light of the Lord that illuminates us to live a life that pleases him. Only as his face shines upon us, can we make known on earth his salvation among the nations. Throughout history, God marked his people for a special purpose. More than anything else, what made God's people unique was the evidence of his presence.
From the creation of Adam to the building of his church, God has always desired to live and dwell among his chosen ones. As a people belonging to God, we have been foreordained to declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Only God’s Spirit can ignite his fire in our hearts, and wake us up to the reality of our destiny. As his fire burns within us, may his light shine from us in a way that would bring the world into fellowship with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the earth. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Isaiah 60:1-3
Monday, March 12, 2007
Vintage Jesus: "I am the Bread of Life and the True Vine"
Vintage: of high quality, especially from the past or characteristic of the best period of a person's work.
This Sunday, March 18th at Every Nation Tallahassee, I will be speaking about Jesus’ proclamation that He is “the light of the world.” We are on week three of our Vintage Jesus series and it has been awesome. You don’t want to miss our opening video. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday at church.
It is a good thing to hunger and thirst. Hunger and thirst is the sign that you are still alive. The first activity I do in the morning is walk to the pantry, grab my ninety nine cent oatmeal container and stick it in the microwave for one minute and twenty seconds. Then, I pour me a twelve ounce glass of orange juice. Every morning, except on Sunday, I eat the same meal for breakfast. I have many needs, but the first one I give attention to every day is my need for food.
I am so thankful that my God is the giver of good gifts. He creates us with a desire to hunger and thirst, and then provides for us so many terrific foods to choose from. There is tremendous pleasure in eating a good meal and drinking a good drink.
I have also discovered the satisfaction and pleasure of living a righteous life. As I have hungered for righteousness, God has satisfied me with his presence, blessed me with a good name, rewarded me with a loving beautiful wife and given me three wonderful sons.
As I mentioned in my last blog, I recently went to the doctor to get a physical done on my body. During the examination, the doctor recommended I go for a blood test. When the results came back, I was shocked to discover that my cholesterol was high. I thought all I had to do is train consistently and everything else would take care of itself. As I talked with an expert on nutrition, I realized I had been eating too much meat. Meat is high in cholesterol. My consumption of late night coffee ice-cream did not help the cause either.
As I advance in years, I am realizing to a greater degree that what I put in my body is more important than how I train my body. A proper diet is the key to good health. I still need to work out and stay active, but it is all futile if I do not eat the right foods.
Like me, I am sure you enjoy eating your favorite foods. Also, I am pretty confident that most people want to live a healthy life and, as a result, enjoy many years here on earth. If you are younger, you probably don’t spend as much time worrying about what you eat. Most college students are just happy to eat that 99 cent Whopper at Burger King. If you are older, age and health issues force you to think about what you are eating. My goal is to make it to 100 years old, and reevaluate from there. We all know that one day each one of us is going to face death. So, since our bodies pass away, shouldn’t we be more concerned with feeding that which lasts forever—our souls?
Jesus taught that it does not matter how much people consume food and drink, they will still hunger and thirst. He also reminded people that one day every person is going to die. Yes, even those who workout and practice the best nutritional habits will face death sooner or later. Therefore, Jesus preached that the most important meal we will ever eat is the living bread that came down from heaven (John 6:43-51).
What did it mean for Jesus to say, "I am the Bread of Life and I am the True Vine?" Why did he refer to himself as something people eat and drink?
When Jesus said, “Take and eat; this is my body…Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant” (Matt. 26:26-28), He was not speaking in a cultural vacuum to consign His followers to cannibalism. Rather, His words were intended to lift the listeners from their barren, food-dominated existence to the recognition of the supreme hunger of life that could only be filled by different bread. The Israelites would learn, under Moses’ leadership, that physical bread had limited sustenance. Jesus wanted to meet a greater hunger.
Only Jesus can satisfy your every hunger and thirst.
This Sunday, March 18th at Every Nation Tallahassee, I will be speaking about Jesus’ proclamation that He is “the light of the world.” We are on week three of our Vintage Jesus series and it has been awesome. You don’t want to miss our opening video. I look forward to seeing you this Sunday at church.
It is a good thing to hunger and thirst. Hunger and thirst is the sign that you are still alive. The first activity I do in the morning is walk to the pantry, grab my ninety nine cent oatmeal container and stick it in the microwave for one minute and twenty seconds. Then, I pour me a twelve ounce glass of orange juice. Every morning, except on Sunday, I eat the same meal for breakfast. I have many needs, but the first one I give attention to every day is my need for food.
I am so thankful that my God is the giver of good gifts. He creates us with a desire to hunger and thirst, and then provides for us so many terrific foods to choose from. There is tremendous pleasure in eating a good meal and drinking a good drink.
I have also discovered the satisfaction and pleasure of living a righteous life. As I have hungered for righteousness, God has satisfied me with his presence, blessed me with a good name, rewarded me with a loving beautiful wife and given me three wonderful sons.
As I mentioned in my last blog, I recently went to the doctor to get a physical done on my body. During the examination, the doctor recommended I go for a blood test. When the results came back, I was shocked to discover that my cholesterol was high. I thought all I had to do is train consistently and everything else would take care of itself. As I talked with an expert on nutrition, I realized I had been eating too much meat. Meat is high in cholesterol. My consumption of late night coffee ice-cream did not help the cause either.
As I advance in years, I am realizing to a greater degree that what I put in my body is more important than how I train my body. A proper diet is the key to good health. I still need to work out and stay active, but it is all futile if I do not eat the right foods.
Like me, I am sure you enjoy eating your favorite foods. Also, I am pretty confident that most people want to live a healthy life and, as a result, enjoy many years here on earth. If you are younger, you probably don’t spend as much time worrying about what you eat. Most college students are just happy to eat that 99 cent Whopper at Burger King. If you are older, age and health issues force you to think about what you are eating. My goal is to make it to 100 years old, and reevaluate from there. We all know that one day each one of us is going to face death. So, since our bodies pass away, shouldn’t we be more concerned with feeding that which lasts forever—our souls?
Jesus taught that it does not matter how much people consume food and drink, they will still hunger and thirst. He also reminded people that one day every person is going to die. Yes, even those who workout and practice the best nutritional habits will face death sooner or later. Therefore, Jesus preached that the most important meal we will ever eat is the living bread that came down from heaven (John 6:43-51).
What did it mean for Jesus to say, "I am the Bread of Life and I am the True Vine?" Why did he refer to himself as something people eat and drink?
When Jesus said, “Take and eat; this is my body…Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant” (Matt. 26:26-28), He was not speaking in a cultural vacuum to consign His followers to cannibalism. Rather, His words were intended to lift the listeners from their barren, food-dominated existence to the recognition of the supreme hunger of life that could only be filled by different bread. The Israelites would learn, under Moses’ leadership, that physical bread had limited sustenance. Jesus wanted to meet a greater hunger.
Only Jesus can satisfy your every hunger and thirst.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Strength and Splendor at 38
The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old. Proverbs 20:29
Monday, March 5th of 2007, is my 38th birthday. I can not believe I am two years away from the big 4-O. I must admit I have enjoyed my late thirties. You might ask, why? Why in the world would I enjoy getting older? I have enjoyed my late thirties because I still have enough energy to run with the young bucks, and I also have much more wisdom than I did in my twenties.
The color of my hair is a great example of how I feel at age thirty eighty. The majority of my hair is still brown, which represents zeal and strength. However, sprinkled throughout my brown hair are strands of gray. The gray represents splendor and wisdom. So, at 38, I finally have some splendor and wisdom in life to go with my strength and zeal.
Since the age of fifteen, I have tried to keep my body in great shape. Because I work out weekly, I tend to rely on the strength of my physical conditioning to keep me healthy. This means I usually ignore places of pain on my body.
I recently went to visit my doctor to get a physical done on my body. In the past, I had the mindset that physicals were for wimps and old people. As I approach forty, I am trying to rely more on wisdom than strength. So, when the doctor asked me, “Does anything on your body hurt?” This time I did not lie. I told him the truth that I think I have a hernia. Next thing I know, he is testing me for a hernia…cough, cough, cough. Sure enough, he said he could feel a defect on my right side. I did not tell him my right side was where I was feeling the pain, so I knew I was in trouble.
Just a little over two weeks ago, I had hernia surgery to repair a minor defect that had developed on the right side of my body just below my waistline. I am still sore, but recovery is going well. For all who ever dreamed of kicking my butt on the track or in the weight room, now is your opportunity. You better hurry up and get me now, because I am coming back stronger and faster than ever.
One advantage of the wisdom I have gained is that I have a better understanding of who I am and who I am not. In other words, I have a clarity and peace about the the strengths I possess as a person. Having better insight into my strengths has benefitted me in several ways. First, it has helped me focus the majority of my time and energy on what I do best. Second, it has helped me get a handle on who I need around me to compliment my strengths. This is so important, because since I became a Christian, I have had a burning desire to make the most of my time here on earth to the glory of God.
I look forward to seeing you in church this Sunday as we continue in our “Vintage Jesus” series. This Sunday, March 11th, I will be talking about Jesus and his statement, “I AM the Bread of Life and I AM the True Vine.”
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
Monday, March 5th of 2007, is my 38th birthday. I can not believe I am two years away from the big 4-O. I must admit I have enjoyed my late thirties. You might ask, why? Why in the world would I enjoy getting older? I have enjoyed my late thirties because I still have enough energy to run with the young bucks, and I also have much more wisdom than I did in my twenties.
The color of my hair is a great example of how I feel at age thirty eighty. The majority of my hair is still brown, which represents zeal and strength. However, sprinkled throughout my brown hair are strands of gray. The gray represents splendor and wisdom. So, at 38, I finally have some splendor and wisdom in life to go with my strength and zeal.
Since the age of fifteen, I have tried to keep my body in great shape. Because I work out weekly, I tend to rely on the strength of my physical conditioning to keep me healthy. This means I usually ignore places of pain on my body.
I recently went to visit my doctor to get a physical done on my body. In the past, I had the mindset that physicals were for wimps and old people. As I approach forty, I am trying to rely more on wisdom than strength. So, when the doctor asked me, “Does anything on your body hurt?” This time I did not lie. I told him the truth that I think I have a hernia. Next thing I know, he is testing me for a hernia…cough, cough, cough. Sure enough, he said he could feel a defect on my right side. I did not tell him my right side was where I was feeling the pain, so I knew I was in trouble.
Just a little over two weeks ago, I had hernia surgery to repair a minor defect that had developed on the right side of my body just below my waistline. I am still sore, but recovery is going well. For all who ever dreamed of kicking my butt on the track or in the weight room, now is your opportunity. You better hurry up and get me now, because I am coming back stronger and faster than ever.
One advantage of the wisdom I have gained is that I have a better understanding of who I am and who I am not. In other words, I have a clarity and peace about the the strengths I possess as a person. Having better insight into my strengths has benefitted me in several ways. First, it has helped me focus the majority of my time and energy on what I do best. Second, it has helped me get a handle on who I need around me to compliment my strengths. This is so important, because since I became a Christian, I have had a burning desire to make the most of my time here on earth to the glory of God.
I look forward to seeing you in church this Sunday as we continue in our “Vintage Jesus” series. This Sunday, March 11th, I will be talking about Jesus and his statement, “I AM the Bread of Life and I AM the True Vine.”
Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8
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