Truth Inspires

Give glory to the LORD your God Before He causes darkness, And before your feet stumble On the dark mountains, And while you are looking for light, He turns it into the shadow of death And makes it dense darkness.  (Jeremiah 13:16) In God's economy, an economy which all are subject to whether they accept it or not, there comes a time when widespread rebellion will result in a thick darkness representing the judgment of God. This happened to the land of Judah as they fell captive to the Babylonian armies in the 6th Century B.C. God had commissioned Jeremiah to announce that while it was still twilight they needed to seek God in repentance . The phrase, "Give glory to God" is an idiom for confessing ones sin (See Josh. 7:19 and John 9:24). The land of Judah was given a time to turn to God. The brightness was fading and the twilight had fallen. Soon darkness would cover the land and the time of turning would be past. Jesus Himself validated this principle when He stat...

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste an...

It's no secret that during the Christmas season more people are inspired to help the less-fortunate. I use the term less-fortunate to include those in that position, be it no fault of their own, or those whose bad decisions are manifest by current circumstances. It is often said, to never give money to a homeless person because they will use it on drugs or alcohol. Maybe they will--maybe they wont. Does the Bible ever tell us to not help those in need? No, never. Why is this so? Because giving may help the one in need but ultimately it is for our spiritual benefit. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3) Why would Paul mention the phrase, "profits me nothing?" Because giving is a spiritual exercise. We give because the sanctification of the Spirit, who is transforming our lives day-to-day to be conformed to Christ's image. It's all a par...