Light of the World

In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus lets us know how we should present ourselves to the world when he says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NIV).

To begin, why would we need to be light in a world that was already lit brightly? The first part of verse 14 lets us know that this world is shrouded in darkness. This is not visual darkness, but a spiritual and moral darkness that covers the world. When there is darkness, there is only one way to remove it. Since light is the absence of darkness, the only way to remove darkness is to add light.

What does it mean to be the light of the world? We know Christ and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Due to this, we as Christians have had the spiritual veil lifted from our eyes. We no longer live in darkness. More than not living in darkness, with the aid of the Holy Spirit in us, we have the ability to glow like beacons of hope to others.

We glow like beacons by living for Christ. We live for Christ by being the city built on a hill, the lamp placed high upon a stand. How? We stand out from the rest of the world by being spiritually and morally different. We should not blend in with everyone else. Our light should shine before men!

There are many ways our light should shine. Going to church twice a week does not make my light shine. Getting dunked in water by a pastor is not enough. Doing the right thing out of obligation or guilt isn’t the way to brighten the world. Sitting in the front row, having the Bible memorized, singing the loudest and raising hands in worship do not cause our light to shine.

If I want to illumine those in the dark, I must live dynamically outside of the church. Dynamic living is getting yelled at but not yelling back. It is refraining from joining in the gossip at work. It is not judging someone by how they look or dress, or what they have financially. It is saying a kind word and being nice to the person you least want to because it is the right thing to do.

If I live dynamically, I will apply the golden rule and then some. I would challenge you to treat others BETTER than you want to be treated. That is letting your light shine.

Being dynamic is being open and honest about my relationship with Christ. Living dynamically and having a personal relationship with Christ that I keep to myself are diametrically opposed ways of existence.

I can no more hide my relationship with Jesus Christ than you could hide that city on a hill in broad day light. I want others to know the incredible power of change and hope gifted by the Holy Spirit.

Sin extinguishes our light. “Thou shall not lie” means that we should not even tell little white lies. “Thou shall not steal” refers to cheating on our taxes too. Lust is cheating. Pride, greed and coveting seem to be common. We are called to be uncommon!

Inaction is a huge sin. When we see a wrong and do nothing to make it right, that is a sin. Being silent about my faith when it is my duty to be vocal and lead by example, to always be the bigger person when a situation could go south, is sin.

If we are the light of the world, we are to live our lives well. People should know that we are Christians by our love, compassion, hope and how we live our lives. That is how we become the beacon of light to a dark, dark world!

can be seen on the Global University 360 Harvest Blog here: http://www.harvest365online.org/2013/06/light-of-the-world/

A CALL TO CHRISTIANS

I have had the misfortune recently of running into a lot of Christians lately who have made me remember why I stayed an Agnostic for so long. I remember as an Agnostic looking at the Christians that I knew and thinking to myself, "If that is what those Christians are like, I want nothing to do with them!" What I saw was complete hypocrisy. I was sickened by the conduct I saw. I was sickened by my own conduct, too. But at least I knew that I was living an amoral life, I just didn't care! They thought that how they were living was fine, and justified it with Christ's forgiveness. All I knew wa that I was the same as most of the Christians that I knew.

In my past I saw people who were doing exactly what I was doing, but there was a difference. I knew that I was not a good person. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a drunk, a convict, a drug addict, a drug dealer, a thug, a whore, a thief! I could go on, but you get my point. I knew what I was. The Christians I knew had no clue what they were. They thought that they were doing great, that they were saved because they were baptized, they went to Church once or twice a week and they spoke in "tongues" once in a while. Therefore, it was okay for them to sleep around, do drugs, get drunk and pick fights, cuss every other word and look down on other people who were not Christians "like them." They were only fooling themselves. The Bible tells us differently.

We are told to be a light shining bright to the world. As it says in Matthew 5, you cannot hide a city on a hill or a candle on a stand.  We should shine our light before men that they may see our good works and then they too will glorify God! I want you to ask yourself one question right now, "Am I a light shining brightly?" The song by the Newsboys, "Shine," come to mind here. It says that we should shine to make those around us wonder what we got and make them wish that they were not on the outside looking in! How can we cause that to happen when our lives and their lives are carbon copies of each other. The only difference is that we have given ourselves a different title. We don't need to a different title. What we is a different package. We need to live our lives differently. How is that done????

It is not done by taking communion, attending church, raising your hands in worship, tithing or by speaking in tongues. It is not accomplished through baptism nor by small group attendance. Those are good habits, don't get me wrong. But more is needed. It is also not done by ignoring the sin of those around us and lessening the differences between us and those of this world. We need to stop dividing the secular and the spiritual. There are not two standards for us to live by, one at work and another at church! Our entire life should represent Christ, not just on Sundays and when among other Christians.

If our light shines, we will not conform to the urges and temptations of this world. Our actions should generally be in contrast to those in the world around us. If they are gossiping at the lunch table, do not join in. Leave the table, or change the subject. If they are cussing and carrying on, do not join in. The apostles and early Christians did not have people becoming Christian by the thousands around them because they were like everyone around them. They never wavered, even when faced with death. Be a steady and bright light, not one that is tossed about in the wind and constantly flickers.

We must not exhibit self-indulgence, but instead display self-denial. There is a moral darkness all around us. We must be a steady and pure light for those around us so they can find their way out of the darkness. This occurs when we focus on heavenly desires, not earthly ones. How can we show those who know us what a radical change occurs when we are reborn if there is no change. I can call a circle a triangle, but that does  not make it so.

How is it that we fear losing our popularity more than we fear the wrath of God. Instead of letting people know what the Bible says and what we are commanded to do, we will remain silent so as not to offend people. Inaction and silence when action and edification are warranted is wrong. It is just as much a sin to do nothing as it is to commit sin! We would not stand by and watch a women get raped but we will watch people condemn themselves and say nothing! What is wrong with us????

For starters, we believe false doctrine. Once saved always saved is a joke the way it is preached by most pastors!!! The Bible says that faith without works is dead. 2 Timothy 2:12 it states, "if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us." How can we be disowned if we are always saved? By not living our lives to be like Christ. When I see atheists and agnostics who have better principles, morals and manners than the Christians surrounding them I get a righteous anger that consumes me. It sickens me that Christians have the reputation that they do. Even worse, the reputation is warranted!

Next doctrine I am done with is that all we have to do is believe that Christ is the son of God and that He died to forgive our sins and we will go to heaven. Are you kidding me? I guarantee you that the Devil knows who Christ is and what His sacrifice meant. So, do you think that you will see Satan in heaven? Not a chance! We are dead to sin and reborn. That means that we are different from head to toe. Does that show? Do people see Christ in how we conduct our lives? I bet for most of us the answer is no!

Ghandi's quote said it all, "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." We need to take this excuse away from the masses! We do this by shining the brightest when we are among non-believers. It is hard for me to see the light of a candle when the sun is radiating down. This is when we are in small groups and in church, when the light around us shines brightest. Our conviction and faith is seen best when we are in the secular world. That is when our actions should contrast the most from those around us. It is easy to praise Jesus in the midst of fellow believers, it is not so easy when we are surrounded by those who do not believe. COME ON PEOPLE, REPRESENT!!!

As much as we do not want to admit it, we are all called by Christ to have different roles that still are used in the same service to Him and to our fellow man. Ultimately, there is no difference between a pastor and a maid or a missionary and an electrician. We are all called to go out into the world and bring others to Christ. This is not a part-time job, but full-time employment. What we need to do is ask ourselves several questions: 

1. Do I live Monday - Sunday all day every day as a witness to what being a Christian means?  
2. Do I believe that how I act and what I do while I conduct myself throughout the week are as important to God as how I act and what I say on Sunday and in small groups?
3. Do I know that the job I have is just as important to Christ and advancing His Kingdom as the job that my pastor or a missionary have?

You see, what we do every minute of every day is important. Most of us are not called to the pulpit at church to preach the sermon on Sunday, nor are we called to move and evangelize in foreign countries. Instead, we are called to the “pulpit” at work and to live the sermon every day instead of just preaching it on Sunday! To steal a slogan from the military, "Be all that you can be."

There is no one who is almost saved, you either are or aren't. There is no one who is almost a Christian, you either are or are not. You decide what and who you are. But I will tell you this, Matthew 7:21-23 tells us that many will call on the name of Christ and tell of the miracles they performed in His name and yet He will tell them to get away from Him. The only way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is to do the will of the Father. His will is not to sin and make excuses to continue, but to sin and then figure out why it happened and work to insure that we do not do it again.  We were not called to be perfect, but to try our best. Instead of giving ourselves excuses to sin we should have a long list of reasons not to.

So I call you to do a few things from now on in your life. First and foremost, pray and meditate so that you can hear the voice of God and follow that instruction. Next, don’t be the reason someone has for saying Christians are hypocrites. Lastly, when it comes to being a Christian, BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE....................and SHINE!!!!!!!!!

Songs of Recovery - How the Devil Used Music to Control Me

There is something about music that really affects us. It has the ability to impact our lives, it can make life seem more worth living. Even Friedrich Nietzsche had to admit that. He said that, "Without music, life would be a mistake." Music is a great escape. It can save us from our feelings, or it can intensify them. Maya Angelou said, "Music was my refuge.  I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." 

Music has always affected me in immeasurable ways. Like food is for our physical body, I believe that music is food for our soul. It will nourish us, sustain us, we are what we eat. Junk food is seen through our physical bodies when we have too much of it. That said, if we listen to junk music it can be seen in our actions and how we live our lives. Just like food, music has a manifestation.

I can remember listening to mostly gangster rap and heavy metal when I was in my addiction. I was angry, so I listened to angry music. I was violent, and I listened to music about violence. I was an addict and a drunk, so I listened to music about drug dealing and partying. I reveled in my sin, so I listened to songs about debauchery. I had extreme road rage, and have punched people at red lights and stop signs for cutting me off in traffic. The music encouraged my rage, and discouraged restraint.

Don't get me wrong, I take responsibility for my actions. That said, the music helped. Kind of like smoking cigarettes and cancer. You may not want to get cancer, yet you smoke. You are still responsible for the choice that you made, but the cigarettes led to lung cancer having a higher probability of occurance in you. Music is the same way. I probably would have continued making negative choices in my life without the music, but the music increased the probability of my making the choices that I did.

Even after the addiction, I still kept the music. And I wondered why I stayed angry. I wondered why I still felt such a strong pull to always do the wrong thing, to make the worst possible choice in any given scenario. I feel that music is just another way that the Devil can control us. I heard songs about drugs, money, threesomes and other sins. I sang these songs, and I liked them. Tell me that is not reinforcing the behaviors.

Why would you go to church and hear about Jesus dying to forgive us of our sins, then sing songs that praise the sins that Jesus died to forgive us of when we are not in church. I thank Jesus in church for dying to forgive the very same sins that I praise by singing about outside of church? That is nonsensical at best, and pure sin at its' worst. I believe that it sends mixed messages to those who know that we are Christian, to our family members and especially to our children. This goes back to a past blog that asked if you are a stop or a go Christian that you can find here:  http://spiritualspackle.blogspot.com/2011/05/stop-or-go.html

If we truly believe in the Bible and are trying to represent Christ, we would not sing songs that glorify sin! If you want to change your life, why would you only change one aspect of it and not change it completely? My listening and singing the songs that I did was just one more way for the Devil to control what went into my mind and came out of my mouth. It was also influencing my moods, emotions, how I appeared to those around me and how people look at Christians if I am one that they have close contact with.

 As a dad, I cannot imagine hearing my son sing the lyrics that permeated my life as an addict. Why would I want my son to hear music that is diametrically opposed to how I want him to grow up. He soaks up everything, and I know that what I listened to would have a detrimental effect on him if I still listened to it.........so I do not. I have made the switch to worship music. I no longer listen to secular music except on rare occasions. I no longer go to secular concerts, I only attend worship concerts. This is my choice, and I will get into the reasons for that in another blog. 

The bottom line is, we need to change what we ingest mentally. There is an acronym, GIGO, that come to mind. It stands for garbage in garbage out. If I continue to soak my soul with music that is garbage, then that will encourage me to act in ways that garbage, metaphorically speaking. The blogs that are entitled Songs of Recovery will be blogs that discuss how different songs have positively affected my recovery and strengthened my belief in Christ and will end with a video of the song. They will also discuss how that song can be used by you to encourage and strengthen your walk with Christ, or help you build a stronger recovery.

To end this blog, I do not have a song. Instead, I have a poem from the Passion for Christ Movement, or P4CM. It discusses how the devil loses us when we give up our secular interests and begin focusing on Christ and being Christ-like. How Dynamic Living and being a Lukewarm Christian are the exact opposite. It discusses how we have to make unpopular decisions and separate ourselves from worldly things. Christ did not call us to be comfortable...........

Living Free - And so it begins.....

Hello my name is Scott and I’m a …….. 

You see, this is the paramount difference between Living Free and many other programs that are available for people with Life Consuming Issues ( LCI ).  I have come to believe that I have been transformed and can not be defined by a label.  The reason this is possible? I have been healed by the amazing love and power of Jesus! Sounds cheesy, right? Inside church settings and programs the terms we throw around  lose translation to the rest of the world, especially the secular world.  I really can’t speak for you, a group of people, or anyone in generalizations. I can only speak for me. 

I have been changed by the power of God and now I have the Awesome opportunity to help other people. Not because I have the answers, but because I know who does. I serve only as a simple sign pointing upwards that says, “ hope and healing is possible and available. All you have to do is ask!” 

I have been asked to speak weekly via this blog regarding the beginning of a program my wife and I serve as coordinators for in our church called Living Free.  I admit very candidly that I have never participated in a blog but I am a man who will be honest and open as I proceed with this task.  If it somehow helps someone or serves to point them to a new beginning of hope, it is worth it. 

The journey began January 20^th with the first open facilitator training at our church for Living Free and culminated with the graduation of my team of facilitators. June 21^st we began and I am pleased to report a positive start: 17 adults, 10 children, 8 facilitators and 6 children’s workers.  That results in a total of 41 people involved in Living Free at our church for the first night.  Wow, to God be all the Glory and praise.  This result is right at ½ of what had pre-registered, but I know the best is yet to come.  We are not discouraged. This is amazing!

 

As I close this first Blog let me just say to you what my team has been saying for months

“God’s Got this”

Blessings,

Scott

Countries

This is a list of countries that have visited the Spiritual Spackle site, and I will add more as they visit. I am amazed at the different places that have visited to read about everything from the power of the Holy Spirit to Christ's Grace to Apologetics to the dangers of addiction and ways to overcome it. This site is my outreach to those who suffer from the consequences of life in this world, whether it is childhood abuse, addiction, grief and loss, anger, bad relationships, depression and other things that are thrown at us to separate us from Christ. I also look to build upon my faith and strengthen not only mine but those who read. Only the Holy Spirit will suffice in healing us and instilling life-changing hope. Everything else is only temporary!

1. Albania 
2. Algeria
3. American Samoa
4. Antigua and Barbuda
5. Argentina
6. Armenia
7. Aruba
8. Australia
9. Austria
10. Azerbaijan
11. Bahamas
12. Bahrain
13. Bangladesh
14. Barbados
15. Belgium
16. Bermuda
17. Botswana
18. Brazil
19. Bulgaria
20. Cambodia
21. Canada
22. Chile
23. China
24. Colombia
25. Congo [DRC]
26. Costa Rica
27. Cyprus
28. Czech Republic
29. Damascus
30. Denmark
31. Dominica
32. Dominican Republic
33. Ecuador
34. Egypt
35. El Salvador
36. Estonia
37. Fiji
38. Finland
39. France
40. Gabon
41. Georgia
42. Germany
43. Ghana
44. Greece
45. Guam
46. Guatemala 
47. Guyana
48. Haiti
49. Honduras
50. Hong Kong
51. Hungary
52. Iceland
53. India
54. Indonesia
55. Iran
56. Iraq
57. Ireland
58. Isle of Man
59. Israel
60. Italy
61. Jamaica
62. Japan
63. Jordan
64. Kazakhstan
65. Kenya
66. Latvia
67. Lebanon
68. Lesotho
69. Lithuania
70. Luxembourg
71. Macedonia (FYROM)
72. Malawi
73. Malaysia
74. Maldives
75. Malta
76. Mauritius
77. Mexico
78. Micronesia
79. Moldova
80. Montenegro
81. Namibia
82. Nepal
83. Netherlands
84. New Zealand
85. Nigeria
86. Norway
87. Pakistan
88. Palestine
89. Panama
90. Papua New Guinea
91. Peru
92. Philippines
93. Poland
94. Portugal
95. Puerto Rico
96. Romania
97. Russia
98. Saudi Arabia
99. Serbia
100. Seychelles
101. Singapore
102. Slovakia
103. Slovenia
104. South Africa
105. South Korea
106. Spain
107. Sri Lanka
108. Swaziland
109. Sweden
110. Switzerland
111. Taiwan
112. Tanzania
113. Thailand
114. Trinidad and Tabago
115. Tunisia
116. Turkey
117. Turks and Caicos Islands
118. Uganda
119. Ukraine
120. United Arab Emirates
121. United Kingdom
122. United States
123. Uruguay
124. Venezuela
125. Vietnam
126. Zambia
127. Zimbabwe

Matthew 5:14-16

The Sermon on the Mount has some powerful words in it. Jesus was letting people know what will be important in the heavenly kingdom and how we should conduct ourselves while living in the worldly one. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus lets us know how we should present ourselves while we are in the worldly kingdom when he says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

To begin, why would we need to be light in a world that was already lit brightly? The first part of verse 14 lets us know that this world is shrouded in darkness. This is not visual darkness, but a spiritual and moral darkness that covers the world. When there is darkness, there is only one way to remove it. Since light is the absence of darkness, the only way to remove darkness to add light. That would be us as Christians.

What does it mean to be the light of the world? We know Christ and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Due to this, we as Christians have had the spiritual veil lifted from our eyes. We know longer live in darkness. More than not living in darkness, with the aid of the Holy Spirit in us we have the ability to glow like beacons of hope to others.

We glow like beacons by living for Christ. That is easily said, but what does living for Christ entail? This is the difficult part. We live for Christ by being the city built on a hill, the lamp placed high upon a stand. That may sound like an ambiguous answer, and it is. This means that because of the light that we have been blessed with, we should stand out from the rest of the world. We should not blend in with everyone else. Our light should shine before men!

My light shines before men in many ways, and there are many ways we think cause our light to shine that do not. First, going to church twice a week does not make my light shine. Getting dunked in some water by a pastor does not cause my light to shine. Doing the right thing out of obligation or guilt isn’t the way to brighten the world, neither is living my life well so that I can look down upon or pity others. Sitting in the front row/pew, having the Bible memorized, singing the loudest and raising that hand in worship do not cause light to shine on those around me.

If I want to illumine those in the dark, I must live dynamically. Dynamic living is getting yelled and cussed at, yet talking back to the person in a calm tone. It is not joining in the gossip at work during lunch, but instead putting an end to the gossip when it occurs. It is saying something nice about everyone, and if you can’t not saying anything. It is not judging someone by how they look or dress, or what they have financially. It is saying a kind word to the person you least want, to because they need to get accolades too.

If I live dynamically, I will apply the golden rule. Do not treat others the way that you think that they will treat you, or even the way they have treated you in the past. It says treat others the way you want to be treated. I would challenge you here and say treat others BETTER than you want to be treated. That is stepping out on faith, and I think that if we apply that then the way that others will improve.

Being dynamic is being open and honest about my relationship with Christ. Living dynamically and having a personal relationship with Christ that I keep to myself are diametrically opposed ways of existence.

I can no more hide my relationship with Jesus Christ than you could hide that city on a hill in broad day light, and why would I want to. I want others to know the incredible power of change, of optimism, that comes from the Holy Spirit. Yet, we have to make it sound and look appealing. If I am always miserable, than my light is dimming and others cannot see it.

Sin also begins to extinguish our light. Thou shall not lie means that we should not even tell little white lies, and thou shall not steal refers to cheating on our taxes too. It is still fornication when you take matters into your own hands. It is still adultery when you watch pornography. Lust is cheating. Pride, greed and coveting almost seem like the American way. Here is the clincher, the sin of omission. DOING NOTHING!! Inaction is a huge sin. When we see a wrong and do nothing to make it right, that is a sin. Being silent about my faith when it is my duty to be vocal and lead by example, to always be the bigger person when a situation could go south, that is a sin.

If we are the light of the world, we should let others know what that light is. In truth, they may actually come up and ask us about it. “Why are you always so positive” is a question that I have been asked before. My answer, “I am positive because I know even if I live 30 of the most miserable years here on earth, I have an eternity of bliss awaiting me. I always have something to look forward to.”