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God is Light

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The LIFE Blog has reached its one year anniversary! A special thanks to YOU for continually reading and keeping us writing! Last year was a great start to exploring what it means to Live Intently For Eternity. The posts from 2018 lay the foundation of what this blog is all about, and now, at the start of this new year, the LIFE Blog has made some revisions. The next new change will be themes. Now that the foundation has been set, we will be evaluating one key idea at a time of what it means to Live Intently For Eternity over a series of posts. Along with each theme we will be answering common questions that Christians face when living for Eternity and solving alleged problems that arise from exploring God’s Word in the context of how we ought to live. Additionally, with each theme there will be one guest post from someone who has invested time into studying the specific topic at hand. I am excited to see how God leads the conversations that will take place on this blog in the coming year. As frequent readers of this blog, please feel free to leave feedback and post questions/comments that you would like to see explored further.

Our first theme is Walk in the Light. To Live Intently For Eternity we must “walk in Jesus.”

The key verses for this theme are Colossians 2:6-7:

“Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

This verse is my prayer for you. I pray that we will learn what it truly means to walk in Jesus and that the benefits of walking in Him will be an inspiration to continue in Him. I pray that the Word of God will be our firm foundation and that its mysteries will be made known so that we may learn the character of our Father and how to live in light of that.

What does it mean to walk in Jesus? Walking in Jesus is different from walking with Jesus because it is not merely walking next to Jesus but in His footsteps. However, it is not merely following in His footsteps––it is taking the steps simultaneously as Him. We are not only following Jesus, not only walking with Jesus– we are walking in Jesus. Additionally, walking in Jesus is not a one-size-fits-all path to walk on, but a lifestyle to live by. The preposition usage is important. Walking in Jesus is walking in the light.

The light of the world. There are many verses where the Son of God is referred to as light. In John 9:5, Jesus states, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The phrase, “I am the light of the world,” implies that this world is not foreign to the light. Yes, the world has strayed towards darkness, but at the beginning of time the light created the world and because darkness cannot overpower light, the world will be illuminated again. Jesus will reclaim the world. This is our hope to live by.

“All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.  In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:3-5

One source of light. Not only is Jesus the light, but He is the only source of light. It is crucial to understand who this source of light is because it is a matter of life and death. Apart from walking in Christ, there is only darkness which leads to death. There is no other light to walk in. In other words, we choose light or we choose darkness: Jesus or death. There is no third party. Living Intently For Eternity is living our earthly lives with our minds set on eternity. In light of this we see that LIFE is walking in the light. If we choose light now, we inherit life for Eternity. If we walk in darkness now, we will receive eternal punishment.

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11-12

Walking in the light is a lifestyle that is lived in the presence of God. Jesus is the only light and the only hope for Eternal life. Walking in the light is a decision we must make today (and everyday for that matter). It is a decision that will change the trajectory of our eternity. For the next couple of weeks we will explore how to walk in the light through our daily lives. As my brother T.J. would say, “stay in the light!”

L.I.F.E. – – – Live Intently For Eternity

Life is not about living for ourselves, it is about living, earnestly, in light of what He did for us.

Breathe

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In my last post, we talked about the glory ahead of us that is so beautifully unimaginable. We began to discuss how to live in eager expectation for eternity. The benefit of this is not only that we achieve glory in the end, but also that we begin to see, taste, admire, and enjoy the glories of God today. While full completion of the gift of glory lies ahead, the Lord allows us to share in His glory even now. Continue reading “Breathe” →

Swim!

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Have you ever reached a point where you felt that you were all out of hope? Maybe you realized that you were headed in a downward spiral, so you tried swimming out of those emotions and thoughts. However, you quickly realized that, though putting forth much effort, you were only swimming in circles. Maybe this sinking was because you lacked hope for someone else or yourself. When we lose hope in someone or something, our own hope begins to deplete and we can sense waves rising up around us. In these times, we can try so hard to muster up our strength and say, “I’m coming to You, God!” but until we realize our dependence on Him we will get nowhere at all. Continue reading “Swim!” →

Ripple Effect

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A couple weeks ago my family went to visit my older brother who works as the Equestrian Program Director at Three Springs Ministries in Wellsboro, PA*. One of my favorite parts of visiting him is hiking the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon which is practically in his backyard. On our last trip, my younger brother and I were skipping rocks in Pine Creek at the bottom of the canyon. After tossing a pebble in the creek he tried counting how many ripples he could make. This got me thinking about the ripple effect our actions cause in life. Continue reading “Ripple Effect” →

The Sustainer of All

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I love playing the piano; it ranks as the top thing to do in my leisure time and worship time. I am fascinated by the acoustics and musical science behind how it works. However, last week the sustain pedal on my piano broke. In case you are unfamiliar with the piano, the sustain pedal is used to hold notes out while playing other notes; it releases the hammer, allowing the strings to vibrate freely, creating a smooth, connected, legato sound. Finally, I have it fixed, and it is back to making those smooth and free acoustics it is familiar with playing.

This made me think about how God holds and supports us. Continue reading “The Sustainer of All” →

Rooted Deep

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Grass. You see it everywhere. From beautiful pastures to the annoying times it grows in your landscape or between your patio. But have you ever stopped and thought about how incredible it is? Imagine your yard without it. Imagine a mountainside without it. A golf course with no grass. How about Scotland, grassless. And finally, imagine Greenland with no blade of grass in sight (right, Greenland has no grass). Perhaps up close one blade of grass doesn’t leave a huge impression but after thinking about how bare our world would be without it, it’s quite the sight. Now, what can we learn from this crucial aspect of God’s Creation?
Continue reading “Rooted Deep” →

Endless Opportunities

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Recently I heard a businessman explain to me that his working time was worth “$100 per hour.” Because of that, he wanted to make sure that he was using his time in the most effective ways possible to better his business. In the realm of business, this is crucially important. But, in life, if we think our time is worth “x” amount of dollars per hour then we’re not spending it right! Continue reading “Endless Opportunities” →