“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, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16). Jesus said let others see our good deeds so they may glorify our Father in heaven. “You are the light of the world," Jesus said. Do we know that we are the light of the world? If we do not know it yesterday, we should know it today. I am talking about doing good to others. If we cannot give $5 or $10 to a panhandler, opening the heavy door in a bank, restroom, or market to a senior citizen would be greatly appreciated. Look around us to find the little things that we can do for others, and God will bless us.
The apostle Paul, however, says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.
James, Jesus' disciple said, "What [does it] profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what [does it] profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works, faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent [them] out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. " James 2:14-26
No one likes work. Everybody loves grace, and not work. That's why we now have over 45,000 Christian denominations worldwide. Every Christian denomination loves "grace," and not work, including some of the very elect of Christians. The only time they believe in work is when work will make them rich. Most Christian denominations believe that the Sacrificial Law is for Jesus only, and not for them. They want to sacrifice little or nothing if they are not tax deductible.
This week I will continue with more studies of Jesus’ parables. Jesus says if we have done something good for the Father in heaven, our good deeds, He wants us to share them with others so that others who see them will glorify our Father in heaven. We are the light of the world, the parable says. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light unto all that are in the house. Let our light shine before men, such that when they see our good works, they will glorify our Father who is in heaven, Jesus said.
Satan works hard 7/24/365 through his human agents to give false information to us since the time of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve fell for the deception, and the rest of us followed Adam and Eve. Are you surprised? No, I am not a bit surprised.
Look at Martin Luther, the Reformist. He was a reformist leader. He was seen and praised by many as a reformist. What did he reform? His followers are still doing the same thing as his predecessors. How many followers does he have? I estimate more than a billion. Look at Lucifer, he was a leader too. How many followers did he have before he was evicted from heaven? I estimate millions, or maybe billions. Now, look at Jim Jones. He was a Christian religious leader. How many of his followers were willing to die with him on November 18, 1978, known as the Jonestown Massacre? I believe it was more than 900. How were the serpent, Lucifer, and Jim Jones able to influence so many lives?
They did them through gossip, lies, deception, misinformation, misstatements, and misinterpretations of God’s words.
And all the followers who fell for their traps were worse after than before they believed in the gossip, misinformation, misconceptions, and misrepresentation of God’s words by Satan.
Our spiritual war today, I believe, is not against Satan. Our war today is against the false teachings of Satan that humans say from the pulpits. Our spiritual war today is against the misconception, misrepresentation, misinformation, and false teachings about the Father by Iblis and his children that lead many of us to disobey the will of God the Father!
In Isaiah 40:3 the Prophet says, “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.’” I am not going to discuss what this passage meant during Isaiah’s time. It’s history. But this Biblical verse, I believe, has important implications also in our time. In our part of the world, especially in America where religious freedom is cherished, everybody can start a religion, even if the teachings of the religion are to elevate Satan. Our world is like a wilderness. My concern is that if we cannot control what preachers say or teach, we will see a repeat of Jim Jones, David Koresh, Warren Jeff, and the like. And when the bridegroom came to invite the virgins, described in the parable of the ten virgins, he would not be greeted by the ten virgins, but by ten corrupt virgins.
In Muslim countries, if anybody tries to teach anything that is not in the Qur'an, they will get beaten with thick leather belts, rocks, or stones. In America, if preachers teach anything that is against the Bible, nobody cares because they say that it is not their business. This is very wrong when we allow Christian leaders to manipulate the Bible to make money!
We should let our light shine before the world, not for money but to glorify His name! But we can never possess any light to show the world if we allow misinformation, misstatements, misconceptions, and deception about the Father to obstruct the Lord’s path! “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.’” May God help us all to understand His words even though we are not trained lawyers.
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