“…the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Neh. 8:10

When I was an inmate, I attended a prison service in which the chaplain was speaking about religions in general. He said all religions have some value. They take you out of the center and they set boundaries. As an addict I was very self-centered and I had long ago stepped over the boundaries that society had established as “the norm”. Religion attempts to restore those boundaries and establish a power greater than ourselves as the center of the universe. The difference is that all other religions are about what we can do to for God. They are about earning God’s favor and a place in heaven. Yet, there is something inside us that cries out over and over again that no matter how hard we try, we’ll never be good enough. Only Christianity is about what God did for us. There is joy in Christianity. It is not about do it’s about done. When I think about it; it would stand to reason that I can’t do anything that would make a perfect God more perfect. Why would He ask me to? One of the attributes of God is autonomy; He does not need anything or anyone in order to exist. I could not save myself and I cannot make God a debtor to me. I could not go to God in my sinful state, so God had to come to me. He did this in the person of Jesus Christ. This rings true to me. I can think of no other way by which mankind could be saved.

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

There is something intriguing and appealing to me about this verse. It’s so matter of fact. In a way it resembles today’s expression of “Here one minute and gone the next.”, but it’s far more than that. It’s almost as if Enoch had daily grown less and less visible to this physical world, as he walked closer and closer with God, until he eventually was caught up in God’s radiance. I am of the opinion heaven is much closer than we think. I believe that only a veil of light separates us from seeing God and that is guarded by an angel. I have seen people in their old age whose skin has taken on the characteristics of weathered parchment almost to the point were their skin appears to be translucent. O’ to be so full of God’s light that one day we become totally absorbed into it. To be seen walking close to God one minute and to be gone the next. O’ that it could be said of me, “Larry walked with God: and he was not; God took him.” This is the goal I have set for my life. “Lofty”, you say. Perhaps, but in the final analysis Enoch was just a man. If it could be said of him then I see no reason it couldn’t be said of someone else. Me for example.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” John 1:7-9

These are some of my favorite verses in all the Bible. O’ if that could only be said of me. What a great epitaph! What a great legacy! To be called by and sent from God to bear witness of the one true Light which giveth life to all things! Not to be the Light but to be a reflection of that Light to all that dwell in the darkness. My prayer is to live as John. Lord please may I be like this man. For this is our one true calling, that we should make him known, not just by the words we say but by the lives that we live. Amen

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

“Peace” is a great topic to begin my Blog entries with. When someone asked me, “What was the first change you experienced after becoming saved?”  My reply was, “Peace”. I had never known peace before. My life was always in turmoil. I had so much anger, frustration, fear, within me and I channeled those emotions in ways that were detrimental to others as well as to myself. While staying at a pastor’s chambers in Repton, Alabama I observed the neighbors sitting on their porch drinking beer and barbecuing  (It was a Sat. afternoon and football was playing on their T.V.) soon several of them became inebriated and one man jumped off the porch, shaking his fist, tearing off his shirt and screaming at the others, “Come on! You want some of this?! I’ll kill you!”  I shook my head and painfully remembered the times when I had acted just as ugly and just as foolish. But then I gave my life to Christ and peace entered in. I was changed, not as the world seeks to change us (from the outside in) but as only God can change us (from the inside out). My heart has been changed and it is no longer troubled, nor does it seek to trouble others. Discord and strife has been replaced with harmony and love. God’s perfect love has cast out all of my fears. An early church greeting which has continued somewhat to this day in liturgical services and circles is, “Peace be with you.” to which the reply is given “And also with you.”  The “peace” being referred to in this greeting is the peace of God that “passeth all understanding” and which no one can take away. I pray you come to know that peace by receiving Christ, ‘The Prince of Peace’, as your savior. For those of us who now possess this peace it is essential that we share the source of it with others. It is far too great a gift to keep to ourselves. It is not ours to give, but it is ours to share. Amen