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Let the Lower Lights Be Burning

Wednesday worship lower lights title graphic

Refrain:
Let the lower lights be burning!
Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor fainting, struggling seaman
You may rescue, you may save.

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy
From His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping
Of the lights along the shore.

Dark the night of sin has settled,
Loud the angry billows roar;
Eager eyes are watching, longing,
For the lights along the shore. [Refrain]

Trim your feeble lamp, my brother!
Some poor sailor tempest tossed,
Trying now to make the harbor,
In the darkness may be lost. [Refrain]

Philip Bliss, 1871
Read Psalm 108:1-6

(Jesus said He came to seek and save the lost. How can we do any less? We can keep those lights burning by living in a way that draws others to Christ, by showing sacrificial love and compassion, by treating everyone with dignity just as Christ did. Keep those lamps trimmed!)

Some additional encouragement: Be the Light

Doctrinal Definitions: Justification

By Paula Wiseman Leave a Comment

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Romans 5:18

Justification is a legal term.
It is the declaration by the judge
That we are acquitted from guilt
From penalty, from punishment.

Now, in our justice system
We think of acquittal coming
Because of evidence. Facts.
Or sometimes persuasion.

Here are some facts.
For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God,
but the doers of the law who will be justified.
Romans 2:13

And that’s doers of the law, the whole law.
Like James says.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point
has become accountable for all of it.
James 2:10

With those facts, what verdict could be rendered?
Guilty.
Anything less would be a miscarriage of justice.

That’s why justification is so amazing.
God didn’t ignore or dismiss our sins.
His holiness, His righteousness, His justice will not allow that.
On the basis of Christ’s righteousness.
Because of His righteous act of paying our penalty
God declares us justified.

More Doctrinal Definitions: Condemnation, Redemption, Propitiation

Into the Wilderness: Temptation

By Paula Wiseman Leave a Comment

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1

We continue our study of the wilderness in Scripture. And we’ve seen a lot happens in the wilderness. Wandering. It is also a place of transition. The restoration of relationships can happen in the wilderness. Sometimes it is an opportunity for instruction. This week we will see it can be a time of temptation.

Jesus Himself was tempted during a time in the wilderness. Now, His experience is unique because first, the Spirit directed Him to the wilderness, knowing that the temptation was coming. Second, it was necessary to prove Christ’s sinlessness so He was more than qualified to be the sacrifice for our sins. But if we look closely at His experience, we can see some lessons for us.

Jesus was physically weakened after a forty-day fast, but He was also alone (humanly speaking). Now I tend to believe that what we see recorded in the gospels is only the final round of temptation. I doubt Satan stood by for forty days and then tried three temptations and left. I believe the temptations were constant through those forty days, making it an emotionally, mentally and spiritually exhausting time as well.

Temptation is a danger for us when we are isolated and exhausted.

Circumstances cut us off from our support system. It’s hard to find enough good, spiritual food, and it’s not long before the tempter is whispering in our ear, drawing our eyes away, sowing rotten seeds in our hearts and minds. “You are alone. God is tired of hearing your complaints. It’s not worth the effort.” These recent days have certainly proven that the temptations to despair, or to laziness in our faith, or to any number of thoughts and actions that don’t honor God, are a very real and very formidable challenge.

Jesus was led into the wilderness after a very public affirmation of His Sonship and His mission. There was no time to simply enjoy that victory before the attacks came.

Temptation is a danger after times of confirmation or victory.

Maybe that’s when our pride opens the door. Maybe our guard is lowered. Maybe we are frustrated that the good times ended and we are in the wilderness.

Many, many commentators have written extensively on Jesus’s use of Scripture in the face of intense temptation. We would be wise to follow His example of knowing the Word and being able to apply it to our lives. (The whole reason I write is to demonstrate that.)

In the wilderness (or anywhere else), truth is our best weapon against temptation.

When we hear, “You are alone,” the truth is Jesus said He would never leave you or forsake you. When we hear, “You don’t matter,” the truth is God loves you with an everlasting love. And on and on. Lean on truth, God’s proclaimed truth, rather than our feelings or our circumstances or even our own take on things.

Satan fights dirty and he will come after you at the worst possible times, especially wilderness times. Reliance on Christ and His word can flip the script and remake the temptations in a wilderness time an opportunity to grow stronger in faith, move closer to God and bring Him honor and glory.

This time of temptation was not Jesus’s only time in the wilderness. Next week, we’ll look at another time He got away from it all.

Savior Again

By Paula Wiseman Leave a Comment

Savior, again to thy dear name we raise
with one accord our parting hymn of praise.
We stand to bless thee ere our worship cease,
and now, departing, wait thy word of peace.

Grant us thy peace upon our homeward way;
with thee began, with thee shall end the day;
guard thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame,
that in this house have called upon thy name.

Grant us thy peace, Lord, through the coming night;
turn thou for us its darkness into light;
from harm and danger keep thy children free,
for dark and light are both alike to thee.

Grant us thy peace throughout our earthly life,
our balm in sorrow, and our stay in strife;
then, when thy voice shall bid our conflict cease,
call us, O Lord, to thine eternal peace.

John Ellerton, 1866
Numbers 6:22-26

(“Savior, again.” Just the title is enough to remind us how often we need to seek the blessing, peace, and favor from Christ. Each day as we set out and throughout the day until we return home. We hear in the hymn echoes of the Aaronic blessing in Numbers. Lord once again, grant us your peace.”

Another great hymn about peace: Wonderful Peace

Doctrinal Definitions: Propitiation

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God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. Romans 3:25

Propitiation is the blood sacrifice.
It is the appeasement for a holy God.
It is satisfying the requirements of His justice.

The Greeks used this word long before the New Testament writers borrowed it.
The Greeks understood having to go to great lengths to appease the gods,
To satisfy them, to propitiate them.

Animals were slaughtered. Wars were fought.
Plagues ravaged. Monsters terrorized.
Until the people could figure out and accomplish
Whatever the gods wanted.
Yes, the Greeks and Romans understood propitiation.

Perhaps they understood better than we do
The wonder of a God who propitiates Himself.
The Holy God appeased Himself.
He satisfied His own righteous, justified wrath.

How?
One perfect sacrifice.

And He makes it available to anyone.
Freely.

See the other Doctrinal Definitions:
Doctrinal Definitions: Condemnation
Doctrinal Definitions: Redemption

Into the Wilderness: Instruction

By Paula Leave a Comment

Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge. Proverbs 23:12

We continue our study of the wilderness in Scripture. We’ve seen it is a place of wandering. But it is also a place of transition. Last week through Jacob’s story we saw that the restoration of relationships can happen in the wilderness. This week we’ll consider the apostle Paul and his time in the wilderness, a time of personal instruction.

Paul was a rising young star among the Pharisees. He had studied with the most respected rabbi of his day, Gamaliel. He was born a Roman citizen, affording him all the political advantages in his society. Of course all of that changed when he met Jesus. We can read about this encounter in Acts chapter 9 (and Paul retells the story in chapters 22 an 26).

From Acts and Galatians 1, we can piece together what happened next. After preaching the gospel for a short time in Damascus, Paul left for the Arabian desert for three years before he returned to Damascus then headed to Jerusalem. Because neither Luke nor Paul gives us details, that opens the door for a lot of speculation. Some have parsed the original words translated “Arabian desert” and determined that they actually referred to the area of Sinai. That leads them to conclude Paul spent the time in prayer, study and meditation reevaluating his understanding of the Law in light of the gospel. From Paul’s writing in Romans and Galatians, it is clear he had a good handle on that, so that’s a possibility.

Others believe Paul spent the time in the same three-year training program the other apostles got, receiving personal instruction from Jesus Christ Himself. In Galatians 1:16, Paul says he did not consult or confer with any man, any “flesh and blood.” They point to 1 Corinthians 15:8 as corroborating evidence. This is also a possibility.

No matter how exactly that wilderness instruction time came together or worked itself out, Paul benefited from it and we are still benefiting from it. Besides the deep theological truths Paul explained for us, we can learn from his example.

We need instruction – If the great apostle needed to learn and grow, how much more do we need it? For Paul, it was urgent and compelling enough that he set everything else aside while he learned. We need to be humble enough to receive instruction

Further instruction equips us for our calling – In Acts 9:15, Jesus tells us that Paul was called specially to carry the gospel to Gentiles and kings. But he didn’t embark on that mission until after his time in the wilderness.

The Holy Spirit makes the best teacher – This is not to say that we can’t learn from brothers and sisters who are farther along in their walk than we are. I mean, there wouldn’t be much point in these posts if that were the case. But the very best teacher is the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised He would explain things, guide us into all the truth (John 16:13). Sometimes, we need to get rid of the distractions in our lives and get away to the wilderness where we can listen.

If Jesus personally instructed Paul in Arabia, it wasn’t His first time in the wilderness. Next week, we’ll look at Jesus’s own wilderness experience.

Let the Lower Lights Be Burning

Doctrinal Definitions: Justification

Into the Wilderness: Temptation

Temptation is a danger for us when we are isolated and exhausted.

Temptation is a danger after times of confirmation or victory.

In the wilderness (or anywhere else), truth is our best weapon against temptation.

Savior Again

Doctrinal Definitions: Propitiation

Into the Wilderness: Instruction

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series