Streams in the Valley has moved!

i have moved to create a new theme in correspondence with the theme on our hall.

check it out at:

http://flatlineprevention.blogspot.com/

so if you are currently following this blog please transfer to the new site as this site will no longer receive new posts

thanks,

Jon

Thursday: I Thought God Loved Everyone

If God really loves the world (Jn. 3:16) why doesn't He just fix everything and make it perfect? Why doesn't God just let everyone into Heaven if he truly loves the world?

The reason is that God cannot let everyone into Heaven is because darkness and light cannot coexist and the smallest amount of impurity put into something pure makes the whole unit impure. If the slightest bit of salt is added to fresh water then it is no longer fresh, the salt resulting in saltwater affects all the water. If God allowed sin into Heaven then Heaven would not be perfect and it would be the same as earth is today, full of darkness.

This is why God sent His only Son, Jesus to be a propitiation for our sins. Christ bore our punishment creating a way, the only way to God. This filled the gap that sin created between God and man. Christ did everything, we only need to accept this and be born into a new life with Christ. If not then God cannot allow us into Heaven. He initiated this relationship by providing a way because we alone cannot get to God. But if we do not receive the sanctification that is found in Christ then we cannot enter into Heaven.

Wednesday: A Shadow Proves the Sunshine

"And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:19-21

Many people wonder why in fact there is evil in this world. I mean if God says he loves the world (Jn. 3:16) then why does our world consist of war, violence and hatred? Why is there poverty and sickness?

These are all great questions and it something that you should not be content not knowing the answer to because God has revealed the answer to us in His word. Yes, there are many things that are unanswered and God has done that for reasons that we don't know, it may be to build unity, but all we know is that there are some aspects of God that we will never understand on earth because a finite mind cannot grasp the infinite God. Our heads would explode! However, we are to search and understand the answers in which God has revealed to us, these things that are critical to understanding God meaningfully even though we will never understand God exhaustively.

That being said, the fact is that darkness exists because of sin. Sin exists because of the fall of man in the garden, therefore we are  all born with a sinful nature. However, it is not completely Adam's fault that you sin! We sin on our own, by our own choice because that is all we know coming into this world. Sin is as natural to us as breathing, yet no one forces you to breathe. It's the same with sin. Sin is developed from desire and results in death (James 1:15). So we see that all of humanity lives in sin and the world is in darkness. But what makes sin, sin? I mean why are the things that we call sin wrong? The only way something can ever be wrong is when it does not meet a set standard in which make something right. If a 60% is the standard to pass a class then anything short of that is wrong or a fail. If 4 is the correct answer for 2+2 then anything else is wrong! God has set in place a standard in which is perfect and anything short of that is wrong or sin. When Jesus came to earth in the form of flesh He lived a perfect life living up to God's standard and provided a way for us as sinful creatures to be made righteous and be approved by God's standard. He died on the cross.

Now when John, in the above verse, writes about the light has come into the world he is talking about Jesus who is perfect (light) and stepping into a world of darkness (sin and death). When a light shines it always casts a shadow somewhere. The fact that there is evil in our world shows that there is a standard of some kind that makes evil, evil. John writes that people loved the darkness and turned away from the light. Darkness is the absence of light meaning that darkness hates the light because it with light it ceases to exist, therefore anyone in darkness turns from the light because they naturally hate the light because it would expose them. However, anyone who comes to the knowledge to truth and does what is right, John says that he comes into the light because he has been exposed in his darkness.

What I am getting at is that there will always be an opposition to the light, when a light is shining there is dark somewhere and there is always a shadow somewhere because the light exposes the darkness and creates a distinctive line between what is dark and what is light. When God created the heavens and the earth there was darkness over everything and that's all there was, but as soon as God created light there was a very clear difference between light and darkness. In the same way when Jesus came to the earth in light He made very clear what was right and wrong because in His perfect light He exposed the darkness and made clear that everything that was not in the light was wrong. Whenever a shadow is cast it is because it is the opposition of the light in which is shining, not creating the shadow but the shadow is the result of the light. When the sun shines on one side of a house on the opposite side there is a shadow because the darkness cannot coexist with light so it hide behind that which the light cannot reach. The sun doesn't create this shadow, the sun creates the light, but the shadow exists because of the light proving that there is a light shining. The fact that there is evil in this world proves the fact that there is truth that also exists.

A shadow proves the sunshine.

Monday: Another Day Given to Me

Thinking back on my day there was nothing that stood out as making it special, I attended class, did a bit of work, ate dinner with a couple friends, but all in all nothing exceptional happened today. Classes brought both learning and frustration, yet they were again just typical routine classes. Today was a day that I wouldn't say I wasted, yet I wouldn't say I will ever remember. The fact is, today was another day that was given to me by God Almighty. Almost everyday goes by and I forget to simply thank Him for waking up.

It rained hard last night as God watered Lynchburg and today the sun shined down to dry up much of the left over water. It was a beautiful day! Today was actually very special in its own way because God created it uniquely and He had me be apart of it. I just want each of you to stop and think about your day, whether it was great, terrible or of the norm and thank God for the day that has just past. Whether you accomplished something great, learned something new, copped with something tragic or even if the only notable thing was reading this post, causing you to see your day differently, God handcrafted the events and structure of your day for His will. He allowed you to open your eyes this morning once again to breath another breath, taste another meal and take another step. Take this moment to stop flying through life and reflect on what gifts God has given you today. We ought to be thanking God each day simply for another day among other things.

So now, how was your day?

Sunday: One Foot in Front of the Other

Well this year I actually decided to make a new years resolution, this is a new experience for me as I have never seen it as being something other then nonsense. However, this year I saw a need for it as a way to make a pact with myself and with God. I decided that each day I would take one step closer to being more like Christ . Although because God is perfect even if everyday I succeeded in moving one step closer to being more like him I will not be just as far away from perfection as the day I began. Simply this is because God is perfect and anything short of that is imperfect, and let me tell you I am certainly short of that mark!

With each passing day there are many stupid things that I do. Each night I go to bed I always remember those moments as I wish so dearly I could take back those words or actions. This year I have decided to make more then an effort to fix these issue and build up my character. See an image is who you are around others, but character is who you are when no one is around. For example: if we tend to pray a long prayer at meals for others to see yet our personal prayer life struggles then somethings wrong.

Ask yourself this: do I care more about the clothes I wear on Sunday or how much money I put in the offering plate?

There is an endless list of things we can improve upon each day and some things may even take weeks to conclude. But just think where you would be in your walk with Christ if you took one step closer to being like Christ 365 times! I mean it shouldn't stop there but it's a start. Thing seriously about taking this challenge with me.

Remember: "an image is who you are around others, but character is who you are when no one is around"

Saturday: Impressing a Perfect God

1 Peter 5:6-7: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he care for you."

I was reminded yesterday at convocation of a very important truth, God is not looking to see how many mountains we can climb ourselves, he simply is looking for us to reach out for His hand. Many times I find myself trying to prove myself righteous before God, when it comes to theological issues I can often try to figure out what is right and how I can support and prove that what I believe is right. The fact is so many times I reach a conclusion and realize that I forgot to consult God personally. I figure I think I know what God is trying to say in scripture without actually asking Him to reveal this to me. God has not called us to do anything on our own because inevitably we are unable to. God has simply called us to reach out our hand and grab hold of His for He cares for us.

Deism is the belief that God created the world and then abandoned humans to fend for themselves. This goes completely against what Peter is saying in chapter five, verse seven. God wants us to look to Him in times of difficulty and cast our burdens on Him because He loves us. God never expects us to do anything on our own because we are simply unable to. The fact that man is totally deprived proves that we are unable to do any good without His intervention. As sinners there is not way we were able to initiate salvation because of our sinful nature, this is the job of the Holy Spirit through conviction (1Thess. 1:5). If this is true and we are unable to initiate a relationship with God, then how are we able to please Him under our own strength?

James writes that if anyone lack wisdom let him ask of God (Jms. 1:5). This is because any knowledge or wisdom gained apart from God is not of God, therefore it is foolishness. In no way will we ever please or glorify God on our own for our nature is sinful and anything we desire apart from God is sin, as saint who are renewed in Christ Jesus we desire righteousness through the blood of Christ under His power and His strength over sin. You cannot impress a perfect God, for He is perfect, what can you do that He cannot do infinite times greater? However, allowing Him to do things through you bring Him glory.

Remember this: "any knowledge or wisdom gained apart from God is not of God, therefore it is foolishness"

Back At It

Well it's a new year, a new semester and I have sufficient internet again!!! It is my goal and my desire to get back into a daily time of devotion over this blog site for anyone who cares to follow along. As busy as times get I will try my best to post daily.

Jon