Tag: grace

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Humbly Receive Your Mercy and Grace

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we gather in your presence for worship, we don’t do so to display our own righteousness, but to be reminded that by faith we have received yours. We don’t come before you to prove our worth, but to rejoice that you are our worthiness.

We approach you as beggars, humbly extending our hands to receive your mercy and grace. And you do not disappoint! You fill us up with good things – spiritual things, eternal things, priceless things – all of which sustain us daily and enrich and equip us as your ambassadors to the world. Rejuvenate and revitalize your people through Word and worship today. Draw them close to you and make them zealous to do your will. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Those Battling Bitterness

Prince of Peace,
I approach your throne of grace today on behalf of all who are consumed by bitterness and anger. When isolation becomes more frequent, spoken responses are short and sharp, and social media posts are filled with negativity and animosity, those are often outward expressions of internal turmoil. Lead friends and family members to recognize such signs as an opportunity to check in and offer whatever help they can. A listening ear can go a long way, Lord. Use whatever means necessary to root out resentment in those who are struggling, and replace it with real peace of mind. We know that such peace comes from knowing the One who has overcome the trouble we face in this world. Make him known to those battling bitterness, so they can know what it’s like to be free from it. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Embrace That I Am Yours

God of Grace,
As a believer, I am included among those you refer to as “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Don’t ever allow me to take these images of grace for granted! When I consider all of the reasons for which you created and redeemed me, I generally focus on the things you want me to be, to say, and to do. Yet it is true that you also made me yours for the purpose of… simply being yours! Before I rush into all that you call me to do, help me set aside ample time to bask in the security of being yours. Let me embrace the honor of belonging to you, and reflect that honor in how I represent you to the world. For all that you have made me to be, let nothing surpass this piece of my identity: I am your special possession!

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Happiness That Comes From Your Holiness

God of Grace,
As a believer, I am included among those you refer to as “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Don’t ever allow me to take these images of grace for granted! When I take the time to reflect on what it actually means to be holy – that every thought I think, every word I speak, and every action I take is unstained by sin, I become painfully aware of the impossibility of ever achieving holiness on my own. Nevertheless, I am a part of your “holy nation” of believers. You call me, a sinner, sinless. You call unholy me, holy. Only by the blood of Jesus! I ask just this, then, Lord – that you direct and equip me to live the holy life to which you’ve called me, so that my life reflects what you say I am in Christ: holy. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Picked for a Purpose

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(1 Peter 2:9-12)

The lone remaining member of the family is the only one to have survived the car wreck. It took the lives of everyone else in her family, leaving her to spend the rest of her life wondering, “Why me?” Why, of everyone in the family, was she the one who was spared? Veterans who have come home to their families after war have felt the same nagging question when reflecting on all of their friends who were not as fortunate to return: “Why me?” “Why me?” is also sure to shape the thoughts of the patient who was just told it’s terminal after leaving the follow-up appointment with his oncologist.

The answer to the “Why me?” questions in those scenarios is this: we don’t know. God hasn’t revealed his specific answer to those situations in his Word. The Bible doesn’t explain why it wasn’t another family member who lived, why the surviving veteran wasn’t KIA and others were, or why the tumor wasn’t found to be benign. We can speculate all we want, but that will never satisfy us if we demand an answer that ultimately will remain known only to God.

However, just because we don’t know the specific answer to those specific scenarios doesn’t mean that everything remains unknown to us. We can direct our thoughts to what we do know about God and his promises in his Word and apply those to our situation. As we do that, the Holy Spirit sheds light on some possible answers to those questions, “Why me?” In one case, God may have allowed that tragedy for the purpose of uniquely qualifying that individual to comfort others who experience something similar. In another case, the loss may be what God uses to draw someone closer to him in faith. God shapes and refines us most often not through ease and comfort, but through hardship and adversity.

Whether or not we have endured any experiences related to those mentioned, we do have answers to another “why me?” question. It’s one most believers have considered at one time or another: why did God choose me? Why am I a believer? Why not some other religion or belief? Why Christianity? Why am I a Christian?

The answer? You were picked for a purpose. Actually, you’ll discover many purposes if you read through the whole Bible. But we’re going to give our attention to the two purposes revealed in the verses from 1 Peter. One of those purposes is very well known to just about every believer. And we’ll get to that one. 

But the other purpose is no less beautiful, even if it is not as well known. I believe that this purpose, if not only known, but embraced, believed, and lived, has the potential to significantly alter the lives of those who hear it.

Some of you know it; others, not so well. Others know it, but have not combined it with the faith to change their outlook on life. When I say this purpose can be life-changing for people, I mean it. It can eliminate the need for pills. It can result in the cancellation of the remaining counseling sessions. It can improve relationships.

Do I have your attention? Are you ready for it? Do you want to know what this purpose is for which God picked you? Read 1 Peter 2:9 with again, but stop after the fourth comma. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession,…” Why did God pick you? To be his. That purpose stands on its own. Yes, there is much involved in living out our callings as Christians, but we cannot zip right past this purpose just to get busy with the doing. We have to bask in the “being.” 

And we have our choice! Who doesn’t like choices? We want options. We want things our way, the way we like them. So God puts together a list, and although all of them are true for believers, some may have more meaning than others. Think of the individual who has lived life always being overlooked or passed over for someone else. Not by God! No, because God chose us – he didn’t settle for us or get stuck with us, but chose us. And “a royal priesthood” carries with it a social status that some have never experienced, having been born into what they perceive to be a low rung of the socio-economic ladder. The believer with a tender conscience, crushed by the slightest sin or slip-up, is part of a “holy” nation. And the person from a broken home or who was adopted and perhaps has always struggled with feelings of being unwanted is God’s own possession. You were picked for a purpose: to be God’s!

We heard all about this in my last sermon post. Does that mean I shouldn’t be repeating the same thing again? Am I so unoriginal that I have to regurgitate the same stuff week after week? How about this? I’ll stop repeating it when 1), the Bible quits bringing it up, and 2) you start believing it. When those two things happen, then I’ll give it a rest; I’ll quit repeating the same thing.

But until then, hear it again: you are special. God used Peter to call you his “special possession.” And yes, that is what you are! And yes, that is one of the purposes for which God picked you!

And it sinks in more when we recall how drastically different our natural status before God ought to have been. Our natural arrogance of denying there’s a God or turning from him should have classified us as a “rejected” people. Our boorish behavior and classless treatment of others is a far cry from any designation of royalty. Our hatred and unholiness speak for themselves. Peter reminded us in this way: “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (v.10). 

But grace doesn’t call us what we are by nature, but what God has picked us for. Grace doesn’t force us to live under the labels we earned for ourselves, but calls us what God has made us. Chosen. Royalty. Holy. His prized possession. That’s what you were picked for.

This life-changing truth can impact everything in your life: how you view God, how you view yourself, and how you view others.

If it’s true that God feels that way about me – that he picked me not out of obligation or as some random name out of a hat, but because he deliberately, willingly, knowingly wanted me to be his, then that reality absolutely affects how I think and feel about God. There is no one and nothing in my life that could ever matter more! Someone who feels that way about me doesn’t have to ask for or demand my love and loyalty in return, because he’s already got it. 

And, if the Almighty God calls me all of these things, and backs it all up through the redeeming work of Jesus on my behalf, then it also shapes how I feel about me. Whose opinion of me matters more than that? Not someone else’s. Not even my own! So if the One who knows me better than I even know myself feels that way about me – and my best or worst days have no bearing on it, then how can I feel anything but positive about the person looking back at me in the mirror?

If God calls me his chosen, royalty, holy, prized possession, isn’t it the height of arrogance to think I know better than he does and think so little of or so negatively about myself? There’s simply no place for such a view. I need to start seeing myself as he does.

Finally, when I know how my loving God feels about me, which positively influences how I feel about me, then it also changes how I view others. I don’t need to pour myself into people pleasing (at least not for the purpose of earning the praise or affection of others!). I don’t need to pretend I can get everyone to like me. I don’t need to stress out over finding Mr. or Mrs. Right when I know it has zero impact on how God feels about me. And, I start to view others the way God views me. The bitterness, resentment, animosity, hatred, indifference, etc. that I may have felt about certain individuals or in general toward certain groups begins to disappear. It is replaced by an increasingly genuine desire to love them as God loves me and to want them to know how much God loves them, too. 

Lo and behold, that brings us to the second purpose for which God picked us. Recall early on that I mentioned two purposes Peter provides in these verses. The second is more familiar, and it’s found after the comma where we stopped earlier. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (v.9).

You – chosen, royalty, holy, prized possession of God, you – were picked also for this purpose: to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” You were picked to talk up God, to make him known, to let others know who he really is. That means we’re not content to let whatever hair-brained or half-baked ideas about God that others have drummed up in their own minds or regurgitated from some other teacher or teaching go unchecked. We simply treasure God and that other person too much to allow anyone or any teaching to falsely misrepresent him. 

The Bible’s doctrines and teachings are absolutely essential – after all, they’re how our understanding of and relationship with God grows. However, too many people choose to be so put off by the “rules” and teachings of the Bible that they’ve never actually taken the time to get to know the God of the Bible. When unbelievers are consistently quick to explain that they can’t believe because they don’t agree with this or that teaching, all they’re revealing is that they’ve never really gotten to know God first. They’re turned off by the teachings, but why should we expect anything else if they don’t know the Teacher? They have not come to know the One who reveals himself as the embodiment of love! 

Peter seemed to be aware of this, since he didn’t write that the purpose for which we were picked was to argue or debate others into the kingdom by proving the validity, the wisdom, or the correctness of all of the Bible’s teachings, but by declaring the praises of God.

Praise who he is and what he’s done. Lead others to get to know who God is – the gracious, merciful, patient, loving God who has sacrificed so much to demonstrate the depth of his love for us. You are uniquely equipped to declare those praises to others! Not because you went to the Seminary or aced a class or had some intense, in-depth training, but because you know from experience what it’s like to have been called out of darkness into his wonderful light. You know how wonderful it is. You, therefore, are as qualified as anyone to declare to others the praises and promises of God!

And one last thing. Please, literally for the love of God, please back up your words with the way you live your life. “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (v.12). Others aren’t just listening to the words that come out of your mouth. They are paying attention to your life to see if it validates your words.

If the impression they get from you is that grace means it doesn’t really matter how a person lives, how is that any different from how they’re already living? They already live however they want to. They’re already doing whatever they want. If all your talk about Jesus and faith has not resulted in any noticeable change in your life, then why should they be drawn to a life that looks no different from theirs? No, “live such good lives” that the quality and character of your life stands out so much they can’t help but be drawn to know more about the God who made that change in you. 

Why me? Why you? You were picked for a purpose – to be known by God and to make God known. He picked you to make you his own – chosen, royalty, holy, prized possession – and to make him known. Others are wrestling with “Why me?” for countless reasons. Give them the best answer to that question. Make known to them the One who has done everything to make them his own, too.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Joy of Being Chosen

God of Grace,
As a believer, I am included among those you refer to as “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). Don’t ever allow me to take these images of grace for granted! To be chosen by you means I am not yours by chance. Rather, from eternity, you had my name on your heart, and over the course of history, you oversaw every necessary detail both to secure my salvation and to bring me to it by faith. All this for me, and not because I personally earned or deserved it, but because grace prompted you to choose me! When I am down, discouraged, or disappointed, uplift me with the reminder of this simple truth: I am yours, personally chosen by you to be yours forever. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Take the Time to Rest in You

Dear Jesus,
So much of our lives is spent trying to make a good impression on others. We vie for our parents’ affection as we compete with siblings for the coveted status of favorite child. We aim to impress the teacher as the star student. We want to get noticed by the coach to get playing time. 

How different is our relationship with you, Lord! It isn’t based on our performance or perfection, but on your grace. You chose us to be yours and made it so. You worked it all out so that every requirement, down to the smallest detail, was satisfied. I know and believe this to be true, but I also take it for granted and rob myself of the peace and serenity that flow from your completed work on my behalf. Move me to embrace the place you secured for me in your family, and to daily de-stress by seeking you for rest. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Live a Holy Life in Step With the Spirit

Holy Father,
When my life doesn’t reflect the holy life you have set me apart to live, it isn’t because I am unaware of what that should look like. And, it isn’t because you have failed to keep your promises to fill me with your overflowing grace that enables me to walk in step with the Spirit. Rather, my own lack of discipline and spiritual apathy work like quicksand to suck me into worldly living. And while it is often easier to walk in step with the world, the outcome is disappointing at best, and destructive at worst. Have mercy on me! Spur on the new man in me to consider each day what living righteously in my life looks like. Give me the determination to make the choices, speak the words, and take the actions that are in keeping with holiness. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

You’re Nothing, Special

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(1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

If you’ve never seen The Lego Movie, or it’s been a while since you have, it’s time to do yourself a favor and watch it. The main character, Emmet, lives a very basic life, until he discovers the “Piece of Resistance.” Unbeknownst to him, a prophecy declared the finder of this item to be “the Special. Over the course of the movie, Emmet is joined by Master Builders (those with the ability to build without needing any instructions), who help him face the villain, Lord Business, whose goal is to eventually control everything by freezing it into place with his ultimate weapon, the “Kragle.”

What is noticeable about Emmet is this: that there’s nothing noticeable about Emmet. He’s as plain as can be. There’s nothing special about him. By society’s standards, he doesn’t stand out. He’s just average – the type of guy others would easily walk all over on their way to achieving the world’s version of success. He’s naive about how ordinary he is until he sees video of others describing him, each of whom concludes that there’s nothing special about him. That realization presents the ongoing conflict throughout the movie, which seeks to reconcile how a nobody can be “the Special.”

What’s humorous in an animated movie is actually the reality for every believer. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul emphasizes two truths that seem to be at odds with each other, but which can actually stand side by side in Christ. We are nothing. We are special.

It is the first of those paradoxical statements that has prompted many to lobby against Christianity. They view it as a source of child abuse or trauma, and argue that Christians shouldn’t be able to “brainwash” children, because it causes them emotional harm and diminishes their self-worth and self-confidence. 

Perhaps that’s how they would interpret these words from Paul: “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (v.26). While it may sound as if Paul is talking down to his readers, he is simply reminding them of all of the merit, achievements, accomplishments, value, importance, etc. that every person naturally brings before God on their own, which is… none. Nothing. God didn’t come for those who think they’re something apart from him, but for those who know the truth: our sinful self fails to bring anything of value before God, and instead brings only that which is detestable. That may be a hard word.

But is the world’s alternative more effective? When children are raised with an inflated sense of self, when they can do no wrong, when parents convince them that they are the top award getter in every category, do those children turn out better? 

What happens when they aren’t selected as the class valedictorian? What happens when someone else is awarded the scholarship? What happens when they don’t get hired or get passed over for the promotion by someone more qualified? What happens when their perfect marriage ends in divorce? If raised with an inflated sense of self, if quarantined from failure, if shielded from any adversity, they end up with not just a jaded view of the world, but with question marks about themselves. 

But Paul’s words provide the proper framework where such disillusionment doesn’t exist. He makes a point of being brutally honest with us from the start, so that we don’t in any way misunderstand why God would choose us. He explains it in more detail. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (v.27-29). 

Aha! If God wanted to make it clear to man that man could never do right by God on his own, here’s how you do it! Choose the nothings and the nobodies over the somethings and the somebodies! In other words, God passes over those the world might consider to be ideal candidates when picking his team, and chooses the least qualified, so that there’s no question about who’s most deserving – no one! Everyone equally has this in common: nothing to brag about. 

How much does this go against the way we naturally operate in our world? We are preoccupied with demonstrating to others that we’re something. We need others to know that we’re not just average. We’re not nobodies. We’re not like everyone else. We’re special. And we are determined to let others know.

We post filtered and AI-filtered photos because the real us is too… average. The new car isn’t just a matter of a midlife crisis, but a reminder to others that we’re doing fine financially. The trip is less about where I am traveling and more about others knowing that I’m traveling. I share the amazing stuff my company does, not because I’m talking them up so much as I am letting everyone know that I have an amazing job. My kids are in this, that, and the other thing, while yours are glued to screens. Whatever it takes – just so long as you remember that I’m somebody.

But what do such efforts really demonstrate? Don’t they reveal an inner disbelief in God’s own words? Don’t they express a denial of what God has clearly stated about us – that we were “foolish,” “weak,” “lowly,” “despised,” “things that are not?” God says we were all of those things (in addition to calling us dead, blind, enemies elsewhere in Scripture!), yet our lives are a constant hamster wheel of “I’ll show you how wrong you are, God.” 

You may think it’s harmless or inconsequential that we operate this way, with this attitude, but it’s much more serious than that. It is potentially damning. Why? Because what is the root cause of such thinking? “There’s not really that much wrong with me. I’m really not so bad. I don’t really need help or saving from anyone else – not even you, God. So, you can keep your Jesus, and I’ll just keep on showing in one way or another that I’m not really the type of loser he came for.” Is there any more dangerous place we could ever be than there???

Then stop pushing back against Paul’s words and repent! Acknowledge what he says about you and about me is true. Even on our best day, we don’t come close to attaining the perfection necessary to categorize ourselves as special.

Instead, in faith, we can step off the hamster wheel and stop trying to counter our insecurities by proving we’re something to others. God doesn’t need you to be something before he can work in you. God is the one who makes us something in the first place.

Take that reality one more step and realize what it means if we can’t ever achieve God’s impossible standards. If we could, then he would be obligated to pick us for his team. He would have to, because we would have met the expected requirements.

But, since no one (aside from our Substitute, Jesus!) can ever meet those impossible standards, then it can only mean one thing that I was brought into his family of believers: he chose me! God has chosen me because, well… he wanted to. He loves me! He wasn’t forced or obligated to write my name in his Book of Life; rather, he chose me.

I am not a believer because he saw potential in me. I am not a believer because God knew I’d make a difference in his kingdom. I’m not a believer because I’m an all-around good guy.

I’m a believer, and you are a believer, because God chose you. And in doing so, he displays to the rest of the unbelieving world that God brings us into his family of faith, not because of our own effort or merit, but because of his grace. And here is what that grace means for us: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (v.30).

Is there any achievement you can unlock that could ever confer on you any title greater than those three – righteous, holy, and redeemed? Never. But that is exactly what you are “in Christ Jesus.” Outside of Christ Jesus? Still “foolish, weak, lowly, despised, things that are not.” But in Christ Jesus? Righteous. Holy. Redeemed. 

Think about those three. Can they be improved upon? If you are already counted righteous, can you become more righteous? More holy? More redeemed? No! You already are those things in Christ. There is no need to level up, no more need to impress, no more need to prove. You are those things right now “in Christ Jesus.” You know what that makes you? Special! 

Look at the title of this post. Consider the phrase without the comma. “You’re nothing special.” You’re an Emmet. You don’t bring anything to the table. You don’t stand out. You’re average at best. You’re just… existing. 

But insert the comma, and now you have a God-given title and designation. Yes, it still reminds you of who you were on your own (nothing!), but now it also reveals how God views you, how he sees you, who you are to him: you are special.

Never forget what accounts for the difference: the comma. The comma makes all the difference, doesn’t it? Well, the comma is Christ. And that means we have something to brag about. “Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord’” (v.31). Not you, not me, but the Lord, who chose those who were nothing and calls us special. 

Do you know what Emmet ends up doing in The Lego Movie? I won’t spoil the ending, but you can probably imagine. While the movie is imaginary, your life isn’t. You are not. You are very much righteous, holy, and redeemed. That qualifies you to do very special things in Christ’s kingdom. If we think otherwise, it’s only because we’re stuck thinking of who we were on our own and not who we are in Christ Jesus. 

But when we remember who we are in Christ Jesus, the sky’s the limit. We can do amazing things for his kingdom. Rather, he can do amazing things through us. Emmet is a made-up Lego character in a fictional movie.

You are not. You are real. You are special. What special things will God do through you? 

Light More Candles

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(Matthew 4:12-23)

It’s one of those quotes that has been attributed to so many different individuals that it’s quite uncertain who the original author is. I am also quite certain I’ve referenced the quote at some point in a previous sermon or post. Perhaps you’ve heard it: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” If you’re really concerned about determining who ought to be credited with the saying, feel free to research it and let me know. For my part, and for the purpose of this post, I’m more interested in seeing the quote put into practice than I am in knowing who said it. 

Isn’t light what the world needs more of? I don’t think there would be too much pushback if I shared the opinion that the world is a dark place. Regardless of what your views on anything are, you won’t have any trouble on any given day coming across a story or headline that has you convinced things are going in the wrong direction. The world is going down the toilet. The world is dark.

What’s especially sneaky about the darkness is that we tend to get used to it. It’s called dark adaptation. You’ve experienced this when you’ve left a lighted room and entered a dark or poorly lit room. At first, it’s difficult to see where anything is. In a relatively short time, though, one’s eyes adjust and become accustomed to the dark. We can see things clearly enough to get around, and we get used to it.

You’ve experienced the same thing with sin. At first it shocked you. Now… not so much. Initially, it was absolutely wrong. Then, after a while, it became more of a gray area. It was clearly sinful way back when, but if it has become so common and normalized today, can it still be so bad? We get used to the dark. We get used to sin. 

But getting rid of the darkness isn’t a matter of somehow decreasing the dark. You can’t “put out” the darkness. You can’t take the dark away or remove it. Darkness only disappears in the presence of light. When light is removed, that’s when darkness results.

A piece of paneled artwork in a room at our church depicts this. As your eyes scan from left to right, you notice the piece of art starts out completely covered in a golden light. There is no darkness. That was the world as God created it. But when is the darkness introduced? When sin enters the world.

That may give the impression that the darkness, which dominates the nine middle art panels until the final one, is the introduction of sin in a fallen world. In one sense, yes, but as you consider what sin does, what really happened? The light of holiness and perfection was removed. When that was all the world knew, it was covered in light. But once sin entered, the light of holiness and perfection exited the world. 

But, throughout the artwork, a thread of light is woven in the darkness. This is the good news of the gospel, or the promise of purity and perfection restored. The initial step in that promise has been carried out by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, which is reflected in the center of the artwork. The final step, when that promise of purity and perfection will be fully delivered – and the golden light with it – will take place in the Revelation imagery when Jesus returns on the Last Day. When he does, complete light is restored, as it is in the final panel of the art piece. The new world ushered in by our Savior will not know darkness because the light of purity and perfection will be all there is.

So as we anticipate that radiant renewal, how do we handle the darkness in the meantime? What is the solution to the darkness we see in the world? When light is reintroduced, darkness disappears. We don’t “fix” the darkness; we shine the light.

Isaiah’s prophecy revealed when that light was going to be introduced into the world. “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (v.15-16). The light had come into the world at Jesus’ birth, and it was now beginning to get brighter with Jesus’ ministry. The light would shine its brightest in the darkest moment of Jesus’ death on Good Friday and in the full splendor of the empty tomb. The Resurrection would ensure that the darkness would be defeated. 

But the Messiah didn’t just come to save; he came to proclaim. The Messiah had a message: the gospel. If no one had ever heard the message of the Messiah’s salvation, who would have benefited? No one! The message had to be heard. A fully operational light switch with a working light bulb still needs to be turned on to be effective. So it is with the message of the Messiah’s salvation – it needs to be heard and believed to be effective.

So it wasn’t just the Messiah, but a Messiah with a message. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (v.17). Jesus’ message was to turn around, to change your thinking, to realize that the way you were going on your own was only going to result in an eternal dead end. Why? Because a better way – the only way – had arrived. Jesus was there to shine the light of salvation for all. 

The word “repent” tends to get a bad reputation in our day and age. It evokes images of hard-line fundamentalist Christians, protesting and picketing, who seem to find more joy in condemning sinners than in pointing them to Christ.

But another way to think of that word repent in the context of light and dark is simply to acknowledge that we’re in the dark. When that happens, we realize how much we need – and appreciate – the light that has come.

So when we’ve become comfortable in the darkness of sin, we repent. When we see the darkness of sin around us, we repent for simply looking the other way or ignoring it. When we see the darkness of sin in our loved ones, we repent for permitting it. 

And then we’re ready for the light. We’re ready for the light of God’s grace in Jesus to dispel the darkness. We’re ready for the gospel to beam so brightly into our hearts that all darkness is gone. We’re ready for the good news that Jesus preached and carried out to reach our ears, too. Then we see the blessing of being in the light. We see how pleasing and pleasant it is to walk in the light. And we want it for others, too. 

See, it wasn’t just a Messiah with a message, but also a Messiah making messengers. Matthew makes that connection clear for us by first revealing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, then choosing to write about Jesus calling his disciples. “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him” (v.18-22). The Messiah proclaimed his message, then he called his messengers. Why? So that more candles could be lit.

It’s easy for us to forget that we are called to light candles. We are messengers. We are the solution to the darkness. We are the ones to spread the light. We are the hope for a world blanketed in darkness. So let’s practice.

Someone brings up the latest crushing headline. We acknowledge it. We lament it. We share our frustration and disappointment over it. But then what? Do we just leave it at that? No, let’s get into the habit of asking each other, “How can we light a candle?” What can we do – because we are not powerless! – what can we do in response to the news just discussed? How can we light a candle to put out that darkness?

I can light a candle by praying right then and there. I can light a candle by ensuring that my children grow up in their faith and develop a relationship with Jesus that I wish I had started earlier. I can light a candle by bringing Jesus into the conversation with my friend who is going through a divorce. I can light a candle by making a difference in my neighborhood simply by getting to know my neighbors and building bridges to Jesus. I can light a candle by volunteering and supporting good causes in my community. There are countless ways for us to light a candle daily!

Call out the darkness. Identify it. Name it. But don’t waste your time or energy cursing it. Ask how you can light a candle instead. When that happens, darkness is replaced with light, and others can see its source – Jesus – more clearly. Brothers and sisters in Christ, “[we, too!] have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Mt. 4:15). Let’s light more candles!