Author: Pastor Bryan Lowe

A repentant rascal with definite issues, but who is seeking to be authentic in his faith to Jesus Christ. An avid reader and a hopeful writer. Husband and father. A pastor and Bible teacher. A brain tumor survivor. Diagnosed with clinical depression, and now disabled. Enjoys life, such as it is, in Alask.a (Actually I have it pretty good.)

Hiding From the Light

Then Jesus said to them, “Do you hide a lamp under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lampstand. 

Mark 4:21

 

To hide something means you don’t want it found.  You make an effort to keep it from coming to anyone’s attention.   It’s curious though, that we would go to all this effort to light a lamp, only to turn around and find a place to hide this same lamp.

However, hiding the light doesn’t make it go away.  We do try, however.  But light comes and its effects can not be hidden.  It shines on us, illuminates us, and makes us shine.  The urge to hide light seems to be a regular occurence among us.  We want what we’ve been given to avoid detection.

Adam and Eve had this impulse to avoid detection.  It seems that it is something we do rather well, this ‘camoflage’ business.  If we would stop for a moment and think about it, it does seem ridiculous. The reality is that life has been poured into us, and foolishness should be eradicated by now.

Light simply infuses us, and we become radient by His presence.  We could try to fabricate the light, but it is His work in our hearts.  We must move beyond our reluctance and embrace this display and magnification of His presence.

 

B.B. Administrative Page

Yesterday we passed the milestone of 500 posts on Brokenbelievers. com.  Looking at this, I can hardly believe it, but it really is just plugging away, day after day.  Thank you for your support of BB.

And now, we are also approaching 20, 000 hits.  We should reach this milestone late tonight or early tomorrow.  I think 20,000 and I reach back to when we hit 10,000 and the emotion and excitement that was there.

I sincerely want to thank each person who has contributed to this ministry.  I basically know that Brokenbelievers.com would not be making a difference at all, if not for your input and guidance.

I want to thank God for all that He has done, and is doing and intends to do with this blog.  Thank you, Father.

A Question About Discernment and Discipline

Question: 

“What if the “desire to excel” isn’t the motivation in allowing sinners into the church? We invite our unsaved friends (worldlings) to church and hope they repent. Sometimes that takes a long time! Is this intervening or being missional? I understand your point that Believers aren’t to live in continual sin but am foggy about what we do with the sin saturated culture around us. Do we draw away or let them draw near?”

My Response:

“Great question/comment.  Jesus made it clear, with the salt & light analogy that we will be distinctive and visible. We need to learn to accentuate and use that distinctiveness, with talent and forethought. All available effort should be used.

The issue of believers in habitual, continual sin should be approached as ‘church discipline’. This falls on people who we call pastors and elders. 1 Cor. 5 gives this oversight a template to follow. It is a sticky thing to judge someone. When we have to, we don’t want to. (Unless the person is a ‘control freak’.)

The issue of sin in the church is interesting. To have water outside a boat is a good thing, but to have water in the boat is decidedly worse. We are to preserve our distinctiveness, without diminishing our witness. It’s like we are a flock of lambs living in a pigpen. By their very nature the are different. One has a sheep nature, the other a pig’s. There will be at times confusion. But the sheep don’t belong.

To sum it up, there is church discipline for believers, that really needs to be in place. But we are missional people. The world is very much like a pigpen. But I say, let them come in and let the Holy Spirit touch them.”

*******

This was a recent post and follow-up comment for “Through the Sheep Dip”, posted on September 28, 2010.  The link is located at:  https://brokenbelievers.com/2010/09/28/through-the-sheep-dip/

Sunday Funnies: Chocolate

Chocolate Understood: Funny Quotes

In the beginning, the Lord created chocolate, and he saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the dark, and it was better.

Hell hath no fury like a woman who has sworn off fudge and chocolate.

I never met a piece of chocolate I didn’t like.

Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies. – John Tullius

I am not overweight. I am chocolate enriched.

There is no chocolate anonymous because no one wants to quit.

If at first you don’t succeed, have a chocolate.

If I must die let it be death by chocolate.

For some there’s therapy for the rest of us there’s chocolate.

 

In the cookies of life, friends are the chocolate chips.

Chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don’t need an appointment.

There’s more to life than chocolate, but not right now.
 

Chocolate doesn’t make the world go around … but it certainly makes the ride worthwhile!

All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt! – Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)

Exercise is a dirty word… Every time I hear it, I wash my mouth out with chocolate.

 

The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink (cocoa) permits a man to walk for a whole day without food. – Montezuma, Aztec Emperor (c. 1480-1520)

 Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands – and then eat just one of the pieces. – Judith Viorst

 

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