Lamp Light

AThey have healed the wound of my people lightly, Saying, `Peace, peace,= when there is no peace.'

Jeremiah 6:14

AIt is in the past so get over it@ is a phrase often used by those who have done wrong, but wish to avoid the consequence. They maintain the past should be forgotten since it is so obviously gone and cannot be changed.  It is the future that matters so it=s best to put yesterday behind you and set your face toward tomorrow.

But, those who are victims, who have been hurt, see such easy grace as being disrespectful of their wounds.  Justice does matter to them, and cannot be taken lightly.  So, they maintain that healing only takes place when sin is acknowledged.  Where there is no justice there can be no peace.

But, justice is easier said than done, and everyone has their own view.  That=s why the cross holds such a profound place in the Christian faith.  Christ=s sacrifice takes sin seriously.  There is a price to be paid for real and lasting peace, and God himself has made it.

So, both sinner and victim (and aren=t we all both) can come to the foot of the cross for satisfaction.  Justice is served and mercy is offered. AMy peace I give unto you,@ Jesus said, Anot as the world gives. So, let not your hearts be troubled, and neither let them be afraid.@

Lamp Light 

“The goal of our instruction is love

from a pure heart, and a good conscience

and a sincere faith.”

1 Timothy 1:5

           Where does conscience come from?  Why do some seem completely lacking in conscience, feeling guilty for nothing, while others feel bad for even the smallest of infractions?

          For years the answer to that question was found in family.  Some parents sought to create moral values in their children and some did not.  But, society as a whole did much to influence the thinking of those who were in the process of forming their views of what was “right” and what is “wrong”. 

          In this passage to his protégé, Timothy, Paul sets love as his goal for all Christians.  Further, this love should flow love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  The question every believer has struggled with from that time to this is, “how do I do that?”   There are so many distractions that bombard my life, from T.V. to magazines, to the Internet, to the conversation around the water cooler that erode a pure heart and good conscience.

          The only answer to that question is Jesus Christ.  Keep your eyes fixed upon him.  Let his life become your model, and then the distractions will lose their power.  The real thing is always better than the counterfeit.

Faith won’t guarantee purity, but it will keep you headed in the right direction.