I was just thinking about when my brother, Morton, got accidently ran over by my father with his car.

It was Sunday evening in Blacks Harbour New Brunswick, Canada and we were all ready for church. At about 6:30 pm, my father goes out and starts the old fifty-seven Pontiac to let it warm up. Dad would always turn the car in the yard, and then we would get in and ride to Church. 

With everything going on in our world, it’s important to rethink and remind ourselves of who we are. Scripture says that ‘we are the light of the world’ and ‘the salt of the earth’.

With Jesus saying that ‘we are sent out as sheep among wolves’ so ‘be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.’ I must remember that as a Christian I am in spiritual warfare. Lost people are not my enemy but they are victims of the real enemy--Satan.

For thirty three years, Jesus showed the world God in the flesh. Jesus modeled a communication strategy for us and then He passed the torch. ‘You are the light of the world’ Jesus said.

Spiritually and basically speaking, light is living a certain kind of life.
When Jesus told His disciples to ‘let your light shine before men,’ light shines when we use our gifts to meet needs in the name of Christ.

In the scripture we see Jesus use the metaphor of farming when it comes to teaches us about soul winning. The law of harvest is cultivate, sow, and reap the harvest. Cultivation isn’t a relationship with a hook. It’s worth our time to build relationships with nonbelievers even if they’ve never trusted God. Why? Because they too are made in the image and the likeness of God. They’re not pets, plants, or trees.

I read the other day how that in the 1930’s, 40’s, and up into the 50’s, anyone who wanted to get a loan to buy a house, on the application was a place where you had to give a reference of the Church you attended, and a letter of recommendation for loan from your Pastor.

Jesus spoke these words, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’
These are powerful words that has always been backed up.

The Church is God’s earthly ordained institution of hope, and life. It is the body of Christ upon the earth. The Church is described as ‘she,’ because we also know that ‘she’ is the bride of Christ.

Captain Edward J. Smith was given the honor of captaining the Titanic’s maiden voyage. The captain was fifty nine years old. He planned that the Titanic’s first voyage would be his last. After he got to New York, he had planned to retire.  But as we all know, the voyage didn’t go as planned. Lots of errors, misjudgments, and unheeded warnings, were combined to generate this tragedy. The Captain was headed for retirement, but he wound up in an icy coffin thousands of feet in the ocean. The boasting and bragging was at a fever pitch about this magnificent ocean liner. ‘She can withstand any storm or wave.’ She was described in one word, ’unsinkable.’

In the late 1800s a distinguished member of the British Parliament was traveling to Scotland to give a speech. On his way the carriage that was carrying him became bogged down and stuck on the thick muddy road. A young Scottish farm boy came along with a team of horses and pulled the Parliament member out of the mud. The man insisted on paying the young boy, but he refused to accept payment. He said ‘he was just being a good neighbor, and neighbors help each other.

Abraham Lincoln said “it’s not who my ancestors were that is important, it’s what my children and grandchildren will become.” This statement is full of wisdom and principle and what I glean as the urgent point from this is - let go of your past. It doesn’t matter what side of the street you grew up on, whether your father was good or bad to you is not the point. With all due respect, the real important question is, where do you go from here?

Well, another year has come and gone! Here we are in 2012. Early this morning I awoke and began mediating about this year. As I thought about all the possibilities and resolutions I wanted to make I suddenly felt the inspiration of God’s thoughts. Let me explain. In the Bible there is so much scripture about ‘putting God first.’ It covers everything from giving to your physical healing. So this morning I moved beyond focusing on resolutions to demonstrating ‘first fruits.’

Jesus lived in a day somewhat like ours.  Palestine had been overrun by Rome. The bewildered people were asking, “What can we do? Where is the way out?” The sensualists answered, “There is no way out”. So, eat, drink, and conform to the world. If you can’t beat them, join them.  The Sadducees said, there is no God, or else He would not have allowed this world to become the shape it is in. There is no “Heaven, hell, or hope after.” The Pharisees withdrew themselves apart in complete isolation. The Publicans said, “Let’s get rich while the getting is good.” The Zealots said, “Let’s have a revolution. Let’s make Jesus, the miracle worker, our King.”