Influencers Fullerton, Thoughts from Pete’s Message October 27, 2021
Light of the World
After Jesus taught the beatitudes, he began teaching the multitude about the practical application of these beautiful attitudes. Before we can apply the teachings of our Lord, we must first have heart of meekness and humility. Before we can obey our Lord and Master we need to humble our hearts. Obeisance, is required before obedience… bowing our hearts in humble adoration before him is required before we can serve him in obedience from a heart of love.
True peace is only in the presence of the Prince of Peace. The world, having inherited Adam’s fallen nature, cannot perceive and receive the beatitudes of Jesus Christ. When we confess Jesus is Lord and believe that God has raised him from the dead, we are born again of God’s holy spirit, at that moment we are reconciled with God through Jesus’ sacrifice for our redemption. Then we can reconcile our hearts with God’s heart for there is one God and one mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus.
In every generation, the devil will persecute those who live and love as salt ad light in an unsavory world that celebrates darkness. For he that doeth evil hateth the light neither cometh unto the light lest their deeds should be reproved. However, they that walk in truth come unto the light that their deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought of God.
When we come to the understanding that it’s all of thee and none of me… that even while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly, then we can come unto him with a heart of love… we love him because he first loved us. It’s only by grace that we can approach his throne of grace and mercy, not because of our righteousness, but because we have been made the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus said, ye who have come to know the beatitudes are the salt and light. If we walk in the light as he is in the light the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. Light makes manifest the truth of the word of God.
The devil covers himself in darkness when he pits factions against each other so that they will strive and fight against each other… He tricks the power hungry into thinking that they in their own power are worthy of demanding the control and the respect of others. However, Jesus said, blessed are the meek and humble of heart. The greatest leader, he who is chief among you must be servant of all. The true power is the power of God manifest in a man of God who serves God and God’s people from a heart of love.
When we are attached to the Lord Jesus Christ, the joy is in the Lord and not in our circumstances and happenstance… the situations of this fleeting world. When our priority is in following in the footsteps of our Lord, then there is no bad news, it’s just news. Pete learned this truth when after months of treating his wife Suzan’s stage four brain cancer, the Oncologist said, the cancer has returned and has spread all over her brain. She said, if you want us to intervene, we will need to take immediate action. They asked, what do you mean by immediate action? She said, we’ll drill a hole through her skull, insert a port and inject medicine directly into her brain. They asked, how much more time will that give her? She said, It may not give her any more time. I’ve also seen cancer patients extend their lives for up to a year on rare occasions. I’ll give you twenty minutes to make a decision. Then she left the room.
Pete, Suzan and their son prayed, and then asked Suzan what she wanted to do. She said, Let’s do nothing and leave my life in God’s hands. As soon as Suzan said that, a peace that passes all understanding came over them.
There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear. He who feareth is not made perfect in love. When we love God above all, then love covers a multitude of sin. For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
The main question is, what do you love the most? When the rich young ruler asked Jesus, Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus answered, why do you call me good? There is none good (in the flesh). Only God himself is good. He continued, you know the Old Testament Law… don’t commit murder, don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, don’t covet… Love your mother and father. The man responded, I’ve done these things since my youth. Jesus loved him and said, then you need to do one more thing… sell all of your goods, give the proceeds the poor, and come follow me. The rich young ruler went away sorrowful, for he had much material wealth.
His problem was that even though he thought he kept the commandments, he had missed the first commandment: that thou shalt have no other Gods between your face and God’s face. His riches came between him and God. He had the wrong god.
When the student is ready the teacher will come. Life lessons are learned in the crucible of trials and the refining fire of tribulation. Pete recalls that he had been traded to the Minnesota Twins farm team. Although he had been an all star in the Southern League he found himself sitting on the bench. He was jealous of another player from the southern league who was in the starting lineup ahead of Pete even though this player was not an all star. Pete’s coach called him to pinch hit at a game in Indiana. He thought to himself, “this is my opportunity to get a hit and to move up into the starting lineup.” On the mound was a pitcher named Pedro Bourbon. Bourbon was later drafted by the Cincinnati Reds and pitched for the Big Red Machine who won two World Series. Pete says that his greatest contribution to the minor leagues was to get minor league pitchers into the big leagues. Bourbon struck Pete out in that game in Indiana.
That night Pete was reading in Hebrews 12 where it says that the Lord disciplines those whom he loves. God spoke to Petes heart, “you know how to be an all star, but you don’t know how to sit on the bench. Some things you can only learn on the bench. You’ll learn meekness and humility to put your team mates first…. to encourage them, support them, and build them up. It’s painful to forsake your pride.
Humility is learned in the refining fire and the crucible of my reproof. Reproof means to test and prove over and over that God alone is your strength and sufficiency. The purpose of reproduction is to correct us… to restore us to an upright position with God.
Then when we walk in fellowship with God our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and with other Christians in the household of faith, even though the devil and his followers will revile us, criticize us, slander us, and persecute us, God will use our walk as a testimony to those he’s called to witness his love, mercy, and grace. We will be living testimonies of salt and light in an unsavory world of darkness. When the called of God witness the light of Christ in us, they will glorify our Father and praise his name…
That together we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
