A Complete Circle

I John 1:3-4

³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴We write this to make our joy complete.

Daddy Sang Bass by Johnny Cash

… singing seems to help a troubled soul.
One of these days and it won't be long,
I'll rejoin them in a song.
I'm gonna join the family circle at the Throne.
Oh, no the circle won't be broken.
By and by, Lord, by and by.

How can I proclaim what I have seen and heard?  And why should I?  For Johnny Cash, singing was his way to help his troubled soul.  In using the talent God gave him, Johnny has blessed many of us.  I don’t have the musical talent that Johnny had, so I have to use what I do have.  I am honored that David has asked and allowed me to write these morning devotions several times over the last year or so.  I am also very blessed because of it.  As I study the scripture and the lesson, it encourages me to spend time with God.   It helps me bond with my closest Christian brothers as I share my ideas with them and get their perspectives.  It causes me to share intimately with my wife, as she is my most trusted critic.  All of that fellowship is ultimately with Him and I receive such a blessing as I am writing. 

Is your circle complete?  My parents have gone on, but I am blessed to still have my in-laws.  My much much much older brother is daily becoming a better friend.  Tracy and I are still best friends after all these years, and we worry together about our children and pray for friends and coworkers who are not Christian.  Our little circle never stops growing.

I heard a story a couple of weeks ago that a pilot told.  She said that a rainbow from the pilot’s seat is a colorful circle, and that the shadow of the plane is always in the center of that circle no matter how high or fast she flies.  I think that’s a great picture of God’s love for us.  He lovingly encircles us, no matter what we do.

Do we proclaim what we have seen and heard so that others may benefit?  Do we share the fellowship we have with our heavenly father with those who may not have experienced it?  Do we try and make sure our circle is complete?

When Sin Comes

I John 1:8-2:2 (Msg)

If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.  I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world's.

I have a friend at work who is Catholic, and we have at times respectfully discussed the differences in what we believe and how we worship.  One item we have discussed is their practice of confessing sin to a priest.  I am not eager to make a list of my sins much less say them out loud to another person, yet he has indicated that confession is a very meaningful thing to him.  By verbalizing each sin and asking for forgiveness, he examines his life and actions, identifies the things he’s done wrong, asks forgiveness, and commits to avoid repeating the same sin.  He says it feels like having a big burden lifted off his shoulders.  In contrast, I don’t believe that it’s necessary to verbalize my sin to another person, when I ask God to forgive me. 

One thing we fully agree on is that we are imperfect men.  Not evil in the eyes of this world, but still sinners who can’t fool ourselves.  By acknowledging that, I can accept His forgiveness and cleansing. I can allow Jesus in His role of Priest-Friend as the Message version says to intercede with God on my behalf.  All sins past, present, and future (including yours) have been paid for with Jesus’ sacrifice. 

Pastor Ralph Galyon from Gillespie Avenue Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee passed away earlier this year.  He was the pastor who led me to Christ when I was about eight in the living room of our home at 2427 Coker Avenue.  I can remember sitting on my daughter’s bed in Sugar Land when she prayed and asked Jesus into her heart.  I hope someone someday looks back at Haley and remembers her sharing her faith and bringing that person closer to God.  That’s a circle I think we should all aspire to be part of.  The circle of sinners saved by grace to eternal life. 

God is Light

I John 1:5-7 (NRSV)

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

I love the Christmas season.  Not only is it the celebration of the birth of my Savior, but due to our travels, we’ve been blessed to experience many different styles of Christmas Eve services.  One of my favorites was when all the lights in the room were out and only a single candle burned on the table down front.  In the dim silence, carols began to play softly.  The leader lit his candle doubling the light.  He lit another and then we all proceeded to share the light by reaching to take a candle and receiving the light before passing it on to another.  After only a few moments, the room was ablaze with light – there was no darkness at all. 

When we center our lives on Christ, we will be in His light sharing what we have received from God and through others Christians with other people.  We will have a true and correct perspective of our own lives and accept the cleansing only Jesus can provide. 

If your light is out, or maybe just really dim, seek Him out and seek His people.  Very soon, we’ll be in the bright light together with Him.

It has to be genuine and personal

I John 1:1-2 (Msg)

From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in—we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we're telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God himself took shape before us.

To center your life on Christ, you must personally experience God.

When I was seventeen, I worked the summer at Camp Ba-Yo-Ca.  Ba-Yo-Ca stands for Baptist Youth Camp, and I was a counselor during boys’ camp and washed dishes during the girls’ camp (please don’t let Tracy know I can wash dishes).   

One night, it also fell to me to light the campfire for the nightly devotion.  We were very safety conscious back then and so was the glass jar containing the gasoline I used to light the fire.  The way it was supposed to work was I would wait by the lake next to the wood with the gas and matches until someone yelled that it was time for the fire. Then I would pour the gas on the wood, throw the match and back away quickly before the group of nearly 100 campers and staff converged on the fire by the lake. The one night I remember most was when I KNOW I heard the call to light the fire and proceeded to pour out the gasoline only to hear a second call that it was not yet time.  Well, even I know you can’t get the gas back in the jar, so I just waited, not wanting to light the wood too early.  (I knew who chopped, gathered and stacked the firewood, so I didn’t want to waste any).  After 10 or 15 minutes, a roaring gang came rushing to the lakeside shivering and eager for a fire.  I asked politely for them to step back so I could light the fire.  They did – about 6 inches. I instructed them strongly in a cracking high school voice to STAND BACK!  And they did – another 6 inches.  With everyone being duly warned and “safely” retreated, I tossed the sparking match towards the center of the gas soaked wood. 

WHOOMPF  ß picture as a big font and bold!

The gasoline vapors had settled at least 3 to 4 feet beyond the expected area, and as the match fell, the flames ran out and then quickly jumped high into the sky.  We were very blessed that no one was hurt and that no one named Jim lost his job. 

How does this relate to an experience having to be personal?  I believe that on that night there were two things learned.  First, I learned a little wood lit early is better than a huge fireball among your friends and small children and that God protects fools with matches.  Second, a whole lot of young campers learned that when I asked them to do something, they should probably obey. 

There’s nothing like a personal experience.  Whether you are alone with a match, or surrounded by a group, what we experience is real.  Each of us is exposed to many things, and we can testify with certainty to those we personally experience.  I don’t know the answer to all the questions people can ask about Christianity, but I personally know my savior.  How do you experience Him daily?