"True Contrast!"

 "Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness." (Ecclesiastes 2:13 KJV)

  "For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. Take no part in worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, for light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light."" (Ephesians 5:8-14 NLT)

 Okay, so the whole point of this is very simple, much like that familiar term, "GIGO"! As it were, we had a little bit of a demonstration from Pastor Bryan yesterday, as he shared a song, a child's song which we probably remember singing something very similar when we were five or six. Unfortunately, I seriously doubt that this song is being sung in public schools during these dark days: "Be Careful Little Eyes What You See." 

 If you might not understand the term, GIGO, it basically means: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Which is the basic understanding of what goes into your mind matters as to how you live, react to certain things, reason on certain choices, and believe or have faith in anything of substance! That is why we must protect our minds from certain things; what we see, what we hear, what we touch; everything is viewed or seen as a contrast between good and evil; which was most likely why God told Adam not to eat of that fruit! 

 A topic for another time, but one that has some important meaning for this particular example. We had no such concern for what was light when we lived in darkness; just as Adam and Eve had no concern for darkness when they lived in the light. But as soon as they became aware of the darkness, the light exposed their nakedness, and they were ashamed. 

 As much as I would like to say I know something, whatever that something might be, God will show me how little I really know, by contrasting everything I think I know with His Light! What that means, is that God's ways and thoughts are so much greater than ours, we can never truly comprehend what God is doing, what He plans, or how He does things. But we can do the simple things, and just do what He says for us to do, without questioning why or how or what, and just do what He says!  

 What is the difference struggling to be perfect, when it only requires you to do what's right? When I was practicing setting goals, I was listening to a set of teachings from Zig Ziglar, and really began to understand what it means to live in the present. Living in the present means that you focus upon what you are doing now, who you are with, and what your current task is all about; not thinking about what you will be doing later, another conversation with someone else, or planning a task to do down the road. 

 What that requires is for us to pay attention and be concerned about what we currently are doing; that we are not just wasting time and not caring about the simple things, such as life, those around us, and our goal at hand. If you don't believe in setting goals, that is fine by me, because I haven't actually been working on any goals for quite some time, which is probably why I haven't been getting anything done! 

 Focus on the goal of pleasing the Father by following Christ! He lights the way; we just need to walk in it...

"Then those who feared the LORD spoke with each other, and the LORD listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name. "They will be my people," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. "On that day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."" (Malachi 3:16-18 NLT)