Our Lighted Path

Another Martin Luther King Day has passed. It's a day that, in the past, made me think of picking up litter and going to a church program. (It's Thanksgiving that always used to make me think of going to serve meals at the Salvation Army.) I haven't been able to follow through on many of my hopes during special times of the year, but that's okay. That's okay, because going to Heaven isn't based on the works that we do. What I mean by that is that some people do works as if they believe in doing so in order to earn something, or in order to earn our way to Heaven, although the Bible says that's not the way in Jesus. Christians aren't saved in Jesus through any good that we do. We're saved just through believing on Jesus and trusting in Him to deliver us from a world of sin. But I guess there is a little catch to that, in that believing on Jesus does motivate us to want freedom from sins, and calls us to want to share God's word more and

Most dictionary definitions of "sanctuary" probably agree that a sanctuary is a place of safety. But, in Jesus, it's more than just that. It's a way of life that's free and abundant and good, where nothing is twisted or wrong. One definition of sanctuary is "the inmost recess or holiest part of a temple or church." That definition, based on holiness, inspires the thought of an impenetrable place, where entry is only for the Holy Spirit. And that definition lends understanding to the way some parts of the church are living: as nuns, for example, who only look forward to Heaven, and who have something of Heaven in earth. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:20 Don't you know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which you have of God, and you belong in the Spirit? 1 Corinthians 6:19 For we walk by faith, not by how things seem. 2 Corinthians 5:7