Well, welcome back again. I always say the morning cuz that's when we record these things, but Suzi reminds me that you may not listen to him in the morning, but that really doesn't matter to me cuz I'm going to say good morning.
No.
Anyway, we're one month into 2024 as you hear this
and I know that a lot of people do New Year's resolutions. so by now some of you those resolutions you've already discarded them.
How's the gym membership going?
Yeah. well, we years ago decided we weren't going to do New Year's resolutions because is after all we probably weren't going to keep them. But what we did do was we chose a verse for the year and that was kind of like our verse of the year and we've done this now for several years and this year when the beginning of January we picked a verse. I actually I should say Suzi let me pick the verse this year.
Oh. Oh my gosh. He makes it sound like I'm such a tyrant. I am. But you may speak now.
Okay. Thank you. Well, we agree with them. Even though you know throughout the years we've both gone. Yeah, that's good for this year. So, the verse our verses this year come from the beginning of the sermon on the mount. Matthew chapter 5 and they depict how we're to be. in Matthew 5:14 it says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on the hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a stand and it gives light to all the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others. s so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven. the idea of being a light in the midst of a dark world and some of what I think initially drew me to those verses for us to consider was that the world feels pretty dark right now. I mean it's just we're just getting kicked off into a presidential campaign that in my belief will prove to be contentious like the last one was. there's wars around the world. There's unsettledness around the world. And there's just a lot of things going on. And so what would it look like for us to be light in the midst of this dark world that we live as we live our lives for Jesus? so again, when Suzi was in the hospital a couple weeks ago, I got rebuked because that was our first
and tell why. What was happening?
Well, I was going to go ahead. You tell your version of it cuz I know I'm going to be corrected. So, tell your version of it.
P. No, you go ahead.
No, it was
I was
Wait, hold on. No, I'm not going to talk about him at all. I'm going to say girls, you out there that are in relationships, maybe you're dating or you're married or engaged or whatever, it is so hard sometimes to be that quiet and gentle spirit and I'm just telling you that I wrestle I want to be more and more like that but every now and then I mean as a comedian that we really enjoy says about his wife that she's his little helper in the car in every way and I am Jimmy's little helper and I can hear amen resonating through the airways
by the way that comedian limited it to the car not everywhere to the car
I think he was being kind what's his name Tim I don't know.
Great comedian, clean,
really funny guy. But so,
so now, should I go tell the story?
Yes.
So, it was middle of the week. We'd been in the hospital several days. I was frustrated cuz there were not any answers coming forward. Suzi still wasn't feeling good. She was feeling awful. And I'm sure I wore that expression on my face. And I'm sure it came across in my countenance. And at that point, my little helper reminded me of our verse for the year that we had chosen that we're to be light and she said and she was right. We need to be a light that shines Jesus and how we react to this situation.
And I my thought for both of us was we needed to be we were in a place where with a lot of ill people and a lot of staff that don't know Jesus. So, how could we be confidently what's the word I use? Confidently faithful.
Yeah. And then you said to me, "Don't fake it."
Yeah. I said, "Don't fake it." Jimmy is he is steady. he doesn't have big highs or big lows. he laughs well, he cries well, but he doesn't, you know, I on the other hand, I'm kind of like the barometric pressure, which I can I mean, any second now, I could burn burst into tears or rip someone's head off. Tim, you're safe right now cuz you're on the other side of the table. but you know, it's not faking it in front of somebody. It's just that
I want to show who he is in some way in the midst of that like ah,
right? It was a reminder that we need to demonstrate what we believe about our relationship with him. Yeah.
In terms of how we live that out in the midst of things that aren't good. I can remember Several years ago, we were up on vacation. We had some of our grandkids in the car with us and they were our older grandkids and this was just before the school year started. And you put a question to them which was met with dead silence, but it was okay, what are you going to do this year in your school year? Are you going to shine Jesus or are you going to shame him?
And you do you remember asking that question?
I do. I mean, I'm just astounded at my
But there was silence from them. But my thought was that's the kind of question that I think we need to be asking ourselves is okay this book, the Bible, God's word to us. It is not a textbook. It's not a history book. It's not a science book, a math book or anything. It is God's word to us about who he is and how he wants us to live and how he wants us to reflect him. So you're the light of the world. in and live your life in such a way that it shine so that light shines before others not so that they look at you and call you great but it but Jesus says they see your good works and they give glory to your father who is in heaven. So there it is it's that revelation of who God is. So as I walk through life this year that verse is going to be I hope at the forefront of my mind as to how I treat people, how I relate to people not just in a u the intense situation that was the hospital a few weeks ago, but in every day as I interact with a cashier, as I interact with a waiter or waitress or as I interact with the average person I see on the street.
Yeah. The guy who's tailing you in the, you know, bumper to bumper.
Well, let's not get into driving. Okay. but more than that, it's not just those situations. It's in relationships in my life with those who are closest to me. how I treat my kids, how I treat my grandkids, how we treat our good friends. all those situations are chances for me to be the light of the world.
Yeah. And it's interesting because it says, "So that they may see your good works." There's no period there. And give glory to your father who is in heaven. So what I do should reflect who I follow.
Sure.
You know, I'm my father's kid. I'm God's child, beloved child. So my actions should reflect him. What do my actions reflect?
Yeah. And so in the midst of uncertainty, which a lot of life is uncertain, in the midst of uncertainty, is there a confidence that I can have? Not in the uncertainty, but is there a confidence I can have in God that goes beyond most people going, "That's crazy."
Yeah.
You know, you've lost a job or you've got health issues or you've got relationship issues with your kids or what whatever it may be, but there it's uncertain,
right?
So, do I ring my hands and go, "Woe is me and live in fear or do I have a confidence in my father that I can reveal in terms of how I face life?"
And this is all this is not like some little thing that it doesn't come through anything other than reliance on the Holy Spirit. I cannot be confident in my faith without the Holy Spirit because I don't have that kind of thing. I mean, nobody does.
Yeah. If you think it's dependent upon you, then it's going to be a pressure-filled life, which I don't think that's what the Christian life is meant to be. It's not meant to be pressure because it's, you know, Paul says it in 2 Corinthians, in my weakness, he's strong
and he demonstrates his strength in my weakness. So, yeah, you're right, Suzi. It's a great reminder if I think that this is that we're talking about somehow I can produce this myself then you're missing what we're trying to say. It's something that comes from within me because of the spirit
who lives in me who enables me to live that way.
Right. And that takes the pressure off big time.
Yeah, it really does. So, so those are just some clothing
clothing. It I'm glad you brought up the word clothing because you know my winter wardrobe is a little threadbear but I am noticing your shirt on today and it's really nice.
Thank you. But I buy that for Did no I don't think you did. Okay.
I think what I was trying to say in closing
closing
we hope that you can forget that last minute of the podcast and find yourself realizing that in the uncertainties of life you have the ability to show forth who he is and the confidence that you have in Christ. Have a great week.