Seven.

"She was raised on Easter Sunday, for You wanted her by Your side.

Just like our reigning Savior, You rose her with You on high.

The world is just a vapor, it's pains will soon be gone,

just like the seven minutes, You used to bring her home."

-Seven Minutes

Hannah Fenton was a 12 year old girl, full of joy, graced with love. Loved by her parents, sister Chelsea, and an innumerable amount of friends both young and old, she lit rooms everywhere she stepped.

Without warning, or any prior inclination, the Lord used seven minutes to bring Hannah home to him this past Easter Sunday.

I was hanging out friends Easter night when I got a text message from a friend in Glen Rose asking me to pray for Hannah, who had suffered a seizure, and her family. Having gone through nine seizures as a child, I said a quick prayer for Hannah, assuming all would be fine. I texted both of Hannah's parents and Chelsea, simply saying that I was praying and that I would love to help any way I could. The text was responded to ten minutes later as Chelsea called me, crying, telling me that Hannah hadn't made it.

My initial response was shock, followed by screaming internal expletives that my tongue wouldn't let escape my mouth. Surely, this couldn't be the case, the plan, the achievement of Glory. Yet, it was. The family was located at Cook's in Ft. Worth, which took me about fifteen minutes to get to. I did my best simply to listen, love, and be around. Tears were shed, hugs were given, stories were told. No one seemed to know what to say. How is there comfort? How is there joy? Yet, amongst all the brokenness, joy seemed to abound. Of course there was mourning, of course there were tears, yet the Lord seemed to have Sovereignly decreed that this family see his goodness and love.

Daryl, the father, had asked me to help lead music for the funeral which led me to spending most of Monday, and Tuesday down in Glen Rose with the family. During my stay with the family, the Lord was obviously moving among the family, and their and identity in the cross was like nothing I have ever seen. There was no anger, no bitterness, no hatred towards the Lord on high. There was no finger-shaking, or name calling of the Sovereign King. There was talk of a plan. His plan. And his glory. There was talk of love and memories. There was prayer, and encouragement. The Gospel moved, and Christ was pointed to as the Savior of the day.

In the wake of this, the Lord has placed some thoughts on my heart, soul and mind.

1. In all, and through all, the Lord will have his glory.

Don't ask me how this works, or what this looks like. I do have to believe, however, that a God who knows all, who sees all, who is not surprised or alarmed by any, and Sovereignly decrees things to come to pass, will have his glory in all things. If a family who lost their 12 year old daughter can proclaim this with joy, you and I are without excuse.

2. The Gospel doesn't win with your fists.

I think this speaks for itself...

3. Speak less, listen more, and love lots.

The last thing I felt comfortable doing in my attempt to comfort the Fenton's was opening my mouth. I think I've learned that the last thing someone wants to hear is that you know how they feel. Give more hugs than words. Just a thought.

4. Joy is found in the cross alone.

Without the cross, we have no hope, and all we have is shame. This past Easter Sunday, Hannah Fenton was reconciled to Christ by the cross, through the cross, in Christ alone. In hours after Easter evening, there was no other thought that impulsed more joy than Christ, and him crucified. His death brought her life through her death.

The Monday after Hannah's death, I wrote a song with Chelsea, that can now be found on my NoiseTrade. I have been raising support for the family by asking friends and family to donate money (a "tip") in exchange for the song download. The song is available for free, but if you feel inclined to bless the Fenton's any monetary amount will be a blessing. Please give.

NoiseTrade Link: https://www.noisetrade.com/mattallen#

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (2nd Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV)

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is achieving for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (2nd Corinthians 4: 16-18 ESV)

May the Word move in you, and though you.

To Him be the Glory

-Matt Allen

Paradox.

Over the past couple years there have been a multitude of events that impulsed the innate desire to ask: "Why did that happen like that?"

Examples:

"Why didn't I ever attend DBU, as I had planned multiple times?"

"Why did I live in San Antonio for a year longer than I had initially planned?"

"Why did a close friend pass away from a routine heart stress test, seemingly too young?"

"Why did I struggle to find a job upon moving to the metroplex?"

"Why did that church do that to me?"

"Why did those people hurt me?"

"Why did I hurt those people?"

"Why, why, why?"

The list was extensive. My questions and demands of God well superseded any answers I was discerning from Him. In my frustration, I became anxious. I doubted His plan, his Sovereignty, and his will to accomplish any desirable purpose in me or through me. My unanswered questions left me feeling confused, baffled, and at times angry. I, the created being, found myself with a pointed finger shaking at the all-powerful Creator of all. The lack of answers drove me to a self-indulged, pride-centered individualism. I thought that I was solely in charge. He wasn't giving answers that satisfied my passionately depraved heart, so I obviously had to give them to myself.

It didn't work. Any of it. Seeking to find my identity outside of the cross, my answers fell short, lacking of the Gospel and it's redemption. I found myself working for righteousness sake, out of the idea that these unexplainable events were divine plans for my sanctification. Meaning, I figured that I was hurt by certain groups of people solely to teach me patience. So, in an attempt to avoid making the suffering I endured pointless, I would pursue patience for the sake of patience, under the impression that this response was sufficient. Works based righteousness became the new way to operate, out of the ideology that self-sanctification was the path to the answers I sought.

November 1st, 2010 I sent my first email to Jim Essian, the lead pastor of The Paradox Church in downtown Ft. Worth. This would begin a string of events that would snowball, by grace, leading me to where I am today: A covenanted member of a Gospel-loving, Christ-centered church. A member of a City Group that I love deeply, and loves me back in Biblical community. Somehow, someone signed off on blessing me with the opportunity to make my best attempt at humbly leading worship through music on Sunday mornings for these people. (Even though I refuse to wear shoes.) I'm in a fight club with some guys that confess sin to each other, fight it with the Gospel, and love each other as men should. I hang out with and grab a beer with our guys every Monday night as we seek to live and love in the city for His glory. I love my girl, Kaity Wilson, better. I love people better, and they impulse me to love the Lord more, which impulses me to love people better still. I love the city of Ft. Worth and it's people more every time I enter it. Every bit of this has simply been possible by His grace, through His goodness, and for His glory alone. I truly can't stake claim to any of it.

On January 3rd, I tweeted: "Outside of divine intervention I would have never found @ParadoxFtWorth. They are such a massive blessing and gift to me." Today, driving down 121 South towards the city, the ramifications of this hit me. Every single one of those doubts and questions I mentioned earlier have all brought me exactly to where I am today. Each of them effected my outlook, my worldview, future decisions, and my physical location. Who I am, and where I stand at this second has simply been culminating through unknown doubts and unanswered questions.

As I drove towards the city, viewing the skyline the Lord affirmed something in me that had been brewing in me after a day of reflection. Emphatically and loudly He stated to my heart: "This is why I have brought you through the path I have! This city. These people. This church. Love them well, as I love you." All questions answered, all doubts resolved, I stand upon grace and live in supreme confidence of His Sovereignty. The paradox is The Paradox. How graciously He answered my insufficiencies with His sufficiencies. How well He extended grace freely, after I had attempted to earn it. How clearly He pointed me to His answers after I had pursued creating my own. I have no idea how this continues to manifest itself over the next coming days and months. What I do know is that I have been called to a people, directed to serve and love them well, and live for their joy and His glory in all spheres of life.

Trust Him. Worship Him. Know that He is Lord of all, and stands supreme. Unanswered questions insinuate not that He lacks control to work all things for our good. He stands outside of time and space, and is not bound by our finiteness. He's bigger than we think, better to us than we deserve, and has unfathomable plans that we can only ask humbly to understand. Live and love in grace, and trust Him in all things, and at all times.

"The heart of a man plans his ways, but the LORD establishes his steps."

(Proverbs 16:9 ESV)

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the Glory

-Matt Allen

Dead.

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:1-5 ESV)

Recently I had the pleasure of leading worship and a high school guys small group for a church in Amarillo, Texas. The guys were great, and my time with them was extremely enjoyable. We walked through the fact that our lives very rarely, if ever, actually match the call and implications of the Gospel. We spoke of how, as church members and frequent attenders, the answers and knowledge of the gospel are known to us, yet the action that should result from this knowledge is often missing.

Ironically, this fact manifested itself throughout the weekend, even as it was spoken of and pointed to as sin. As much as I loved the guys, they were often extremely disrespectful, not only to me, but the the owner of the house. When we arrived at the house, it was spotless. The living room was clean, toys were organized and stacked in a corner, pillows were aligned on the couch and everything was in order. Throughout the course of the weekend, however, that quickly changed. I had made it very well known that the last day we would spend our time cleaning what had been made dirty.

The last day the house was a disaster. Lincoln Logs had been thrown throughout the room in a toy battle, chips had been crushed ground into the carpet, drinks had spilled, clothes were everywhere, the kitchen was torn apart, and it literally looked as if a tornado had torn through the house. Conveniently, all of the boys found something else that they needed to do during the time that they were supposed to be cleaning.

I cleaned. Everything. By myself. I did dishes, and put away toys. I moved clothes, cleaned up spills, put food away, swept and vacuumed for about an hour an a half. By the time I was done the room looked very much like it had when the weekend began.

I called the group back inside and immediately asked them if they noticed any difference between the house then, and when they had left it an hour and a half earlier. One student actually had the audacity to claim he didn't notice a difference. It was then that I explained that scenario actually tied fairly close to the Gospel.

Their mess had been cleaned. Free of charge, without any active persuasion from them, and most certainly not because they had deserved it. I cleaned because I loved them, and found it fit to do so. Likewise, our sins were forgiven while we were dead in our sins, not of our own will, but because God, who is good, and gracious found it appropriate to do so. We didn't deserve it, and most assuredly didn't earn it. Dead men don't make moves, and if they do, they certainly don't make good ones.

Secondly, we, like the student, forget how absolutely depraved and messy we were. The result of this is missing the amazing goodness of how clean we have been made. When our sin is small, so will be our Savior. When our sin is big, so will our Savior be.

Should you be a skeptic, I charge you to look at yourself and juxtapose it with perfection. Even if you don't believe that perfection exists, humor me. Outside of grace, perfection is necessary to find ourselves in communion with God when this life comes to a close. Perfection, unobtainable to you and I, was manifested through the God-man named Christ who died that we may live. May you be reconciled to Christ, for in him, and him alone is life

Should you be a believer, don't forget how absolutely wretched you were outside of the cross. When we lose sight of our sin, we lose sight of our Savior. He saved you, he picked you up out of the mire and despair that you were caught in as objects of wrath. May the recognition of how helpless you were impulse you to love God more, and live for him unashamedly, for his glory and your joy.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen

Perseverence.

Before we get started, I'd like to warn you, as the reader, that this most likely is going to get dense and heavy pretty quick, so take a seat, buckle up, and lets do some work. I'm praying that this, as always, is nothing less than an exegetical exposition of the text, that you find in it truth, and in truth, application. Lastly I want to state, before we get into this, that this is no attempt to "scare the hell" out of you, (literally) but simply an effort to maintain a healthy tension of doctrine. Here we go.

Here's the camp I fall into. First, in all honesty, I doubt that many who think they are saved and Heaven bound actually find themselves on the path to arrive there. (Hopefully this could go unsaid, but if you AREN'T on the path to get there, you WON'T actually get there.) Secondly, should you TRULY be justified by the grace of a gracious Creator, not only will you not leave the path heavenward, but by the same grace that saved you, you will be unable to leave it.

The above is my layman's definition of the final doctrine of grace, the perseverance of the saints. So let's break this down and see what this looks like in application.

Why do I think that many who believe they are saved, truly are not? Simply because I find the Bible testifying to that very fact. I know we've been through this before, but the text is extremely obvious that true salvation yields true results through grace driven effort. What am I saying? That works are necessary for salvation? By no means. Check out my post "Works" about a conversation with some Mormon missionaries about works based systems of salvation. What I am saying, however, is that works do indeed PROVE a TRUE conversion of the gospel.

"Bear fruits in keeping with repentance." (Luke 3:8 ESV)

"So faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:17 ESV)

"Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14 ESV)

"And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1st John 2:3-4 ESV)

So my question is: Are you REALLY saved? And how do you know? Is it because you go to church, and you've been to church? No where in the text does it state that a church attendance is a fruit of justification. This is not to say that where you have seen fruit in the past, and currently walk through difficulty or sin, grace has been retracted. Sanctification and becoming more Christ-like is a life long process. This is not an elitist message, nor one demanding of perfection. It is simply one mimicking the statement of the text. We know him if we keep his commandments.

I must again quickly state: These works do not save us! We are not to work ONLY for the sake that he wants us to, despite the fact that he wants us to! For more about this check out the posts Work. and People.

Secondly, should you be truly justified, than the grace of God that saved you, will also keep you.

"According to His great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in Heaven for you, who by God's power are being GUARDED through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1st Peter 1:3-5 ESV)

"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those who he justified he also glorified." (Romans 8:29-30 ESV)

"our Lord Jesus Christ who will sustain you to the end..." (1 Corinthians 1:8 ESV)

"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only one God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1:24-25 ESV)

"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28 ESV)

See: 1st Thessalonians 5:23-24

See: Ephesians 1:13-14

See: Jeremiah 32:40

See: Philippians 1:6

See: 2nd Timothy 4:18

Quickly we're going to find our conclusion with what generally seems to be a problem text for this doctrine, and bring it to light in the comprehensive truth of the Word.

"For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirt, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God their own harm and holding him up to contempt." (Hebrews 6:4-6)

What does this mean? Does this not seem to contradict the fact that you can not lose your salvation? Almost more shockingly, in light of dozens of texts describing the assurance of salvation, it tells me that one can be enlightened, taste the heavenly gift, share in the Holy Spirit, taste the goodness of the Word of God and his power, and NOT truly be saved! How can this be? To hear the answer from the Christ himself flip to Matthew 13 and read The Parable of the Sower.

Hebrews 6 speaks of those on the rocky soil, and the thorny soil. Those whom hear the word, yet don't allow it to grow into fulfillment.

The gospel must take root. For the gospel to be legitimate, it MUST grow. It must flourish. It must shine. Are you saved?

Should you be a skeptic, I encourage you, as always to test yourself. I know that I fail to write effective apologetics when I do so strictly exegetically when you find little basis in the text of which I address. Perhaps one day we'll get to the authority of the text, but until then I pray you continue to have the intellectual courage to test these words by their outcome in hopes that the Spirit will move in you. There are answers, and, as always, I'd love to hear your questions.

Should you be a believer, I charge you to inspect yourself. Are you REALLY a believer? Does the gospel ACTUALLY take root and manifest itself in your life? To think that you've found the heavenward path while truly precariously walking the road to destruction will prove quite ineffectual when this life comes to a close. Make your calling and election sure. (2nd Peter 1:10) Live a life of love. (Ephesians 5:1-2) Lastly, know that while your works do not save you, you were indeed saved FOR them. (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 3:9, 2nd Corinthians 5:15)

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen

SIn.

I promise you that you will not enjoy reading this. I would almost bet on it. Not because it will be poorly written, not because you will find it untrue, but moreover because I believe that the truth herein will convict deeply, even to the nonbeliever or skeptic who finds themselves standing far from the cross of Christ, or even warring against it, throwing pebbles at it from the distance. Here we go.

You are evil. I am evil. WE are evil. There seems to be this ongoing, ridiculous debate about the state of the heart of man. Is man mostly good, or mostly evil? The very debate itself, at it's core is downright ludicrous, and is truly nothing but an exposition of the deep and deepening depravity of man. The corruption of the heart in seen is the eyes of a toddler who has been raised in the best loving, caring, and protecting family long before he has even had the ability to become a "victim or circumstance". Understanding the word "no" when it is spoken to him, his flesh, his NATURE says "yes". Test it. Tell a three year old they can't have a cookie, and then sneak around the corner and watch them steal it off the plate.

"As it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one;" (Romans 3:10 ESV)

This excuses us not from seeking, pursuing, and chasing righteousness. This exists a sharp contrast between being righteous, and living within it. As we stand, by our nature, we are evil. We're not righteous, we're not clean, and outside of the pursuit and active cleansing of God we are not holy. If you disagree, remain extremely cognizant of your thought life, just for a day. You and I have thoughts that would land us in jail, leave us friendless, lifeless, and and outcast if ever spoken, or acted upon. Then pay attention to what you actually DO. Watch how you treat people: friends and family, the baristas at Starbucks and the people driving cars in front of you. You, I, we, are not clean. Admit it. To fight it, to run from this fact, to oppose it will leave you standing on your own power, which in the end will find you on your back, reaching up and crying for help from anything greater than yourself.

"And you were DEAD in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of the world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience." (Ephesians 2:1-2 ESV)

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-every one- to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6a)

Here's one that has absolutely been wrecking my life:

"For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." Romans 14:23b

Read that last one again, and then let it sink in.

This one for me is two fold. One. Even in my pursuit of righteousness, my pursuit of holiness and sanctification I sin a lot. In fact, I've probably sinned much, unknowingly, even while writing this post! Anything that derives not from faith is SIN! I sin when I walk into WalMart and rent a movie, and don't consistently, constantly, and continually make my life, my days, and seconds about faith. I sin as I walk, and fail to see from the eyes of Christ. I sin as I live apathetically and without mission and purpose. I. Am. Evil. Yet the flip side to the coin is this, and here is where I'm sure I'm going to get in trouble.

If you don't know Christ as the risen Savior and Lord then ALL that you do is sin. Everything. If it doesn't derive from faith that you don't have you're sinning. You're sinning as you read this. You're sinning as you go to the lake, you're sinning sitting in class. You're sinning reading stories to your kids, and helping the old lady across the street. You are evil. I am evil. We are evil.

There is good news, I promise. The best. You and I, who are lost and confused, evil, depraved, twisted and are by nature objects of wrath, (Ephesians 2:3) who are unable to see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:1-6) have hope. The fact that our own depravity blinds us from his divinity keeps him not from revealing himself to us and shining the light of his knowledge into our hearts.

"But God, being rich in mercy because he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5 ESV)

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ dies for us." (Romans 5:8 ESV)

Our hope is Christ, hung on the tree who purchased for us, with his blood, grace, life, peace, faith, hope and love. Without him we are hopeless. You are evil. Yet in him, and him alone does his substitutionary atonement make you clean in the eyes of a holy and blameless Father. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

Should you be a skeptic: Sorry this one was rough, and I pray you hear it not in judgement. I pray that I made it clear that I am just as hopeless and evil as I said you are. I challenge to see what happens should you accept this. The state of your heart being clear, in light of the perfect divine, is there anyway your "good works" can save you?

Should you be a believer, your good works don't define you, grace does. In light of Romans 14:23 I think you would be hard pressed to even call your "good works" good works. His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3) Own up. We are not, you are not perfect. This, again, excuses us not from our pursuit of holiness. Yet, within that pursuit never place legalistic action above the God who calls us to work hard that it may glorify him. You are his, your deeds are his, and your glory is his. May you stand on his grace, and be desperate for it.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen

Glory.

God is ALL about his glory.

Today I want to touch on some Biblical concepts that may be harder than most to accept and discern. Immediately, if you're reading this, you most likely fall into one of three camps. The first is someone who may read this, yet completely disaffirms the Word of God. This post may be the hardest for you to read, but at the conclusion of it, should you chose to, and I pray you don't, you may throw it all away as useless religious rhetoric. The second is the person who may read the Word, and know Christ as their Savior, but allow their flesh to deny the truth of the scriptures below through the simple denial of the text. The last is the person who reads what is written below, struggles with them, finds truth in them, and in truth finds comfort. Wherever you land, here we go.

God is ALL about his glory. In fact a God who is all about himself, to me, is the best news that I have ever heard. Looking at myself, and the rest of humanity I am hard pressed to find much that should be made much of in ourselves. A God who enjoys perfection, even if it is the perfection of himself, sounds much more appealing.

Self-glorification is seen everywhere within our depraved, retrograding culture. We see it on the television, the evening news, the wife on an extensive shopping spree and on ESPN. Unfortunately we walk a fine line when we allow our perception of the world to shape our theology. Because we want the world to be about us, we want a God who makes much of us. We want the cross for us, we want Heaven for us, and we want blessings for us. This is NOT to say that God doesn't want good things for us, because the Word unyieldingly works against that notion. It is only to state that we have a misperception about how we are made much of. We are made most of, when we make most of the glorified God of the universe.

Here's a simple misconception I think the church has engrained into me: Christ died for ME.

Now to clarify, that statement does indeed hold some truth, so I want to define what I mean quickly.

"Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make his mighty power known." (Psalms 106:8 ESV)

"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25 ESV)

"I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake."

The overarching reason Christ died is for the glory of God on high. More than the cross was for me, the cross was for God. Since I grew up a church kid, this was a radical understanding for me to come across. I, as a four year old, sat in the Sunday school room with the cardboard cutouts of Christ on the cross and was told by a loving teacher that God loved me so much that Christ died for ME. Yes. But if we stop there we enter into a self centered, self loving theology that produces glory-less lives.

Here's what these truths have done for me.

All of a sudden, sin becomes a whole new game. Quite possibly sin in the past was approached from the angle of grace. Grace had been extended to me at the point of the cross, and because of that grace I could not lose the salvation I had been granted. Christ came to abolish the law, and legalism, and the rules of which once needed to be followed. I found within myself a terrible understanding of the love of God which told me that my sins were already forgiven. All of the above is scriptural, and veritable, yet unfinished. By simply extending all of the previously mentioned statements out to my flesh, the truth was allowed to be distorted to the point that I found a license to sin, while covered by grace. The entirety of Romans 6 would passionately work against this type of mindset, but the fact that it was written within the text gave me confidence that I wasn't the only person in history to struggle with it.

In light of the fact that Christ died for me that it may glorify the Father threw my understanding of sin out the window. All of a sudden I realized that I was covered by grace, yet to walk in his glory. It's as if the sky was grace, yet the sidewalk was his glory, of which I was to spend every moment of my life walking on. With each and every sin, I take a step off of the sidewalk, and while still under grace, completely damn the reason of which Christ had saved in the first place. Grace can be misused; glory can not.

To bring this to some sort of functional conclusion, I beg us, myself included to take our eyes off of ourselves. To retreat from our room of mirrors that we live within.

"The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not in moments of self-satisfaction, but self forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating your own greatness in pathological." (John Piper)

Should you be a skeptic, I challenge you to look within yourself. Can this world truly be about you? About us? I vehemently believe that the simple grandeur and magnitude of things would prove otherwise.

Should you be a believer, you may have fallen into the same trap that I, and many others have in regards to the abuse of grace. May he lead you to an understanding that most of this has little to do with you, and much more to do with him. We are loved; we are saved; and we are known. For his glory. May we never forget his sovereignty.

"bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, WHOM I CREATED FOR MY GLORY, whom I formed and made." (Isaiah 43:6-7)

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen

Light.

First and foremost, I've got to state that I typically make a fairly cognizant effort to write these posts for a wide spectrum of readers on many different walks of faith and life. I may often fail in these regards, but tonight I will preface this post by making myself clear that this will most assuredly resonate most effectively within the hearts and minds of those who already find their home within the grace and cross of Christ. If this isn't you, and you're still testing the claims of Christ, or even stand far from him in every sense, I still would love for you to read what lies below in hopes that somehow you may find in them truth. Here we go.

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine..."

Should you have any kind of childhood history in the church as I do, this familiar childhood tune may ring a bell of nostalgia deep within. The theological truth of the song I sang as a five year old finds itself within the book of Matthew, chapter five.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in Heaven." (Matthew 5:16 ESV)

In a quick side note I must again reiterate, as I have in past posts, that EVERYTHING happens and occurs for his glory. Good things, and bad things. We will glorify him as objects of his mercy, or objects of his wrath, and claim absolutely no hold over the choice to glorify him or not. Ironically the finger shaking atheist ends up glorifying that which he defies in his finger shaking rage. Do we always, in our finiteness, always see it? Absolutely not. Does the God, who sits outside of time and space? Yes. He. Will. Have. His. Glory. He is sovereign, he is God, and he sits in the heavens and does all that he pleases. None can stay his hand and ask of Him, "What have you done?"

See: Psalm 115:3

See: Daniel 4:35

We see the word "light" throughout the Word being used a plethora of times, for a multitude of different instances.

We are light.

"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as LIGHTS in the world..." (Philippians 2:14-15 ESV)

"For you are all children of LIGHT, children of the day. We are not of night or of the darkness." (1st Thessalonians 5:5)

Christ the son is light.

"Again Jesus spoke to them saying, "I am the LIGHT of the world." (John 8:12a ESV)

"The true LIGHT, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world." (John 1:9 ESV)

God the Father is light.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of LIGHTS with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:17)

"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." (1 John 1:5)

"...the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who alone dwells in unapproachable LIGHT..." (1 Timothy 6:16)

Textually, at first glance, there could seem to stand a bit of tension. Are we the light? Is Christ the light? How is everything tied together comprehensively?

The most accurate answer I can put forward is: Yes. WE are the light. Being us, the Christ, and the Father.

God the Father being the light leads quite logically to the man of Christ being the light.

"But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible IS LIGHT." (Ephesians 5:13 ESV)

Christ, being the light of the world, shines upon those who follow him in spirt and truth whereby we become the light as he is the light. I think the most practical understanding we can take away from this is found in the book of 1st Peter.

"but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." (1st Peter 1:15-16 ESV)

How do we truly accomplish this? If Christ is the light, and we are to be the light as he was the light, by what means can we actively live this out day to day? Another way the scriptures use the word "light" may provide some insight.

"Your WORD is a lamp to my feet and a LIGHT to my path." (Psalm 119:105)

His word is the key. By it his spirt moves, and his will is discerned. By it we learn the truths of morals, of ethics, and the right-standing of righteousness. By it we find truth, and the existence thereof. By it we meet the man of Christ, the author of faith, and the substitutionary atonement for our depraved and wicked souls. In the Word stands the way of life, the way of truth, and the way of which leads to the everlasting.

Christ is the light. God the Father is the light, whom dwells in unapproachable light. We are the light, having been shone upon by the light. The Word is the light. May we be people of the light, and in the light.

"for at one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." (Ephesians 5:8 ESV)

Should you be a skeptic, as I forewarned and acknowledged, most of this was not for you. At all. Yet, I beseech you here, as I have when I started writing this blog two months ago. Should you act upon the impulsions of his word, I am confident you will find them sufficient. Meaning this. Test the word for what it says. Should the text read: "Come to me all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.", I dare you to truly seek what that looks life for where you stand, and see what fruits are sown from your action.

Should you be a believer, may you be of a people who let your light shine among men. Do so not for your own glory, for if you try to please man, you will not be a servant of God. See: Galatians 1:10. Do so that God, in every sense, fashion, and form will receive every bit of glory he deserves. May we be people who stand firmly on the truth of his word, and refuse to shrink back and be destroyed, but believe and are saved (Hebrews 10:39). May we be people of action. See: James 1:22, 1st John 3:18, 1st Peter 1:13.

May we be children of the light.

May the Word move in you, and through you.

To Him be the glory.

-Matt Allen