Faith and Religion

September 14, 2018 By B. Baylis

What’s Coming Next on By’s Musings and the HEBB Website?

Hooray! By’s finally announcing the changes that are coming to By’s Musings and his website. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

In my previous post What Happened to By’s Musings, I asked you to keep watching for new blog posts because some significant changes were coming to my blog and website. I am now ready to unveil those changes.

It’s Tuesday. Time to publish a new post! Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The first change applies solely to the blog. I have instituted a firmer schedule for the publication of posts to By’s Musings. A new post will be published every Tuesday starting September 18.

Due to the extended absence which just ended, I have built up a backlog of ideas for posts and even completed first drafts of many posts. At the rate of one per week, it will take more than a year to exhaust these ideas and posts. So I have confidence that I will be able to keep to this more rigid schedule.

I’m instituting a strict limit of 1000 words for new blog posts. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The second change also only applies to the blog. It is a move toward more consistency in the length of posts. I am imposing on myself a limit of 1,000 words for each post. Via this concerted attempt to make the postings more concise and precise, I hope that the posts will be more readable and accessible to a wider audience.

Friends, before you rejoice prematurely, you can rest assured that I still suffer from the Russian novel syndrome that has plagued me for most of my life.

Longer reads will be placed on the HEBB website for those that want them. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The third change involves moving the longer and more rambling of my essays to the website. And, yes, I have already prepared first drafts of a number of these works. In this format, I can offer them as white papers and ebooks to those individuals who are looking for a deeper analysis and a more extended read on a topic.

By’s Musings will focus on three areas: Education, Faith and Religion, and Organizational Theory and Operations. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The fourth change will be an initial sharp reduction in the scope of topics which I will address. Until I exhaust the backlog of ideas which I have stockpiled, I will restrict my posts on the blog to the topics of education, faith and religion, and organizational theory and operations.

I will use Social Media Outlets to communicate my thoughts on other topics. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

This does not mean that I am no longer concerned with the topics of athletics, business, economics, food, health, and politics. As an idea strikes me, I will continue to think and write about these important areas of life. However, I will use Social Media avenues such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ to communicate my ideas related to these fields.

The website will serve as a distribution center for resources. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The fifth change is directly related to the third and fourth changes. I will also be reorganizing the website around four primary foci. The first three are the previously mentioned topics of faith and religion, education, and organizational theory and operations. As noted above, I will be using the website as a distribution outlet for my research into the areas of faith and religion, education, and organizational theory and operations.

A circle of experts using all of their knowledge and experience to fit the pieces of a puzzle back together to solve problems. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The fourth focus will be the reinvention of an idea that I had several years ago. I will be using the website as the initial home base for a circle of experts who use their theoretical knowledge and practical experience to solve problems, and put the pieces back together to complete the puzzle.

As MLK once said, “There is strength in unity, and there is power in numbers.” One of the basic tenets of my educational philosophy is that learning is both an individual and social activity and process. If one can move the molehill, then more can move the mountain. The name that I am proposing for this alliance is The Watershed Collaborative (TWC). In a future post, I will explain the name and the purpose of The Collaborative. I will also begin to recruit partners to join me in this grand quest.

The website will promote webcasts and live events. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

The sixth change will not be visible immediately. I will also use the website as a recruiting or promotional tool for another new venture. As a result of my work in the four areas outlined above, I am in the process of preparing presentations that may end up as either webcasts or in-person events. I will use social media to drive people to the blog. I will use the blog to recruit people to an event. The website will become a repository of resources related to current and past events and a recruitment venue for future events.

I have titled the next post, A New Format to Posts on By’s Musings. As noted above, it is scheduled for release on Tuesday, September 18.

September 6, 2018 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

ATTENTION! BY’S MUSINGS IS BACK!

After an eight-month absence, By’s Musings has returned. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

Did that headline grab your attention? I certainly hope so. It’s not that I love attention. It’s just that I felt I needed to do something unusual to reach out to a new audience, along with my former audience.

Announcing the Grand Reopening of By’s Musings! Image courtesy of Presenter Media

After having been offline now for more than eight months, I definitely needed something to draw in that new audience and alert my former audience that By’s Musings is back in the game.

What in the worlds is By’s Musings? Image courtesy of Presenter Media

You don’t remember “By’s Musings“. You have no clue as to what it is. “By’s Musings” is my personal blog which also serves as an entry to my website Higher Ed By Baylis LLC.

Excuse me, but I have one question for you: If you didn’t know anything about By’s Musings, how did you get here? What made you read this Grand Reopening post from By’s blog?

Check By’s Musings on Monday, September 10, for an important message. Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

My next post will be published on Monday, September 10. You’re all invited to check out that post. It will provide you with a brief description of the extensive damage that shut down both the blog and website for the better part of a year.

Please pardon our dust while our website and blog are under construction. Image courtesy of Presenter Media

In subsequent posts, I will provide a more complete account of the new features of the website and the new threads which will be the focus of future blog posts.

As a quick introduction to the coming changes, suffice it to say that I will be consolidating my efforts in both my blog and website to three specific areas. I will be using an approach that resembles more of a rifle than a shotgun to target the areas of education, organizational theory/operations, and faith/religion.

I will be making a number of other changes. The first change will be an increased emphasis on the use of social media for pre- and post-publication dissemination of information and announcements. I will be using social media as a vehicle to help drive readers to my blog and website.

The second change will be a greater stress on and push for audience participation in both my blog and website. I want to engender more discussion and conversation. In a true learning environment, everyone has something of value to bring to the table. Hopefully, we can enrich each other, by learning and teaching together.

In the third change, I will be using shorter blog posts to introduce topics and proposals for discussion. I will reserve the longer pieces for the website where they will be offered as resources to individuals and organizations via occasional whitepapers and ebooks. As the site develops more fully and becomes more operational, please check in at your convenience and browse through its contents.

“I’m so excited, and I just can’t hide it.” Image courtesy of Presenter Media.

Borrowing a phrase from the Pointer Sisters, “I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it!” Please join me on an adventurous journey to both new and familiar places. Hopefully, all of us will learn much about ourselves and the world along the way. Bon voyage!

May 27, 2017 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Are you a complexifier or a simplifier?

I have heard this question raised many times in higher education circles. Having run around in higher education circles for more than 50 years, I have heard many questions over and over again! If I am asking you, my reader, to be honest about yourself, shouldn’t I be willing, to be honest? Am I a complexifier or a simplifier? The simplest and perhaps the most truthful answer to this question is “Yes!” The more complex answer is “It depends!” It depends upon a number of things. Am I climbing a physical or metaphoric hill attempting to find a solution to a problem?

Trying to climb a rock wall or solve a problem can be difficult, complicated and very taxing. Many times, there are no straightforward, paved paths to the summit. You must search not only for the next hand or foot hold but the next two or three after that first one.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Noonshin Beik. It portrays the sport of “bouldering” by rock climber Dennis George. This process is a difficult, complicated and taxing effort. The photo was taken by Noonshin Beik, who owns the copyright and has published and licensed the photo under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

It may be a different tale if I am coasting down the other side of the hill trying to use that solution or to explain that solution to someone else. One does not need to know college physics and mechanics to have a working knowledge of and enjoy the entertainment of a zip line. However, before you trust your health and life to that zip line, you had better check it out to make sure that someone who knows mechanics and safety matters set up the zip line correctly.

The scientific principles under which zip lines operate are simple physics but must be followed for safety’s sake. If someone has not correctly accounted for the height differences between the origin and terminus of the line, the tension of the cable, the weight of the load carried, and the coefficient of friction on the cable, a ride could end catastrophically.

In terms of explaining something, one of my favorite quotes is commonly attributed to Albert Einstein.

Albert Einstein, in his later years (probably 1950s). Photograph from the Library of Congress Photographs and Prints Division: “Copyright John D . Schiff, New York” but “Copyright not renewed, 4/2000” according to LOC. Image courtesy of John D. Schiff and Wikimedia Commons.

Einstein was undoubtedly a genius. But he supposedly said,

If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.

Christ spoke several times about receiving the Gospel as a child.

Christ receiving the young children and lecturing his disciples on the faith of a child. This image was originally posted to Flickr by Internet Archive Book Images at https://flickr.com/photos/126377022@N07/14577860217. It was reviewed on 23 September 2015 by the FlickreviewR robot and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the No known copyright restrictions.

Mark 10:13 – 16 is one passage talking about receiving the Gospel as a young child:

¹³And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. ¹⁵Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them. (KJV)

Climbing a solution’s hill, I find myself in agreement with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and Albert Einstein. Holmes reportedly said, “I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

Einstein is usually credited with formulating the principle: “A scientific theory should be as simple as possible, but no simpler.” The search for simplicity has sometimes been likened to the Quest for the Holy Grail. It is extremely hard work and can be a fruitless search.

The inspiration of Britten’s illustration comes from the following sections of Tennyson’s poem:

I find a magic bark;
I leap on board: no helmsman steers:
I float till all is dark.
A gentle sound, an awful light!
Three angels bear the holy Grail:
With fold feet in stole of white,
On sleeping wings they sail.
Ah, blessed vision! blood of God!
My spirit beats her mortal bars,
As down dark tides the glory slides,
And star-like mingles with the stars.When on my goodly charger borne
Thro’ dreaming towns I go, (Lines 38 – 49)

“O just and faithful knight of God!
Ride on! the prize is near.”
So pass I hostel, hall, and grange;
By bridge and ford, by park and pale,
All-arm’d I ride, whate’er betide,
Until I find the holy Grail. (Lines 78 – 83)

Jumping to simple conclusions before one does the hard work of diligently searching for the truth or a workable solution can be very dangerous. It is also usually ineffective. I am reminded of the fabled silver bullet, that miraculous entity that very quickly and easily solves a serious, long-standing problem. I am reminded of three different versions of the uses of silver bullets. I will come back to look at silver bullets in a future post.

Returning to the question at hand in this post: “Am I a complexifier or a simplifier?” The simplest answer is “Yes.” The next simplest answer is “It depends.” I trust this post has shared some of my complex struggles in attempting to come to a simple response.

April 15, 2017 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Advent Wreath Resolution at Easter

As we celebrate Easter 2017 are you still keeping up with your Advent Wreath Resolutions? In this reminder post, I return to consider two candles. The first is obviously the Christ candle, while the second is the Peace candle.

Image used under creative commons license available at https://creativecommons.org/license/by-sa/3.0/

Advent and Easter bookend the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, God’s son. They celebrate two commonalities that the incarnate Christ shared with all humanity: birth and death. Without going through both birth and death, Christ could not have been fully human. One of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith is that Jesus is at the same time fully God and fully human. Without being fully God, he could not have been without sin. Without being fully human, he could not have been the perfect sacrifice in order to be the propitiation for the sins of all mankind, so that he could satisfy the penalty for sin.

As an indication of Christ’s humanity he was born of a woman; grew up in the traditions of the first-century Jewish culture; and was nurtured, nourished, and cherished by an earthly mother.

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2: 1 -7, JKV)

Image courtesy of WIkimedia Commons and Giovanni Dall’Orto. This photograph contains details from a Nativity scene, painted on paper sheets glued on wood panels, made by Francesco Londonio (1723-1783) around 1750. It is on display in the Cappella del Presepe in san Marco church at Milan. This kind of presepe was rather common in the past, but very few such specimens have survived until today. This one is remarkably well preserved, and it was carefully restored a few years ago. The photograph is by Giovanni Dall’Orto, April 14, 2007.

²¹And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. ²²And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (Luke 2: 21 & 22, JKV)

Constable’s Chapel – Presentation of Christ and Purification of Mary – Cathedral of Burgos. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro / CC BY-SA 3.0. It is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

⁴⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him…⁵¹And he went down with them, … , and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. (Luke 2, 40 & 51-52, JKV)

Ivory Madonna with Child. The original artist is unknown. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and the photographer “3dnatureguy.” It is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;

In order to fulfill his mission on earth, it was necessary for Jesus to be born. Although it was necessary, it wasn’t sufficient. He had to be subjected to all the temptations that we face. Yet in spite of those temptations, he had to live a sinless life and then sacrifice His life as a ransom for mankind.

¹⁷Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. (Hebrews 12: 17 & 18, JKV)

⁴⁵For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45, KJV)

⁷But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: ⁸And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (Philippians 2: 7 – 9, KJV))

The Disposition by Rembrandt. When the Romans were assured that Jesus was dead. They allowed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to take the body of Jesus down, get it prepared for burial and to take it to the tomb. This photograph by Jan Arkesteijn is a faithful reproduction of a two-dimension work of art that is in the public domain and hence is in the public domain. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and Jan Arkesteijn.

But the Easter story doesn’t end at the tomb. On that first Easter Sunday morning, as Robert Lowery’s song says,

Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Rembrandt’s Christ and St. Mary Magdalen at the tomb, painted in 1638. The original oil painting is a two-dimension work of art that is in the public domain. This is a faithful reproduction of that work and hence is also in the public domain. The image is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and the photographer. It is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

Thus, there is an obvious connection between the Christ candle in the Advent Wreath and the Christ of Easter. What’s the connection of the Peace candle of the Advent Wreath and Easter? In the two posts concerning the Peace candle, Advent Wreath Resolutions: Peace and Advent Wreath Resolutions; Peace – Part II I mentioned that the word “peace” is used more than 400 times in the King James Version of the Bible. In 10 of those times, the idea being conveyed is that of silence, using something like the phrase “held his peace.” Two of those references occur during the trial of Jesus.

⁵⁷And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. ⁵⁸But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. ⁵⁹Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; ⁶⁰But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, ⁶¹And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. ⁶²And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? ⁶³But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. ⁶⁴Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. ⁶⁵Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. (Matthew 26: 57 – 65, KJV)

⁵⁷And there arose certain, and bare false witness against him, saying, ⁵⁸We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. ⁵⁹But neither so did their witness agree together. ⁶⁰And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? ⁶¹But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? ⁶²And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. ⁶³Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? (Mark 14: 57 – 63, KJV)

The references in Matthew 26 and Mark 14 to Christ holding his peace (keeping silent) reminds us of the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ⁸He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. (Isaiah 53: 6 -8, KJV)

Christ was the lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice. He “held his peace” before being led off to the slaughter. The Jewish high priest used the passage from Isaiah to build a false case against Christ so that they could be rid of him. The same passage was later used to bring an Ethiopian official to a saving knowledge of Christ.

²⁶And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. ²⁷And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, ²⁸Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. ²⁹Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. ³⁰And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? ³¹And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. ³²The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: ³³In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. ³⁴And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? ³⁵Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. ³⁶And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? ³⁷And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. ³⁸And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. ³⁹And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8: 26 – 39, KJV)

In this Easter season, are you prepared to let the light of the Christ candle be reflected in your life? Are you prepared to “not hold your peace” but speak boldly about the sacrificial lamb of God that stoically held his peace, and died in your place?

February 26, 2017 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Advent Wreath Resolutions: Peace, Part II

As we enter the ninth week of 2017 and finish off the month of February, are you still keeping up with your Advent Wreath Resolutions? In this reminder post, I return to the peace candle.

Image used under creative commons license available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

As I noted in the first posting about the peace candle of the Advent Wreath, the word “peace” is used 420 times in the King James Version of the Scriptures. Among those 420 occurrences, there are at least six different connotations or meanings. These six connotations or conventions include:

use as a greeting or farewell, inquiring about one’s health or state of mind, or wishing one well;
an absence of internal or personal conflict, the state of internal harmony or completeness;
an absence of external or interpersonal conflict such as warfare or fighting between people, a state of external harmony;
the cessation of conflict, whether internal or external
the state of silence or quietness;
the state of death or heavenly rest.

The first time the word “peace” is used in the King James Version of Scriptures, it refers to death and burial.

R.I.P. – Rest in Peace. Image Courtesy of Presenter Media

In Genesis 15 we find God speaking to Abram in a dream.

¹²And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. ¹³And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; ¹⁴And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. ¹⁵And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. ¹⁶But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. ¹⁷And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. ¹⁸In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:” (Genesis 15: 12 – 18, KJV)

The English word “peace” in verse 15 comes from the Hebrew word שָׁלוֹם (shalom). The idea that death brings peace to the righteous is reinforced in Isaiah 57: 1 & 2

¹The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. ²He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.

This concept is not just an Old Testament construct. The most common New Testament Greek word that is translated “peace” is εἰρήνη (eirḗnē). It appears twice in Luke 2. The first time is part of the message that the angel and the heavenly host brought to the shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14, KJV). The second occurrence is part of the story of Simeon meeting Mary and Joseph and seeing Jesus at the Temple after his birth.

²⁵And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. ²⁶And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, ²⁸Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, ²⁹Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: ³⁰For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, ³¹Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; ³²A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2: 25-32, KJV)

One day, Simeon went to the Temple as he most likely did many days. On many of those trips, Simeon would have seen parents bring their children to the Temple to present them to God. However, on this particular day, the Holy Ghost had a special message and treat for him. On this day, he was to see God’s salvation for Israel and the whole world. Why was this important to Simeon? The Holy Ghost had promised Simeon that he would not “see death” until he had seen “the consolation of Israel.”

On the day when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, God’s promise of salvation to Israel and the whole world was wrapped up in the form of a baby. Simeon had now seen the individual through whom God would work out salvation. Simeon was satisfied and could now die, and “depart in peace.”

Have you gone to the Temple and seen God’s salvation? Are you prepared to depart in peace? Do your family, friends, and neighbors have the same peace of mind concerning their ultimate destination? What have you done to help them find that peace?

February 11, 2017 By B. Baylis Leave a Comment

Advent Resolutions: The Christ Candle – Light

We are into the second week into February. More than 10% of 2017 is gone and we will never get it back. Where are you in your New Year’s Advent Wreath Resolution?

mage used under creative commons license available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The large white candle in the center represents Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, the Light of the world. Jesus knocks on the door of our heart and invites us to follow Him. There are two types of light in this world: physical and spiritual. I believe Jesus is speaking of spiritual light here in John 8:12. He is claiming to be the only source of spiritual truth. Since He is the light of the world, he will enable us to see where we are going. If we follow in His footsteps we will stay on the path of righteousness.

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12, JKV)

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1, JKV)

Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Lighthouses are an international symbol of a beacon of safety and guidance. Some of them indicated the entrance into a harbor. Others showed sailors where dangerous cliffs and reefs lurked. Lighthouses kept sailors off the rocks in calm, as well as stormy weather. Christ, the living word and light of the world can keep us from running aground on the rocky shores of life or the shallows of a sandy beach. The light from a lighthouse can keep us safe amidst life’s storms and tempests. If Christ is on our side and guiding us, of whom or what should we be afraid? After all, he calmed the storm using just his words.

³⁸And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? ³⁹And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? ⁴¹And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4: 38-41, KJV)

God guided His people with His light throughout the whole Bible. In the wilderness, as the Hebrews fled Egypt, God used a pillar of a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire during the night to guide the steps of the Hebrews as they fled Egypt.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. (Exodus 13: 21 & 22, KJV)

With Christ guiding us, what is our final destination?

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. (Rev 21:22-24, JKV)

Are you glorifying and honoring God as the light of the world, as well as your life and world?

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord‘s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2: 2-5, KJV)

Is it ironic that the United Nations is man’s attempt to eliminate wars? How has that worked? Since the UN was founded after 1945, there have been more than 140 wars somewhere in the world. That’s an average of slightly more than two wars per year. Man’s only hope for peace is God, and walking in His way and in the light he provides us.

In 2017, are you walking in God’s light and working toward His peace? Are you helping others to find this path?