THE DECLINE AND FALL

"The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day." (Proverbs 4:18, NLT)

According to Edward Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire said that there were five major attributes that marked the closing days of the great Roman Empire. 1. There was an increasing love of show and luxury; that is, affluence. 2. There was a widening gap between the very rich and the very poor. 3. There was an obsession with sex. 4. There was a freakishness in the arts masquerading as originality and creativity. 5. There was an increased desire to live off the state.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Is our civilization really improving? Are we contributing towards the betterment of society? Is the world a better place because of your presence.

"Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people." (Philippians 2:15, NLT)

DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas. available from amazon.com.

Time to Sparkle

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.(Matthew 5:16, NKJV)

The Christian should stand out like a sparkling diamond. He should be wholesome, poised, courteous, gracious, but firm in the things he does and does not do. He should be radiant and refuse to allow the world to pull him down.

The greatest need of Christians is for disciplined living. The Apostle Paul said, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2, NLT)

God calls you today to dedicate your life to Christ and surrender totally and completely to Him, and live the life of discipleship that Jesus Christ asked for and expects from us.

From the book, DAY LIGHTERS by Nico Bougas. Available from Amazon.com

I Am a Lighthouse

It was a dark night off the Atlantic Coast, and the captain saw a disaster just ahead - a light that was on a collision course with his ship. There wasn't much time to get the other vessel to change course, so he urgently radioed this message: "Move ten degrees north immediately." The answer came back, "Move ten degrees south." Now this was no time for playing navigational games! With some growing aggravation, the captain answered back, "I'm a captain! You adjust your course ten degrees north." The reply came back: "I'm a seaman second class! Adjust ten degrees south." Well, at that point, the captain thundered his final word: "I'm a destroyer - adjust your course now!" And the answer came back: "I'm a lighthouse! Adjust your course!"

Don't try to move the lighthouse. Navigate with the lighthouse as your fixed point, unless you want to go aground. For those who belong to Jesus Christ, there is one lighthouse that is supposed to always govern what course we set. But over and over again, we set the course we want; often the course that is easiest and most convenient, ignoring the beam from the lighthouse that keeps us from ending up on the rocks.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. (John 8:12, NLT)