Rhonda Adamson Writes!!!

     Thanksgiving, 2008 has flown away, faster than a turkey could flap its wings, faster than seven guests, plus my household of three, could amass mounds of food-spattered pots, pans, and silverware.  (My husband prevailed upon me to use Chinet® this year.  He was right!) When I do dishes, I am thankful; because lots of dirty dishes mean that there used to be lots of food to eat.

     In my area of Illinois, a cement plant is closing down.  So far that's the extent of massive job losses of which I'm aware.  While people haven't reached the panic point, there's a definite unease and uncertainty prevailing. This year, more than ever, Christmas at our house will be less about numerous gifts under a tree and more about the Generous Gift Christ Accomplished on a Tree.  See Mark, chapters 15 and 16 in The Holy Bible.

     So, what do I want for Christmas?  It's a gift that can't be given to me by my children, my husband, my friends from church, or by my relatives.  I want a gift that will grow with me from this point until the day I walk into eternity in white, linen clothing. The gift I want can only come if I cling to the risen, victorious Christ.

    I Want (Psalm 133)

By Rhonda Adamson, copyright 2008

Sometimes my thought life resembles

an erratic, messy teenager's room.

My mind's floor has knots and tangles

where selfish ambition grows like mushrooms.

But I want a heavy anointing, LORD,

as heavy as dawn's dew on Mount Hermon,

like precious oil on Aaron's head and beard.

Yes, I want a heavy anointing, LORD,

as heavy as oil on an envelope,

mixed with swirls of food color and water.

To move from mediocrity,

mixed with elements of sin's stubborness,

to live within Christ's purity,

I'll cling to Christ, who died upon the cross.

John 1:8 "He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light." 

     John the Baptist knew his place in God's cosmic scheme.  He knew what God wanted from him.  John did exactly what God wanted.  He defined himself by his purpose in life. 

     His mission (to be a witness to the light) determined his occupation (preaching and baptizing); which determined his definition of himself (see verse 23 & 26).  John the Baptist's definition determined his declarations (see John 1:35; 3:27-36). John the Baptist's declarations led to his final earthly destination: prison and martyrdom.  See Matthew 14:1-12.   John the Baptist's destiny included Jesus' commendation:

     Right before John the Baptist's gruesome death (beheaded with a sword), Jesus commended John the Baptist.  Here is what Matthew 11:1-18 says: After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.  When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.  Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

    As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John:  "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind?  If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in king's palaces.  Then what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.  This is the one about whom is written: 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'

     I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom is greater than he.  From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of God has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.  For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.  He who has ears, let him hear.

    "To what can I compare this generation?  They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

"'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

We sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners."'  But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

      What is your mission in life? Does your mission match your occupation?How do you define yourself?

    Think back over yesterday.  What were your declarations, the things you said in your mind or out loud about yourself and others? What you say in many ways will shape your destination. 

    Someday, I will reach my eternal destination.  My physical life on earth will cease.  But my eternal life will never stop because I believe in Jesus as the Jewish and Gentile Messiah, the Anointed One who delivered me from my dreadful sin.  When I stand before the great white throne (Revelation 20:11-15), will the Triune God give me commendations?

Do you know your purpose in life?

John 1:7 "He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe."

     John the Baptist lived a relatively short life, less than forty years.  The life he lived helped many people believe.  His influence spans the first century until this day. 

     Every person who lives on Earth changes and influences other people.  Because I live, there are people who decided to follow Jesus.  That's an eternal impact on Earth.  Because I live, there are people who did not commit suicide.  That, too, eternally impacts planet Earth and its people.  Because I live, and married Steve, two daughters now live.  I wonder what their influence is and will be? 

     What is your purpose in life?  Who do you influence and in what ways? What is your life story?  How has God walked with you in good and bad times?

John 1:6 (NIV) There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John."

     The Bible talks about three men with the name of John: John the Baptist, John the Beloved (who wrote the Gospel of John and 1, 2 & 3 John), and John Mark (Acts 13:13; Acts 12:12; Acts15:36-39.) You can find references to John the Baptist in Matthew 3; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 1:5-25,39-45,57-80,3:1-20,7:18-35; John 1:6-8,19-40,3:22-35. 

      John the Baptist lived miraculously from the moment of conception, to his manner of living, to his message.  Just in case you didn't take the time to read the Scriptures I cited about John the Baptist, let me fill you in:  Luke chapter 1 tells us,

"In the time of Herod king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.  Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly.  But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. 

     Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.  And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

     Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.  When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.  But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.  Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name of John. . . ."

     Now, if you haven't already grabbed your Bible and started reading it for yourself, why don't you?  There's so much more to John the Baptist's story!     Fast forward thirty years, and you'll discover that John the Baptist lived miraculously in the dessert, eating locusts and honey, wearing clothes like prophets would wear, and preaching a hard hitting message:  "Get right with God, NOW! The Messiah is coming!"

    God designed each of us for a unique reason.  If a  person finds that purpose in life and stays close to God, then that person's life is full of God's blessing.  John the Baptist found his purpose in life and did exactly what God wanted him to do.  What about you?  do you know why God created you?

      I have a sister named Donna Ammons.  She and her husband Chuck have lived very dramatic lives.  Here is a quote from Royal Family Kids' Camps newsletter, March 1, 2007: "In August 2002, the 100th Royal Family Kids Camp was born in Southaven, Mississippi.  We believe this to be our destiny, ordained from the foundations of the world ... God had birthed a dream, facilitated its reality, and we stood AMAZED that God allowed us to participate."  www.rfkc.org

John 1:5 "The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (NIV)

 "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." (KJV)

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it." (Jewish New Testament)

     There once was a little girl who lived in an unhappy home.  She heard that friendship with Jesus, plus obedience to His Word would bring true light into her life.  So she made a Friend and she obeyed the Bible.   Her life became a blessing to her family. She lived her life reflecting the True Light (Jesus).  She understood that Jesus would walk with her during her difficult times; so she began the process of overcoming the sin-cycles that caused havoc within her family.

     There once was another little girl, living in an unhappy home.  She heard about friendship to Jesus, and about obeying God's Word.  But the depths of her depression prevented her from becoming a friend of Jesus.  Thus, her lifestyle coninued in ever-increasing darkness.  She lived her life reflecting the values found in soap operas.   Her family of origin began  sin-cycles that she struggled with during her adult years.  In fact, her adult years brought increasing numbers of bondages.  Her life can be summed up by the song, "OOPS! I did it again."

John 1:4 "In him was life, and that life was the light of men."

Imagine a person who excells in everything.  I picture a person who stays in perfect control of his emotions and actions.  As a result, this person has no behavioral addictions and no need for medications. This person has no health issues, with no expectation of a future death.  This person multitasks continually with no signs of stress.  He's so smart and talented in every field of knowledge and in every form of art that He teaches all who want to learn.

This person is a paragon in every area of life: relationships, wisdom and skill-sets.  This person is the apex of all life.  This person is the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Greek word used for life is zoe (both are long vowels).  Zoe is the highest form of life.  The phrase "light of men" means more than physical light.  It means understanding and intelligence. Jammieson, Fasset & Brown say, " . . . all this light of men begins in the essential original life of the Word."

Here are some verses in John that talk about either life or light:

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:19-21 "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

John 5:24-26 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.  I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself."

John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

John 9:5 "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

John 11:25 "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;"

John 12:35 & 36a "Then Jesus told them, 'You are going to have the light just a little while longer.  Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you.  The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.  Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light."

John 12:46 "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness."

John 12:50 "I know that his command leads to eternal life.  So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say."

John 1:3 (NIV) "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

     So far in John we've seen these concepts: The Word's eternality (In the beginning was the Word), equality (and the Word was with God) and deity (and the Word was God). Then, verse two emphazises these ideas by repeating, "He was with God in the beginning."

Verse three discusses one of my favorite aspects of life: creativity! Place me anywhere where there is an artistic endeavor, and there you'll find a happy woman.  A symphony! A God-honoring movie! A well written, thought laden book! An oil, acrylic or water color painting! These are things that delight me.  Well, guess what? The humanities also delight God.  He is the original Creator, the first Creator.  And all things created by humans point to our perfectly Creative God. 

The Complete Biblical Library, with co-editors Ralph W. Harris, MA, Stanley Horton, ThD, and Gayle Garrity Seaver, JD, Springfield, MO says, "Man can only rearrange what is already there.  God alone can create."

It is possible to spend hours researching "Creation Stories" from various people groups.  Here are a few websites, containing ideas that often run contrary to what Genesis chapter one in the Bible declares:

http://www.internet-at-work.com/hos_mcgane/creation/csbutterfly.html This website conveniently gives access to creation stories from around the world. I printed off Austrailia's myth about the birth of butterflies, a Middle Eastern myth of Gilgamesh, a myth from New Zealand, and an Aztec Creation story.

From http://the-office.com/bedtime-story/apache-creation.htm came an Apache story that tries to explain how the world was created.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/mmp/mmp5.htm reveals ancient Peru's Incan ideas about creation.

After reading about all these mythical gods and their actions, it refreshed me to go back to the simple, logical truth revealed in Genesis 1:1-2:3. 

Here are two interesting websites that talk about the legend of the dogwood tree.  One is in poetic form and has a picture (Yeah! Creativity!); and the other is text only:

http://www.greatwoodcarvings.com/dogwood_legend.html

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/trees/dogwood.html

I believe it was George Washington Carver who invented peanut butter.  He wanted a cheap and nutritious food source.  So he asked God to reveal to him the secrets of the peanut.  Guess what God did? God showed George how to manufacture many products, including peanut butter, from the tiny peanut. 

Now, while this post may seem random and full of so many disparate thoughts, I can assure you that God's creativity reflects a perectly ordered thought cycle.  So, let's go back to the text book that makes perfect sense of the universe and at the same time reveals the creative genius of our Creator. "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

(NIV)1:1 & 2:"In the beginning was the Word," = Jesus eternally existed.

"And the Word was with God" = Jesus co-existed with God.

"And the Word was God" = Jesus equals God.

"He was with God in the beginning." = A person, not just a philosophical concept, such as was common in ancient thinking, A person named Jesus co-existed with God eternally.

      The Jewish and Greek backgrounds for "Logos" or "the Word" include concepts of creative power, the reason for the world and natural events, and the reason for morality.  The Apostle John uses the word "Logos" to go beyond philosopher's definitions and to declare in verses four and five that the "Logos" gave life, and that life gives light to mankind. 

      The revelation that there is "Logos" which not only gave life through creation, but also gives spiritual light to mankind certainly went beyond ancient ideas about the universe.  The Greeks worshipped many gods, but none of those gods could give both light and spiritual life. In fact, there are countless mythological stories about gods who could not even control their own passions.  These gods certainly could not show mankind how to fully live.

     So John the beloved says that this Logos who existed in the beginning was both with God and was God.  This Logos created all that was made and then this Logos went beyond mere existence and mere creation.  This Logos went into the realm of interacting with mankind by giving spiritual life to all who would trust and be faithful to God.

      Verses one and two look like a logical and literary formula designed to inform readers of the truth and counteract falsehoods.  My Full Life Study Bible says on page 1580, "According to several ancient sources, the elderly apostle John, while residing at Ephesus, was requested by the elders of Asia to write this "spiritual gospel" in order to counteract and refute a dangerous heresy about the nature, person and deity of Jesus led by a persuasive Jew named Cerinthus.  John's Gospel continues to serve the church as a profound theological statement about "the truth" as it is incarnate in Jesus Christ."

The Word in Life Study Bible says on page 1856, "It is difficult to say with certainty to whom this Gospel was addressed.  It uses both Jewish and Greek thought forms in its presentation of Christ, and appears to have been written for the widest possible readership.  Whoever the intended audience was, the purpose of the book is clear: that through this document they would come to saving faith in Christ (John 20:31).

It is widely believed that the John who wrote the Gospel is the one who, late in his life, was exiled for a time on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, where he wrote the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1:9).  According to tradition, John was eventually allowed to return to Ephesus, where he died sometime after Trajan became emperor of Rome in AD 98.  Thus the Gospel is believed to have been written in Ephesus sometime during the 90s."

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