Skip to main content

The Log

Image
By
THIS POST was written by Corey Larson, one of the youth at Glory of Christ Fellowship. 


Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.-Mat 7:3-5

First off, I am writing this book because of the wonderful analogy the Lord has given me. It came to me when I was thinking of multiple popular verses and phrases (one being the log and the speck) and combining them together. They fit so perfectly I was shocked. I knew right then and there that it was from the Lord, and I wanted to share it with others. The verses above imply that the purpose of taking the log out of your own eye is to help your brother, which by all means is true, but is there another meaning that we should look at first?

We all know that in the story of the log and the speck, the log represents sin in our life, and that we must remove sin to help others with theirs. But what do you do with the logs in your life? And ultimately help others with theirs? Well, I believe that the Lord has given me the answer to that, and I am going to take you on a "backstage tour" on how to get there. The first step in this process is to reflect on your life, look at the sin you've done, and remove the log (sin) from your eye (your life). But are you now ready to help others with their sin? There is much more to do than to remove it, and think you are done.

To be set on fire for the Lord is a popular phrase these days. Many people use it to show or tell the measure of faith someone has. What if we combined the two analogies together? The product would be that you must take the log out of your eye, and set it on fire for the lord, as a sin offering, or a sacrifice. You must examine your life, take the sin out, and burn it for the Lord. But do you now think you are ready to help others? Just wait, there is more.

Take a look at the following verses.

No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand so that those who enter may see the light.-Luke 11:33

and

It is a burnt offering to the LORD. It is a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.-Exd 29:18b

So now you see that you have set your sin, (your offering) on fire for the Lord. But, are you now able to confront your brother about his sin? Before doing that, you need to make sure that your offering is visible to others. Your brother needs to SEE your sin burning on a pedestal for the Lord. This might sound like you’re bragging, but you are doing this for the Lord, and your brother needs to too. Tell him about where you were in your life, and how he can get to the Lord, so that the Lord can help him with his sin.

In Luke it talks about covering a lamp up with a basket. If your fire is the lamp, and you cover that lamp, how can people know you've changed? No one will listen to you because everyone will think you are a sinner same as them. If everyone were in a pit, no one would be able to get out. You need someone to hoist you out. You can't do it yourself. This is why you must show others that you have found a way. By setting your sin on fire for the Lord, and accepting him as the one who will hoist you out, you can show them that Jesus is the only way. Also, in the old testament it talks about pleasing aromas to the Lord. Specifically, how the smoke from the offering was pleasing to the Lord. Let's say you have a big enough basket to put over your sacrifice, what would happen? No smoke would come out! And thus, not your first fruits, or your best for the Lord.

So the key things you must do are:

1. Examine your life and find your sins.

2. Take the logs out of your life and set them on fire for the Lord.

3. Do not keep your sacrifice in secret, but show it openly to others.

I hope this was helpful, and that you will apply these truths to your life. 
Corey Larson

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 7, 2012 at 12:08 AM

    WOW!! This was so awesome to read Corey! Thank you for sharing this with us, there's definitely a LOT to think and pray about in what you said here. Way to go!

    ~Mrs. Veek
    :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more