Categories
Sanctification

A Fresh View of the Light

Here lately, I have thought about the Light. I’ve coincidentally been exposed to the topic of the Light from my daily Bible study, devotional time, a MacArthur sermon, and singing in my head, “This little Light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”

Frankly, I believe my thinking of the Light is a result of my not thinking about the Light. I mean, I live it, but I haven’t really consciously thought of it in a while. 

I am glad to be thinking of it now. And the following verses resonate in my inner man…

John 1:5
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 8:12
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world, He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Job 33:29-30
Behold, God works all these things, Twice, in fact, three times with a man, To bring back his soul from the Pit, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

Ephesians 5:8-10
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

So what strikes me is that all my talking about Godly things is a form of light shining. My suggestions to my family to do right and tell the truth are a form of light shining. Could my texting “Jesus is Lord” to an iPhone App game opponent after beating them on a music game with various songs (but specifically death metal music in this case) be a form of light shining?

Lord, I pray that I grow even more in my comprehension of the light You’ve given me. Let me faithfully shine it brighter and brighter!

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

Peace,
Jim

Categories
Of the Redeemed Sanctification

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength

Joy is such a wonderful thing… a precious thing to maintain once you have been blessed with it. Oh how my heart leaps for the Joy of the Lord!

Listen to this… Over the past few days, I have studied into one of my private sins, the sin of discontent. Why? This sin has dogged me time and again all my life. And since my conversion, my discontent centered around God’s apparent slowness in the things I would be glad for Him to do.

I knew this was an area of my life that I was reserving for myself, and not giving it over to the Lord. I was compelled to deal with it. This I knew and yet didn’t abide by it: Who am I that I should complain to my Maker? Can a pot say anything to the Potter?

John MacArthur’s sermon on complaining (that I listened to the past couple of days) brought me face to face with Lamentations 3:39- Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?

My pride was the culprit again, doh!

And so, with the working out of my salvation, with prayer and effort, I drew close to God and He drew close to me. And anytime you draw close to God with a clear conscience, you enter into His lovingkindness, which is most certainly abounding in joy. Consequently, I was again blessed with joy!

Now watch this…

Just this morning, I read Oswald Chambers’ devotion for April 14th… discussing the sin of complaining! (See how God orders all our circumstances!) Oswald cited a verse that hit me like a flash of light…

Nehemiah 8:10b
… the joy of the Lord is your strength. 

Yes! That’s it!

Think this through with me:

  1. When I humble myself and yield to the Lord, I am then dependent and “weak”.
  2. This very manner of spirit I am in puts me into the right relationship with Almighty God.
  3. Being intimate with God, I sense His lovingkindness.
  4. With experiencing His lovingkindness, I become blessed with His joy.

Now this joy transcends all manner of circumstances, good and bad. And discontent never becomes even a momentary thought.

This joy sustains me in any trial. It all makes perfect sense.

The Lord helped me understand that His joy really is my strength! Seeing this clearly also causes me to see that my prayers for effective Christian living are being answered!

This is almost too much to comprehend 🙂

Praise be to God!
Jim