Light

Light is truly a wonderful thing. It is a life-source; there can be no form of life without light.

Also light helps us to distinguish truth from error.  It helps us to see everything as it is.

Another cool thing about the light... when it's dark, and I can't see where I'm going, the light will show me where to place my steps.   If I need to go somewhere at night, or just maneuver around in a dark room, I need to find a flashlight, or a lamp, or a light switch, or my headlights... something to illuminate my path... to show me where I am, and to keep me from colliding with something and making a mess, or injuring myself somehow.  (I think we all know what happens when we try to head out in the dark, just guessing and feeling around best we can to find our way.  Ouch.  *smiles knowingly*)

The Bible uses the illustration of light numerous times, I guess because the Bible does the same things for us that light does.  It gives us spiritual life and vitality, it helps us to see concepts clearly, and it guides us as we make decisions and walk the path of life in a dark, uncertain world.  (Who wouldn't be gravitated to this amazing book?)

Actually, Bible tells us why most people avoid the truths of scripture.

"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."  John 3:19,20

People don't like the Bible because it shows them their sin and tells them to forsake it.

The honorable person, however, sees how terrible sin is and asks the Lord to cleanse it all out of their life.  Then they have nothing to hide.  They can come before the God's Word unashamedly and confidently, seeking purification and wisdom.

"But He who practices the truth comes to the light, that His deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  John 3:21

Abide in Christ, who is the Light of the world (John 14:6) and let the light of the truth of His Word guide you day by day (Psalms 119:105).  That light will fill your being and emanate through you for all the world to see...

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."  Ephesians 5:8

strength

“oh Father, I do not have the strength for this day…but You do! please help me…”
I don’t know where I first heard or read it, but this simple prayer is one I have used time and again. Often my lack of strength hits me before the day has even quite begun. In the dark of morning I find myself reviewing what I expect to meet me this day and when I am overwhelmed I find solace in crying out to God admitting my own inadequacy. Sometimes it is physical weariness that defeats me, other times it is emotional strain that makes me feel unable to meet the day. The certainty and uncertainties of our future can both be disheartening.

This use to be a once in a while prayer for me but lately I’ve been praying it more mornings than not as my days get busier and my infirmities multiply for this season. I’ve found myself discouraged laying in bed staring up at the knot holes in my wood ceiling telling the Lord that I yet again lack the strength for this day. But then it struck me…why should I be discouraged when I have to rely on God for my strength? Isn’t that what the Christian walk is all about? In fact God even tells us in His word that apart from HIM we can do nothing.

It’s O.K. if on our own strength we can not get through the day, we aren’t meant to do it alone! As comforting as this is I still find myself drawing back from it sometimes. “But I want to be able to do it on my own” my pride says “I want to be strong” Yes, I am discovering that one of the reasons I shrink from my trials is because I don’t like having to trust the Lord so completely in everyday ways.
          Yes, we may say we trust the Lord for our daily bread but what if that were literally all we had and each and every new day we had to wait on Him to provide our food?
          We may say all we do is in the Lord’s strength but what if we had a physical ailment that meant each and every day we had to trust the Lord for strength to complete the simplest tasks, like walking?

 It’s a lot closer to home when we truly run out of strength and have to lean completely on God morning after morning after morning… But dear sisters that is what we are suppose to do anyway! God does not lead us into these intense periods of dependence because He wants to scare us, or because He is mean. No!! He brings us here because He knows that the only trustworthy thing in our lives is Him! He knows that we can never be secure or have peace even when things are going good if we are relying on something or someone other than Him to take us through. And sometimes the only place we learn these thing if when “we pass through the waters“.

Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8

love like THAT

"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."
Ephesians 5:1,2

Isn't that beautiful?

Think of a little boy who tries to be just like his daddy, or a little girl who attempts to imitate her mommy.   The child may not be doing a very good job, but isn't is a sweet thing to see, as a parent?  Also, as the child gets older, he or she often does become very much like their parent!  (You become like the one you most admire and spend time with).

I want to love the way Jesus loved...  Don't you?  His love is very special, so unlike the superficial love that the most of the world offers.  

Humans will (for the most part) only extend love based upon what they can get from you-- they are selfish.  In contrast, Jesus loves everyone without expecting anything in return.  He even loves the people who curse His holy Name and are on their way to hell... because His love is unconditional.  He loved those people enough to die for them.  (Can you do that?  I know I would struggle to love, let alone die for, someone who hated me!)

God the Father saw that love... the perfect, sacrificial love of Jesus, and it pleased Him.  It was like a beautiful aroma to Him.

I want to love like that! Or at least try to!

Here are 10 aspects of God's love.  (examples from Exodus chapter 20)

1. love is LOYAL "You shall have no other gods before Me" (vs.3)
2. love is FAITHFUL "You shall not make for yourself a carved image" (vs.4)
3. love is REVERENT "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain" (vs.7)
4. love is INTIMATE "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" (vs.8)
5. love is RESPECTFUL "Honor your father and your mother" (vs.12)
6. love is HARMLESS "You shall not murder" (vs.13)
7. love is PURE "You shall not commit adultery" (vs.14)
8. love is UNSELFISH "You shall not steal" (vs.15)
9. love is TRUTHFUL "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (vs.16)
10. love is CONTENT "You shall not covet... anything that is your neighbor's" (vs.17)

It may be hard to love this way all the time, but if we surrender ourselves to the control of our loving (and forgiving) Father and let Him chip away at the parts of us which are faulty, over time, we are molded more and more into His perfect image. It may seem like an overwhelming sacrifice, but at the same time, it also is like casting off a huge burden... just knowing that God can do anything.

"You shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect."  Matthew 5:48

"That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man."  Ephesians 3:16

Blessing

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has blessed us IN CHRIST

with EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING in the heavenly places, 

even as HE CHOSE US in Him 

before the foundation of the world,

that we should be HOLY AND BLAMELESS before Him.
Ephesians 1:3-4

We lack nothing in Christ! 

 He chose us to be holy and blameless before Him, and He has given us everything we need to become so. 

What a gift! If I am not what He wants me to be, it is not because He has neglected to offer the grace, but because I have neglected to receive it.

Seasons of Life

  "To everything there is a season,
 A time for every purpose under heaven:
A time to be born,
And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
A time to kill,
And a time to heal;
 A time to break down,
And a time to build up;
A time to weep,
And a time to laugh;
 A time to mourn,
And a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to gain,
And a time to lose;
 A time to keep,
And a time to throw away;
A time to tear,
And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
And a time to speak;
A time to love,
And a time to hate;
 A time of war,
And a time of peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Universal Longing

"Our hearts are restless until they find rest in Him..." 
-Augustine

EVERY person who has ever lived and will live-- even people who would call themselves atheists-- all have a deep-set longing for something that transcends... something outside of themselves and all that we are capable attaining physically.

"...He has put eternity in their hearts..." Ecclesiastes 3:11

The Lord God has created each of us with a built-in desire for His love.  A built-in knowledge of the fact that there is more to this life than the normal, day-to-day things we experience.

All of us, naturally, at some point, will notice a hollow space in our lives; and feel this crazy, wistful, longing deep within our souls.  

We scramble so desperately to fill that empty spot in our hearts; it's just so painful to ignore... but even more painful than that is the reality that all earthly, materialistic, or sensual pleasures can't and won't satisfy that craving, but instead, leave you even more depressingly empty and hungry than you were before.

That missing piece of your life can only be truly filled with the love of Jesus Christ.

It's what all mankind is searching for.