Ashamed – Page 2 – Praying Pint

9.c. “And gladness dries up from the children of man.”

Joel 1:4 What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white. Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth. The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord. The fields are destroyed, the ground mourns, because the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil languishes. Be ashamed, O tillers of the soil; wail, O vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man.

This total devastation of the land is the result of the plague of locusts. The nation has become a disaster area. The Lord calls upon different segments of the population to mourn and repent. What we might call a natural disaster is actually a judgment of God upon the people of Judah. Joel tells them why the locusts have come and to mourn and repent. Mourn over their loss and repent (turn away from) of the things they were doing, not being obedient to God nor living in such a way to bring Him honor and glory. I do wonder about all of the “natural disasters” we are seeing with seemingly much more frequency. Is not God in control of all things? Yes, He is. Are these judgments, reminders, or times of testing for us? What are we to learn from them? We know that the increase in frequency brings us much closer to the return of Jesus Christ. How much more frequent and widespread do they have to be before we look to heaven with expectant hearts for the return of Jesus? Not much I would think. He could return today. When we look at this wide overarching spread of Corona virus you have to wonder how much longer will the return of Jesus Christ for His church be. The message is clear in Joel, “Repent”. Could the Corona virus be God’s last call to repentance before the return of Jesus? The point is to look for and expect the return of Jesus at any moment. “For if they had known what time the thief would come they would have been prepared” but they were not prepared. The parable that this comes from was a warning to those who don’t give thought to Christ and to those who think they are already right before God but are not. Some may wonder what they have to repent from. This is a fair question. What they don’t know and what they don’t care about from God’s word leaves them unknowing. Avoidance, neglect, and being complacent with God’s Word will never lead a person to repentance. Only when God’s Word is desired and sought with a heart and soul-deep want is when the Holy Spirit will lead us to places within our hearts that we need to repent of. Don’t neglect His word. Don’t wait for a disaster to land on your front doorstep before you seek God. Don’t wait for things around you to crumble into ruin to desire God. Look deep into His word with a heart and mind that wants to be changed in ways that will honor and glorify Him alone.

5.s. “Are the comforts of God too small for you?”

Job 15:11 Are the comforts of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?

2 Corinthians 1:3-5    Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Isaiah 51:12    “I, I am he who comforts you; who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, of the son of man who is made like grass,

Psalms 34:2-6    My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!  I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.  This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.

John 14:18     “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:16     And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

John 14:26   But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17     Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,  comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.

Asking the question, “Are the comforts of God too small for you?” is good of us to ask of ourselves. Too often we are not content with God supplied comforts or of His word that deals gently with us. Too often we are not content with the “Helper”, “Holy Spirit” because we have closed our hearts and mind to Him. We find that yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit is lacking in our daily life and wonder what it even means to be lead by the Holy Spirit. One reason we may not hear the leading of the Holy Spirit is that we have not cultivated an ear to hear Him speak into our lives. We can certainly seek and desire to have this leading but being actively listening requires an intentional choice to not only hear but to be willingly going where and doing what the Holy Spirit is leading us. Another reason why we may not hear the leading of the Holy Spirit is that we are not willing to wait for this leading and we move forward in our own strength, power, and wisdom. When we do this we leave no room for God’s will to be done but rather what our will expects to be done. Another reason why we may not hear the leading of the Holy Spirit is that we are complacently walking in sin.

Whatever the reason for walking apart from the leading of the Holy Spirit there will always be the consequences of lacking power, faith, joy, peace, love, generosity, courage, faith, and hope in our life. In this lacking, we will find ourselves being content with worldly things and allowing them to bring meaningless meaning to our lives. “Are the comforts of God too small for you”

4.z. They are ashamed because they were confident

Job 6:20 They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed.

Jeremiah 17:13     O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.

Isaiah 45:16-17   All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together.  But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity.

Romans 5:5    and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 9:33    as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

There is a hope that drives people into confidence. Depending on what this hope is will lead a person to eternity with God or eternity apart from God. The difference is where their hope is. If their hope is in Jesus Christ and their heart desire is to honor, serve, follow, trust, and obey Him with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength all the days of their life, Eternity with God is promised. If their hope is in or on anything else they will spend eternity in Hell apart from God and in torment.

The problem with confidence is that it can blind us to things of God. It places other things in front of or in place of God. You can be confident in a lie because you do not seek out the truth. You can be confident in something that is not of God because you have chosen to turn a deaf ear and blind eye to Him. You can be confident in a lukewarm, neglectful, and complacent life of service to God because things of this world have captured your heart. “They are ashamed because they were confident.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ leaves no room for our confidence to be in or on anything else. Yet, we live like this, don’t we? We desire and chase after things of this world that will not last and do not strengthen our walk with Jesus or mature us in knowledge and understanding of Him. In this chasing, we water the flame of hope in Jesus Christ to something less than a spark from an ember. The world has a way to entice and draw our hope away from Jesus Christ. It tries to get us to place our hope in other stuff, activities, and shiny things of this world.

When our hope is in Jesus Christ we will find peace, rest, joy, strength, courage, and love. We will never be ashamed. We will have confidence in Him who has promised great things to those who trust in, rely on, and cling to Him.

3.b. Who sets his heart to seek God?

2 Chronicles 30:1 So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them. However, some men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord.

And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great assembly. They set to work and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away and threw into the brook Kidron. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. And the priests and the Levites were ashamed, so that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. They took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses the man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. For a majority of the people, many of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise than as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.” And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might to the Lord. And Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast for another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of Judah gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests consecrated themselves in great numbers. The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, and the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. Then the priests and the Levites arose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to his holy habitation in heaven.

Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

When the men Hezekiah sent out to invite people to come to Jerusalem and celebrate the Passover there were those who mocked and laughed at them and then there were others who humbled themselves and came. This is much like the invitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our responsibility to proclaim it and the responsibility of our hearers to humbly take hold of it or reject it. We never know what the condition of the person’s heart is we are talking to. We never know the working of God in their heart. We never know. However, we do know we are to proclaim the light of Jesus Christ to a dark and lost world. We are to reflect the light of Jesus Christ, to His honor and glory, to every person we come into contact with throughout every moment of every day. We know what we say and the actions of our life should be a testimony to the gospel and Jesus Christ. In this “living out our faith” others hear and see how we humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, follow, trust and obey Jesus Christ. Our heart and mind are desiring to practice our faith and service to our Lord and Savior. His word is a lamp unto our feet and light to our soul.

Spend time in His word and proclaim the wondrous glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

159. Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

1 Kings 18:20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

Matthew 6:24     “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

Romans 6:16-22    But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

1 Corinthians 10:21-22    You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.  Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

2 Corinthians 6:14-16   Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Revelation 3:15-16    “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!  So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

Psalms 100:3    Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Matthew 22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Tabletalk Magazine; God is not interested in halfhearted commitment. He will either have our hearts in their entirety, or He will have nothing to do with us at all. Ultimately, God only demands one thing—our full commitment to Him. We were made for our Creator, and He will not share us with another. He will not have us as His if we try to divide our ultimate allegiance between Him and anything else. In Elijah’s day, many in Israel tried to serve God and someone else on the side. We are ever tempted to do the same. Let us remember the One for whom we were made that we might realize that we can be satisfied in Him alone.

No one can serve two masters. Satan disguises it very well in our culture to the point we don’t even know we are doing it. It soon gets to a point where we cling to our sin and try to cling to Jesus too. We can not have it both ways. 1John 2:15–17: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

The truth is that we can not buy into both realms because we will certainly be devoted to one over the other. That is the problem, isn’t it? We want both and want to have the Lord’s blessings to do it. That is not going to happen. Why does scripture tell us to keep our eyes on Jesus, heaven, eternity and not on things of this world that pull us down paths away from God? Don’t try to keep one foot in the world and one in Christian faith. We deceive ourselves into thinking we can have both. We end up lukewarm, inefficient, blind, deaf, stiff-necked, fruitless, faithless, and forsaking the sacrifice/torture Jesus gave to us on the cross so that we can live abundant and fruitful lives in and through Him.

39. Guide me in your truth and teach me

1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Psalms 25:5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Psalms 119:160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

Psalms 145:18 The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

John 18:37 “You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

1 Corintians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

I heard Charles Swindoll speaking on truth and it got me to thinking about what is the truth. It is hard to tell what is truth or lies. Truth for us is surrounded by perception. What we declare as absolute truth someone else can see it as false. We listen to media outlets speak of their truth and it is hard to tell because of how they spin the article. The same can be said about those who are called out by the media. When caught in an outright lie they respond with “I’m sorry for the confusion” or “that is not true” and we are left to determine what is true by our perception of what we have heard or read. It has been said “how do you know if a politician is lying? When they open their mouth”

We can see pictures that accompany an article and are convinced of the truth, only to find out that the pictures were staged. We don’t have to look far into social media to see how people will tell us “all is well” they support this with pictures of smiling faces and no troubles in their relationships, finances, employment. The fact is that we have no way to determine truth from lies in this world.

There is one truth that we can believe “God” and “His word”. It is impossible for God to lie. It is impossible for God to judge improperly. His plans are never wrong. His purposes are never wrong.

We choose to believe the truth of Him through His word, or we choose to believe some of it and lie to ourselves that the rest does not apply to us. We choose to believe the truth of His love, Jesus Christ, salvation, heaven, eternity and then somehow choose to believe wrath, judgment, anger, sin, complacency, neglect, discipline, rebuke, and testing are not true enough to even give a second thought about. If we spend time in His word we see that this way of thinking is believing in lies that our culture influences our heart, mind, and soul with. We believe the lie we are “ok enough” or “not bad as others” or that there is some kind of grading scale by which we will be approved” or “I’m saved by grace and therefore I have no need of works” or “I will get serious about God in my life when I am not so busy” or “God won’t know or doesn’t see” or “God is a God of love and will not display anger or wrath against me” or “I have done enough good to stand before God on the day of judgment”….

In our unholiness, it is hard for us to understand the Holiness of God. It is hard to understand that “He is withholding His wrath and anger” in light of this time of “His Steadfast Love, Grace, and Mercy”

Being luke-warm, neglectful, complacent, stiff-necked, with a hardened heart, dull ears, closed eyes, and not seeing a need of forgiveness, disobedience, double-minded, prideful, lustful, greedy, causing and living in confusion, anxiousness, and grumbling, these are results of chasing after and believing lies.

Peace, joy, love, gentleness, kindness, hope, forgiven, strength, power, courage, humbleness, rest, order, purpose, meaning, eyes and ears open, and heart, mind, and soul desiring and seeking to serve, honor, glorify, follow and obey God are results of believing God’s truth.

Make it an intentional daily plan to spend time in His word of TRUTH.

Behold this was the guilt

“while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived”

Genesis 19:1  The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant’s house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.”

Leviticus 18:22     You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

Leviticus 20:13    If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

Judges 19:22    As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.”

Isaiah 1:9    If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

Isaiah 3:9    For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

Jeremiah 6:15     Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD.

Matthew 11:23-24    And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Romans 1:23-24     and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,…. 26  For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error

1 Corinthians 6:9    Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

Jude 1:7     just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.

Truth from God’s word. Warning with a promise of punishment given to man to give them choice. Choosing a life path contrary to God’s word will have consequences. Choosing to teach and speak as though God’s word and promises are but fairy tales and false hopes will have eternal consequences. Just because all are doing it or tolerating it, does not make it right.

The sin of Sodom was clear and stated in Ezekiel 49 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” We also know what this led too, an entire city with like mind where the natural course for man was perverted.

Do you ever wonder where it starts or how it starts? How could everyone be on the same page? How could they not know it was wrong? It all starts with one step, in one moment, on a single day where someone chooses to abandon following God. It could be a parent leading their children astray, which could lead to another generation moving one step further away and the impact of one generation after another each stepping further and further away from God until they give no thought of Him or honoring Him, or serving Him.

Do you ever ask yourself what am I doing to ensure my children are not caught up in the culture of liberation, entitlements, truth is just what you make of it, God is not real and does not exist? Do you ever wonder if your children see a difference in the way you live, think, act, and speak?

I am convinced now more than ever we need people who call themselves christians need to be more than intentional in their walk with God. More intentional in prayer. More intentional in reading and thinking about God’s word.. More intentional in living to honor, serve, worship, follow and obey God. Maybe we save our family, our towns, our nation. It all starts with one person in one family to live seeking God’s plan and purpose with all their heart, mind , and soul.

Fully convinced

Genesis 17:15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Romans 4:19-20 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Hebrews 11:11-19 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Faith is somewhat of a mystery. Scripture says it is the “substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” In this mystery we find salvation and forgiveness of sin. We find strength for today and hope for tomorrow. We experience peace when things around us are falling apart. We find joy in the midst of trials. We learn to lean not on our own understanding but through prayer we, by faith, let our requests be know to God. By faith we trust He will guide, direct, protect, and care for our needs. By faith we wake each day knowing He is in control and has a perfect plan and purpose for our day. By faith we acknowledge His unlimited steadfast love and control over all.

Light of the world

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”

“ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”

“for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”

Psalms 107:10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron.

Luke 1:79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Isaiah 42:7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Exodus 2:23-24 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

Job 36:8-9 And if they are bound in chains and caught in the cords of affliction, then he declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.

Romans 6:20-21 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

1 Thessalonians 5:4-5 But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

I wonder if we get confused with what is light and what is darkness. For sure we know the physical difference between night and day, light and dark. However when it comes to sin darkness, do we see it? do we own it? do we understand it? do we know the author of darkness? When it comes to sin darkness, sometimes, it binds us in chains, blinds our eyes, and makes our senses unable to see or feel the love and light of Christ. We grope around trying to find a path forward. Sometimes we end up in darkness be cause we neglect the light. Other times we just plan fail to run to the light, choosing rather to remain in the darkness. What are we to do when we see someone in darkness? Show them the light. Encourage them with the light. Proclaim the light. And at other times allow the light of Christ flow through you. We all have found ourselves in darkness. Allow God to use you as a light to others and always pointing to Him alone.

Stubborn and rebellious

“Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.”

“Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.”

Psalms 106:6 Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

Psalms 78:8 and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Leviticus 26:40 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,

Numbers 32:14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel!

1 Kings 8:47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’

Ezra 9:6-7 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.

Nehemiah 9:16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.

Daniel 9:5-8 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame,

Acts 7:51-52 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

Stiff-necked, open to shame, not obeying, turned heart, walking contrary, resisting, not listening, unfaithful spirit, rebellious, and stubborn, all speak of the conditions of man in relationship to God when neglect and complacency creep into everyday life. Some how cares of this world, pride, and lust close our heart, mind, and soul to God. Everyday is a choice to open up to the leading of the Holy Spirit and hear the quiet whispers of God that leads us to humbly serve, honor, glorify, listen to, follow, and obey Him. His word is gives light in darkness, guides our path, and is full of wisdom, power, truth, encouragement, strength, and hope. Feeding on His word gives food to our heart and soul. It keeps us ever learning of His awesome power, might and steadfast love to those who choose to humbly serve and follow Him, and His fierce anger and wrath to those who choose to live each day for their own purpose, their own gain, their own wants, their own pleasure, and their own honor without regard of God. How do we know of sin, or if we are pleasing God, or if we are leading our children (the next generation) away from God, or if we are doing things contrary to His will, if we are committed fully each day to serving Him and His purposes, not spending daily time in His word, and not listening for and to His whispers of guidance. How are we to know of our sin and get to a place in our heart and soul where we are ashamed and confess, if His word is not feeding them? Through His word we find purpose for living each day. Apart from His word we see only that which leads us astray and on a very slippery slope away from Him. How can we understand God’s grace, mercy, and love if we have no understanding of sin? How do we know the need for forgiveness if we have no understanding of sin? How can we have an understanding of sin and what is pleasing and unpleasing to God apart from His word? How do we have a hope for eternal life apart from His word. How do we know our sins are forgiven apart from His word? Forgiveness is given to those who have had their heart and mind opened by God’s word and see their sinfulness and need of forgiveness and then believe in and trust in and cling to and rely on Jesus Christ. Their hope of eternal life with Christ is build on nothing else.