bright – Praying Pint

8.u. The Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Can you even begin to imagine what heaven is going to be like? No sickness, being in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, no more curse , no more darkness, no more lies, etc……worshiping them forever and ever in perfect peace and rest. It is hard to think what life, culture, and society would be like without sin. Our thoughts are clouded in a dense fog of understanding. Even the thought of a sinless world is beyond our comprehension. And yet we are given glimpses of what it is going to be like. Could you imagine what your life would be like if there was no pride, greed, lust, hate, self-worth, self-reliance, self-justified, and many other self-centered acts we commit each day. Many times we are not even aware of how self-centered we are unless we are seeking God to expose it to us. Remember how David put it; “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Our hearts are very deceiving and in them we hide away from what it means to give our whole heart, mind, and soul to humbly serving, following, obeying, and trusting Jesus Christ. We keep scripture at arms length so that we can’t hear the guiding whispers of the Holy Spirit. We apply that which is pleasing to the way we choose to live but do not seek that which is pleasing to Jesus Christ. If we did more time would be spent in His Word than we do on everything else that easily occupies our time. Given the verses today we should want to be practicing total service and worship of Jesus Christ right now. Just try to spend 10 minutes per day in His Word for the next 30 days and see what Jesus Christ opens your understanding too.

8.e. The nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.

Revelation 18:1 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”

Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans, will be like Sodom and Gomorrah when God overthrew them.

Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine; therefore the nations went mad.

Just as ancient Babylon was heathenish and unbelieving so is this new Babylon which has seduced the kings, people, and nations of the world. It is a place where demons, unclean spirits, and detestable sexual immorality not only exist, it is the way of life. It is cherished, sought after, and thought to be acceptable and morally correct. People intentionally choose to follow and take part in all of this unholy activity. It is so sad isn’t it, that people intentionally choose to reject Jesus Christ and eternal life. You have to wonder why it is chosen when it is so obviously wrong. Yet, today we see the effects of this already starting to evolve more and more. Where people water down what it means to live for Jesus Christ. They may have bowed down at some point to seek the grace, mercy, and love proclaimed through the gospel of Jesus Christ but their life reflects no fruit, no humble service, no rejection of the enticements of this world, no seeking of His Word, no want to be led by the Holy Spirit, no desire to be led by and through the word of God, and no understanding of what it means to follow, obey, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ. They have found satisfaction in this world and what it has to offer. They see no need for God in their life other than a promise of eternal life. It is as if they say I deserved Jesus for being beaten, whipped, and nailed to the cross for my sin rather than humbly bowing down in an overflowing heart of thanks and worship. They have made His sacrifice of little significance and it shows in their life of self-centered satisfaction. Oh, that our heart, mind, and soul would see more and more of the glory of this great mercy, grace, and love, freely given for our redemption and salvation. I fear many of these people will hear “depart from Me, for I never knew you”. We have not been saved for our glory, prosperity, and ease in life but, rather for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. We do well to remember this each moment of every day.

The eyes of the LORD are in every place

“And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

Genesis 31:42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

Psalms 139:1-12 O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Proverbs 5:21 For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.

Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

Jeremiah 32:19 great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.

Job 34:21-22 “For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.

Jeremiah 16:17 For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

Ask most parents about how much they keep their eyes on their infants and young children and they will tell you all of the time. Why do parents do this – to protect from harm of others or themselves, encourage and teach. Parents know all to well how fast little ones will find opportunity to make a mess, do something unsafe, or something else. Some of these moments are captured on social media and we all get a scare or good laugh. As much as parents want to think they are always there to watch and protect they just can’t be everywhere all the time, nor can they know the thoughts their young children had leading up to what ever goes wrong, or they would have interceded and stopped it.

God watches all, knows all, and sees all the thoughts and actions of man. It is almost unfathomable to think how this is possible but it is with God. Those seeking to learn of Him and walk in His ways will find God’s hand leading them and life fulfilling. Those that disregard Him and choose to live according to their own ways will find life lacking, without purpose, and a burden.