12.26.24 ~ The Light
Good morning!
This time of year has a major visible theme of lights. Trees decorated with lights. Houses lit up. Spotlights on manger scenes. Holiday candles. Stars in the night. Store monicers flashing. Every type of light vying for our attention. But, most of all the light that focuses on the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ/Yeshua HaMashiah.
Commercial: Last night's zoom call: Happy conception day! When was Yeshua conceived? When was He born? At what time did the Light of the World come to give us light?
Yeshua said in John 8:12
I am the light of the world.
The one following me will in no way/ou mewalk in the darkness,
but will have the light of life. John 8:12
Put a big exclamation point behind these words! Yeshua's statement could not be stronger. If you are following Him, there is absolutely no way/ou me you will walk in darkness. He guarantees it! And He’s the reality of God manifest in the flesh (Col. 1:13-18; Jn. 1:1-13), which if I'm diligently adding into my faith, which is walking in the light, I can't even stumble (2 Pet. 1:5-12). Huh? Following Him means I cannot miss a step. I cannot get side-tracked, off-track, derailed or detoured. Following Him means I will always see exactly what to do next.
It sounds so good, doesn’t it? Then why do we have times of doubt, concern, confusion and failure? Could it be that we, speaking of me, myself and I, just haven’t understood what it means to walk in the light?
When David, the Psalmist said...
Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psa. 119:105)
...if you're like me, I prefer direct sunlight or at least a million candlepower flashlights. Why? Because I want to see more than one step ahead. Yeshua never guarantees one million candlepower views to our path. He guarantees just what’s next. And if we are really honest about it, we must concede that when we are truly following Him, we know what to do next. It might be prayer. It might be submitting. It might be humbleness. It might be just listening or it's time to speak up. But it’s there. When we don’t know what to do next, it is usually a sign that we have something in the way between God’s will and our will. To do what’s next, we need to remove “me” from the equation. “Not my way, but Yours” turns on the light to a clear path. Try it! Don’t give up when you aren’t handed a searchlight. Try getting out of your own way first.
On the flipside, there is also a negative implication here; one that is incredibly scary. If I am not following Yeshua, I am walking in the dark; relying on human and cultural reasoning. No matter how clear my path may seem; no matter how great the council and advice; no matter how wonderful the results, if I am not in the Way, I am totally oblivious to the light. The light source that I'm relying on, may appear to be a temporary solution, but in the long run it will have no consequence whatsoever.
There is no grey area in this, is there? My path does not depend on my vision. It depends solely on my relationship to Him.
Isaiah gave us a similar insight..
“No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light/or; but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light/or, and your God for your glory”. (Isaiah 60:19)
...this verse takes me back to Genesis 1:3, When "God said, Let there be light"...And just as the light given was to illuminate, we can see the condition of our lives by the light that comes from our face; which testifies to our inner peace, prosperity, confidence on the path were walking and ultimately the character of God in our lives (Jn. 1:,4, 5; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35,36; Psa. 27:1; 36:9; 4:8; Rev. 21:23; 22:5).
For too many of us (speaking of me, myself and I) recovering from our addictions and our past failures has cast shadow on our walk and has isolated us to the dark recesses of secret lives. But like the winter season, it can come to an end when we allow His personal glory to shine into every nook and cranny of our lives, illuminating our agony and bringing us into the healing light. At last, we live in full exposure, unafraid of our pasts failures and misconceptions, open to a new day of illumination.
We know, according to God's Word, whenever shadows begin to creep back into our lives, we can be confident that God wants to provide light to our path. It's at that time I have to choose my next step ... light or darkness?
The holiday lights in every form will come down, but the Light of the world will continue to shine bright for those who follow Him. The darkness doesn't understand the Light (Jn. 1:5), but then again, you're not children of darkness, but children of the Light...walk as children of the Light (1 Thess. 5:1-10).
Happy 2nd day of Hanukkah!
Shalom
Commercial: Last night's zoom call: Happy conception day! When was Yeshua conceived? When was He born? At what time did the Light of the World come to give us light?
Yeshua said in John 8:12
I am the light of the world.
The one following me will in no way/ou mewalk in the darkness,
but will have the light of life. John 8:12
Put a big exclamation point behind these words! Yeshua's statement could not be stronger. If you are following Him, there is absolutely no way/ou me you will walk in darkness. He guarantees it! And He’s the reality of God manifest in the flesh (Col. 1:13-18; Jn. 1:1-13), which if I'm diligently adding into my faith, which is walking in the light, I can't even stumble (2 Pet. 1:5-12). Huh? Following Him means I cannot miss a step. I cannot get side-tracked, off-track, derailed or detoured. Following Him means I will always see exactly what to do next.
It sounds so good, doesn’t it? Then why do we have times of doubt, concern, confusion and failure? Could it be that we, speaking of me, myself and I, just haven’t understood what it means to walk in the light?
When David, the Psalmist said...
Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psa. 119:105)
...if you're like me, I prefer direct sunlight or at least a million candlepower flashlights. Why? Because I want to see more than one step ahead. Yeshua never guarantees one million candlepower views to our path. He guarantees just what’s next. And if we are really honest about it, we must concede that when we are truly following Him, we know what to do next. It might be prayer. It might be submitting. It might be humbleness. It might be just listening or it's time to speak up. But it’s there. When we don’t know what to do next, it is usually a sign that we have something in the way between God’s will and our will. To do what’s next, we need to remove “me” from the equation. “Not my way, but Yours” turns on the light to a clear path. Try it! Don’t give up when you aren’t handed a searchlight. Try getting out of your own way first.
On the flipside, there is also a negative implication here; one that is incredibly scary. If I am not following Yeshua, I am walking in the dark; relying on human and cultural reasoning. No matter how clear my path may seem; no matter how great the council and advice; no matter how wonderful the results, if I am not in the Way, I am totally oblivious to the light. The light source that I'm relying on, may appear to be a temporary solution, but in the long run it will have no consequence whatsoever.
There is no grey area in this, is there? My path does not depend on my vision. It depends solely on my relationship to Him.
Isaiah gave us a similar insight..
“No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for brightness will the moon give you light/or; but you will have the Lord for an everlasting light/or, and your God for your glory”. (Isaiah 60:19)
...this verse takes me back to Genesis 1:3, When "God said, Let there be light"...And just as the light given was to illuminate, we can see the condition of our lives by the light that comes from our face; which testifies to our inner peace, prosperity, confidence on the path were walking and ultimately the character of God in our lives (Jn. 1:,4, 5; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35,36; Psa. 27:1; 36:9; 4:8; Rev. 21:23; 22:5).
For too many of us (speaking of me, myself and I) recovering from our addictions and our past failures has cast shadow on our walk and has isolated us to the dark recesses of secret lives. But like the winter season, it can come to an end when we allow His personal glory to shine into every nook and cranny of our lives, illuminating our agony and bringing us into the healing light. At last, we live in full exposure, unafraid of our pasts failures and misconceptions, open to a new day of illumination.
We know, according to God's Word, whenever shadows begin to creep back into our lives, we can be confident that God wants to provide light to our path. It's at that time I have to choose my next step ... light or darkness?
The holiday lights in every form will come down, but the Light of the world will continue to shine bright for those who follow Him. The darkness doesn't understand the Light (Jn. 1:5), but then again, you're not children of darkness, but children of the Light...walk as children of the Light (1 Thess. 5:1-10).
Happy 2nd day of Hanukkah!
Shalom
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