Thy Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet And A Light Unto My Path

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.  –  Psalm 119:105

A few days ago, I was reading Psalm 119 as part of my devotion.  When I came to this verse, the Lord pointed out something that I had never noticed before.

God’s Word is a light to my path, enabling me to see where I am going. I see this as me understanding God’s overall plan of salvation, so that I can understand my entire path through life and eternity, from my sin in Adam all the way to my glorification in Jesus when He returns, and beyond.  From the Light of God’s Word, I can see the overall path that God has designed for all believers.

But there is not only the general light, there is also a “lamp unto my feet”. I see this as much more focused. The lamp at my feet does not show me the broad strokes of God’s plan, but rather it allows me to see the next step that God wants me to take. Or maybe, if I peer deeply into His Word, I might be able to make out the next two steps. The lamp does not have a long-range, so it will not show me, except on rare occasions, what God wants for me a year from now, or five. But it will show me what He wants for me today. And, if I am living in faith and in trust of my Lord, being able to see today is enough.

I hope that you find this passage of His Word as much a blessing as I do.

God bless!

Are We Married To Jesus But Having An Affair With Satan?

First off, I want to acknowledge the source of my title phrase, it comes from the “Be Better Not Bitter” Blog, and this excellent post.  My thanks to Shenine and her excellent work! When I first read Shenine’s phrase about being married to Jesus I knew I had to expand a little on it, so, here goes.

Many Christians would like to believe that they can have their salvation with the Lord, and still play around with their favorite sins now and then.  They want to profess a relationship with Jesus on the one hand, but still have a little fling from time to time, to keep things interesting.  In other words, they want to be married to their Lord, but still maintain an adulterous relationship with Satan. Here is what the Bible says about that idea:

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  –  Joshua 24:10 (KJV)

The Bible does not leave us free to serve the Lord part-time and then turn around and serve Satan part-time.  The Bible calls on us to choose, and choose today, who will we serve?  This choice is not to be taken lightly, much is at stake here so it is up to us to choose wisely.  The Bible says:

¹⁵ See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

¹⁶ In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lordthy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

¹⁷ But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

¹⁸ I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

²⁰ That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.  –  Deuteronomy 30:15-20

What will we follow?  Will we follow life and good?  Or will we follow death and evil?  Jesus, or Satan?  We can’t follow both.

The prophet Elijah asks the same question:

And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.”  –  i Kings 18:21 (NKJV)

We have a choice to make: Who is our God?  Is it Jesus?  Is it Satan?  Is it our flesh?  The world and its pleasures?  But Jesus says:

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  –  Luke 9:23 (KJV)

Notice, Jesus does not say that we are to indulge our flesh when we wish or take a little time away to keep company with the world?  No, he said that we are to deny ourselves.

And finally, it is not enough that we call Jesus our Savior and then don’t do the things that He says.  Jesus put it this way:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  –  Matthew 7:21 (KJV)

Remember, we are to:

Enter (ye) in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.  –  Matthew 7:13,14 (KJV)

How Is It That There Are Divisions In The Church? The Answer Is Simple!

How can it be that there are divisions in The Church?  And when I refer to The Church here, I speak of the Universal Church, The Body Of Christ.

Well, I was reading John 17 today, “The High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus, and the answer jumped out at me.  I will quote part of it here:

¹⁸ As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.

²⁰ “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; ²¹ that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. ²² And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: ²³ I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

²⁴ “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. ²⁶ And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Jesus prays specifically that His Church be united, and in verses 21 and 23 He gives the reason,  ”that the world may believe that You sent Me” and “and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me“.  When we are One Body in Christ, united under One Lord, we are a powerful force in the world, proclaiming through our unity, that Jesus is the Christ, sent be God as a Savior to the world.  That is what God intended for His Church from the beginning.

But it seems we have listened to Satan rather than to our Father and to our Lord Jesus Christ, and instead of being a unified body, we have divisions everywhere!  We have one group that believes, “Once saved, always saved” and another that believes you can lose your salvation.  We have one group that believes that anyone can be saved, and another that believes that only a group specifically elected to salvation by God can be saved.  I could go on and on, but that would be boring, and I think you have gotten my point.  So, we have hundreds of denominations and sects, all of them believing that they are right, and all others are wrong.

Rather than listening to God’s Holy Spirit that dwells within us, and clinging to His simple Gospel message, we have chosen rather to allow Satan to stir up our pride and to divide us against ourselves and against our Lord, making us complicit in his attack against our God and His (our) Church, our very own Spiritual Body.

Divisions in the Church were first addressed by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians and since that day, divisions among us have only gotten worse!

The really sad thing is, it never had to be this way.  In Christ, we are more than conquerors, over Satan and over every enemy of the Church.  It has always been in our power to stop divisions, but sadly, we never have.

And, can I share the really, really sad thing?  If we were half the followers of Christ that we claim to be (and I do include myself) this NEVER would have happened!  How can we say that we are His followers, and that Christ lives in us and through us, and then, through our inaction allow this situation to be perpetuated?

This is not something that we will change in a year, or even five or ten.  It is something that we could change in a generation.

But only if we start today!  Won’t you join us?

The Progressive nature Of God’s Personal Revelation

In Acts chapter 21, Paul learns that when he journeys to Jerusalem, he will be captured by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles.

¹⁰ After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.¹¹ Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’”  –  Acts 21:10-11

Paul’s response here is very important.  He says,  “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”  (Acts 21:13)  The key phrase is “I am ready”.  This tells me that Paul was already aware, at least, that something unpleasant was going to take place when he reached Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit had already prepared him for the event.  Therefore, upon learning the exact nature of the event that would occur, his response is that he is ready.

Do you suppose that if Paul had learned on the road to Damascus that he would one day be turned over to the Gentiles and eventually killed that he would have so readily followed Jesus?  That is a hard question to answer, but I have a feeling that he would not.

But over time, day by day, and bit by bit, as Paul’s faith grew ever stronger, the Lord revealed to him, a bit at a time, exactly what would be required of him, until, eventually, when he learns of his eventual demise, he is able to respond, “I am ready”.

And it is the same with us.  Our God does not reveal to us what we will be enduring five years from now, or ten.  But He does faithfully prepare us for what will happen today, tomorrow, or next week.  And as we grow in our faith, the Lord will trust us with ever larger and more specific revelations about our circumstances and what we must endure for His sake.

So, what about you Christian, are you ready?

Lord, I bow humbly before you as I seek your will for me life, trusting that You will fill me always with your Spirit so that when asked, my response will always be, “Yes Lord, I am ready!”  Amen.

Join The Twitter Online Prayer Team

And it couldn’t be simpler!

Do you have a prayer request? Simply tweet your request on Twitter and be sure to include the hashtag, #prreq.

On the other hand, suppose you are looking online for requests to pray for. Simple! Just do a Twitter search for the hashtag #prreq and you will find all the requests that have been made by the Twitter community.

So, whether you wish to make a prayer request, or you wish to pray for others, all you need to remember is, #prreq.

If you have read this, I would ask only one small favor. Could you share the link to this article with your online friends so that others will know about this online outreach as well?

Thanks, and God bless you!

A Christian Call To Action – 2 Chron 7:14

I read an excellent blog post today by a good friend named Debra Aiken.  I don’t know if you’ve read Debra’s blog before but Debra is really on fire for the Lord.  I have been blessed so many times reading her posts knowing that I am hearing a message the Spirit had planned just for me.The post I read today is a call to action for all Christians, and is based on 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Minister Aiken starts her post like this:

2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Oh, what a promise that God sends not only to America, but to the world on this morning! Healing is available to the world again, on today! God is offering us another opportunity to repent, turn from our wicked ways and seek Him on this day that the Lord has made.

Read more of Minister Aiken’s article here.

Take My Life

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

 

Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every power as You choose.

 

::Chorus::
Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

 

Take my will and make it Thine
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own
It shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord I pour
At Your feet it’s treasure store
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

 

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

 

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it’s all for Thee.

God’s Forgiveness Is Complete In Jesus

A few months ago, after much prayer, I began what I refer to as a mountaintop experience with the Lord.  I was always singing and praising God and temptation was the easiest thing to avoid.

I believe as a result of further prayer, this time for the Lord to reveal in me something He wants me to change, that mountaintop experience came to an end.

I felt this was the Lord’s doing, though I did not understand why though I knew He had my good at heart.  One result of losing that mountaintop experience was that I found myself giving in to temptation.  It was nothing blatant, not at first, but only delaying briefly before pushing the temptation away and seeking the Lord’s righteousness to replace the temptation.

Jesus Take the Wheel

First of all, I would like to thank Bernadette for her wonderful post, Jesus Take the Wheel, and for introducing me to the song of the same name by Carrie Underwood.

I read her post this morning and commented on it, but in thinking about it afterwards, I realized that I have more to say, and I wanted to share it here.

Are You Prepared To Do Battle Today?

I just read That’s Why They Play The Game which talks about the importance of preparing to meet your opponent when playing a game like basketball or soccer.  No matter what the other team’s abilities or record, we must never assume that we have won the game before the game is played.  We must never assume an attitude of over-confidence, but rather, of being fully prepared for battle in every contest we engage in.

It is true of sporting contests.  How much more true is it if our Christian walk?