Shine Your Light in the Darkness

We live in a dark world. I’ve seen things I never thought I would see. I’ve heard about events that it’s hard to comprehend are even real. The Bible told us perilous times would come, but the magnitude of the depravity of the human race has become almost overwhelming. 

The world is upside down. Just as Isaiah described, we are living in a day when people call evil good and good evil. Right is wrong and wrong is right. And many don’t want any kind of guidelines for living a life that is good and pleasing to God. The mentality is, “I’ll do what I want when I want and no one is going to stop me!”

The results of that kind of life are very sad. Observing people living that way is like watching a train wreck. 

In His Word, God has provided boundaries for living, not to control people so they cannot enjoy life. His desire is that people will willingly submit themselves to God who loves them so that their lives will be filled with love and peace within the boundaries He has provided. 

The devil has blinded people to the truth. Their belief is that if they do everything they want to do they are living in freedom. But instead they eventually are imprisoned in bondage to the things that once were so enticing to them. 

My prayer for people in those situations is that God would cause the scales to fall from their eyes so they can clearly see the truth. I pray that they come to the realization of how much they need the power of Jesus Christ to set them free!

God, please help those of us who know You to not keep this knowledge to ourselves, but help us to be willing to reach out with the truth of the Gospel! Please open the eyes of those who are blind to the truth and cause them to hear the words of life!

Father, let my life be a light shining in the darkness!

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But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2 Timothy 3:1-4, NKJV)

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20, NKJV)

The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned. (Matthew 4:16, NKJV)

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16, NKJV)

I Must Tell Jesus!

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

I cannot bear my burdens alone;

I must tell Jesus! I must tell Jesus!

Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.*

As we travel the road of life we encounter trials and we bear burdens that are heavy. I was praying last night and had something on my heart that I was asking the Lord to help me with. And the above chorus came to mind—a song I haven’t heard in years.

We carry heavy burdens that weigh us down, make us discouraged and depressed, and cause us to feel defeated. Sometimes we feel that we will never have victory. I am guilty of going around the same mountain over and over. Lather, rinse, repeat. Why do we do that? Victory is ours if we will trust Jesus with the burden!

These burdens can be harassing thoughts from the enemy, circumstances of life, or sins that we just can’t seem to overcome. 

We must understand we were never meant to carry these burdens. Jesus wants to take them from us! We can have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Another line from a song comes to mind, “Take it to the Lord in prayer!”** 

So the theme the Spirit is impressing upon me today is that Jesus will help you! Spend time with Him! Talk to Him about your burdens. The load is too heavy for you to bear alone.  

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Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. —1 Peter 5:7, NLT

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord… —Romans 7:24-25, NLT

*I Must Tell Jesus, by Elisha Hoffman (1893)

**What a Friend We Have in Jesus, by Joseph Medlicott Scriven (1855)

My Story (Part 3): Lessons From Brokenness

The Holy Spirit has led me to share from my life once again…

 

I keep journals of my time with the Lord—records of what I have learned from His Word, prayers I have prayed, and words He has spoken to me. In January of this year, after several days of reviewing and updating my blogsite, I prayed:

 

     “Father, the woman who wrote those blogs years ago seemed so confident. Who is she? Where is she? I have struggled so much. I have sinned. I have disobeyed You. I have lived through so much loss. And those things I wrote, I failed to live them with the confidence that I wrote them. Life hit me hard!

 

     “Please forgive me. I allowed distractions to pull me away from the close relationship I had with You—or the close relationship I thought I had. Was it an illusion? Did the testing reveal I didn’t have what I thought I did? Or did the testing pull me away from the true relationship I did have with You?

 

     “Words come easy. Life is hard. I want to be real. I want an authentic, honest relationship with You. I want fellowship with You that is deep and meaningful—and I need it every day.”

 

I went through a lot of brokenness to get to where I am now—my first husband’s suffering and death due to cancer, the loss of several other loved ones, my personal battle with cancer, and deep wounds caused by other broken people.

 

But I believe that from my brokenness I can do more for God than I could have ever done before. Because before we are broken, we can believe we have it all together. Our self-reliance opens a door and pride walks in. We depend upon ourselves and our own abilities, rather than seeking direction from the Lord.

 

God uses the hard places we go through to mold us into vessels He can use for His glory. He gets no glory from what we do without Him. His name is exalted when we give up our own ways of doing and realize that to live for Him, we must allow His Spirit to flow through us in everything we do.

 

It has taken a long time for me to learn these lessons—and I’m still learning.

 

Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us in our brokenness and confusion. When we call to Him, He lovingly answers.

 

A few days after my agonizing, questioning prayer the Holy Spirit spoke to me: “I am molding you into the person I want you to be. All the realizations, the recent revelations—that’s Me. You need to see what I see in you—the good and the bad. Your life has changed. You are not the same person you were. I am molding you. Allow Me to move in your life.”

 

Father, as I continue to submit my life to You, do in me everything You want to do, so that I will be molded into a vessel that brings honor and glory to Your Name!

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The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. (Jeremiah 18:1-4 NKJV) 

Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38 NKJV).

I love this verse. It describes in one sentence how Jesus ministered to people while He lived on the earth. He was always doing good and He healed all who were oppressed by the devil. He was willing to help everyone who crossed His path.

 

After seeing Him perform miracles, the amazed crowd said again and again, “Everything He does is wonderful” (Mark 7:37 NLT). They were in awe that not only did Jesus have the power to change people’s lives, He also desired to do it, and He followed through.

 

In recent months, the Holy Spirit has encouraged me to open my eyes and really see the individuals who cross my path. It is easy to become so focused on the routines of life that we fail to see those to whom the Lord wants us to minister. As we submit to Him, He will teach us how to reach out to people who need His touch.

 

I want to show the world my wonderful Savior. The peace and blessings I have received from Him, I want to impart to others.

If we don’t show them Jesus, who will?

Father, help us to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Help us to follow His example and truly care for those You place before us.