A Lamp – Are you walking in the light or in the dark? (4)

Part 2.  A Lamp - Are you walking in the light or in the dark? (4)          

We continue with RiSiKiLi−

              You know− Read it, Study it, Know it, Live it.  

What do you know about the great prophet Isaiah?

Many know him as the one who said, But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

He also said quite a bit about light and our need for the light that comes from God. He besought God’s people to turn from their pagan ways and live in the illumination provided by the Word of God that was available to them at that time—around 700-690 B.C.

Also God spoke directly to Isaiah, giving clear direction for His people, the children of Israel. Under God’s authority, Isaiah declared God’s displeasure with His people.

Early on in Isaiah’s life of prophesying, he pleaded, O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord (Isaiah 2:5).

Had God’s people made the choice to heed His plea, the course of their history would have been much different. They would have averted the disastrous consequences of their decision to walk in darkness rather than light.

Do you believe our own nation will face disastrous consequences for the ways we have turned away from God in recent years?

God had guided the Israelites through history and wanted to continue to do so. Had they obeyed the commands of the Lord, they would not have been overtaken and many brutally killed by their enemies. Their children would not have been carried away into Babylon, repeopled, and made into eunuchs and slaves.

Note that the terrible future, that awaited the Jews, did not come on them by the hand of their Heavenly Father, but by their own choice to walk away from His protective hand. In doing so, they walked right into the brutal hands of powerful enemies. They choose not to walk in the light of the Words of their Lord.

For many years God’s nation of chosen people were scattered, living under the thumb and rule of others—the very enemies of their God. Nonetheless, the world, and all of mankind, can be grateful that throughout this terrible time in Israel’s history, there was a remnant, though scattered, that remained in God’s light, faithful to God and the Words He had spoken.

Isaiah was one of those, as was Jeremiah, Daniel, the three Hebrew sons who survived the fiery furnace—and others as well.

We can learn useful lessons from those who’ve gone before us. God had shown them the way. He had provided the light for their path of life. In our own age, He has illuminated our way with His instruction manual for living, the Bible, God’s Word of Truth.

Look at the opening words of the Apostle John’s Gospel. He declares: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:1-5).

John is telling us that Jesus is the expressed Word of God—the eternal and ultimate expression of God and is the light that no darkness can overtake. This gives us reason enough to dance and shout with unspeakable joy!




Photo by Joshua Hibbert

Are you walking in the light provided by your Creator? 

Moving about in the dark or even in dim light is tough going. It’s frustrating and makes it hard to accomplish much. And what we do accomplish is often flawed. We might also get hurt or even killed. 

Let’s commit to walk in the light of the Word of God.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today. Please feel free add a comment to the conversation if you’d like. 

©Connie Wohlford

How can I know it's God?

“Risikili” – Part 3 – How can I know it's God?

We continue with RiSiKiLi−

                       You know, Read it, study it, know it, live it.

 

In my last post we established that God knew His plan for each of us before we were born and that our enemy/God’s enemy will try to derail the plan if we’re not vigilant. Also we spoke of abundant life and God’s desire that we attain His idea of abundant life, which is far beyond anything we could dream up. 

     

Photo by Margot Pandone

So let’s continue looking at how God’s Word plays a role in this. We need to examine our personal desires in every aspect of life. In order to line up our highest desires with His highest desires for us, we must get to know Him and His nature. By prayerfully reading and studying His Word we get to know God. In reading the four gospels− Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John− we learn about Jesus. In knowing Jesus, we know  God. 

As we know Him better, we begin to recognize His unfailing love for us. As we comprehend this matchless love, we will trust Him more. As we trust Him more, we begin to step out in faith more boldly into the path He designed for us. 

The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble (Proverbs 3:18-19).

If we’re listening, God will speak to us through His Word. Yes, He speaks to us in other ways as well− such through another Christian or by His Own Spirit speaking to our own spirit. But the only way to prove we’ve heard a Word from God and be certain that it really came from God is to see that it lines up with His written Word.  Many people take action on what they thought was a Word from God, to simply later find themselves disillusioned and confused.  

Just today, I heard someone say that he knows a man who says he doesn’t need to read his Bible. He just listens to the Holy Spirit. Whoa! That sounds scary! When we think God is telling us something, we need to prove it against His Word. The Holy Spirit will never tell us anything that does not line us with God’s Word—the Bible.    

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

And another thing− if we want to hear from God, it’s imperative that we pray. We need to talk to Him and listen for Him to talk back to us. 

And remember, as we said last time, Satan does indeed have a plan for each of us and one of the best ways to begin to walk out Satan’s plan is to walk in our own plan.  The road of my own plan will eventually merge right into his.  So many blindly choose this route and then wonder how their life turned out so disappointing. Often they will attribute it to “bad luck.”  Well, luck has nothing to do with it and the word “luck” is not in my Bible.  Bad luck is a commonly used excuse for consequences resulting from not walking in God’s Truth.

 

So how can one know this “Truth,” in order to walk in it?  Since “Truth” and God’s Word are synonymous, the answers are waiting in the pages of His Scriptures.  

“There is no such thing as health or growth in Christian living apart from a clear priority on the place of the Bible in the life of the individual or the group.” Jack Hayford 

Let’s pray these psalms > Lord, I ask that You “Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul” (Psalm 143:8).  “Guide me in Your truth and teach me” (Psalm 25:5). In Jesus name--- AMEN. 

Photo by Joshua Sortino

“Risikili” – Part 2 – Your eyes saw my substance, yet unformed.

“Risikili” – Part 2 – Your eyes saw my substance, yet unformed. 

(Read it, study it, know it, live it.) 

In my “Risikili” - Part 1 post, we considered questions dealing with God having a divine plan for each of us. We looked at Jeremiah 1:5, citing God’s plan for Jeremiah to be a prophet, when he was yet unborn.

We indicated that our own plan is shabby when compared to that of our Creator. We noted that even Satan has a plan− and we’re in it. We looked back at Eve, falling for the deceptive plan Satan devised for her. Then Adam followed suit. In falling for Satan’s plan, Adam and Eve forfeited the divine destiny God had planned for them. Mankind and the earth itself still suffer consequences resulting from their disobedience.   

Let’s look, for a moment, at the reality that Satan exists and is capable of wreaking havoc in our lives, capsizing God’s plan for us. Please know, it’s not my habit to talk much about or dwell on the devil. But when discussing God’s plan for an individual and in seeking to not miss it, he must be exposed, “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices,” stated Jesus Himself (2 Corinthians 2:11). 

Satan is deceptive and is the father of lies (John 8:44). In John 10:10 Jesus talked about a thief wanting to deceive God’s people. Satan does much the same thing. Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  Satan is a thief and the enemy of God. He hates and wants to destroy anything that God loves. Anyone who is the enemy of God is also the enemy of God’s sons and daughters. Satan hates God, therefore he hates those of us who are Christians. We can rest assured that he wants to steal us, if he can. If he can’t do that, then he wants to kill us. If that doesn’t work for him, he wants to destroy us.

When a person is born-again, he or she moves from Satan’s kingdom into God’s Kingdom and becomes a child of God rather than a child of the devil. If Satan cannot have a person’s soul, he then alters his plan from taking their soul to taking their life− that is to literally kill him/her or to rob him/her of the abundant life their Heavenly Father wants to give each of His children.

Satan also loves to rob a person of his or her testimony. That is to tempt and/or influence believers, hoping they’ll fail to walk in God’s ways, fall into sin, and consequently lose their godly influence on others. Their testimony is hindered or even destroyed and they're no longer an effective witness for Christ. We all know that it is much harder to regain a good reputation that has been damaged than it is to damage a clean reputation. A tarnished image can render an ineffective testimony.   

Before going further, let’s look at the definition of abundant, in Greek.  Strong’s #4053, “peissos,” means “Superabundant, excessive, over flowing, surplus.” Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament adds to Strong’s definition, “super added,” “beyond measure,” “exceedingly abundantly.”  WOW!  These are words that God plans and wants us to be able to use to describe our lives! The recipe for this life of abundance is to give our hearts and lives to Christ Jesus and then to know His Word and to do it− you know Risikili! God’s Word is given to us to light our way to and through the abundant life.   

I am not saying that being a believer immunizes one from problems and trials.  Jesus said: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33). In other words, we're all guaranteed trials, but we believers have the hope and confidence that Christ, who dwells in us, has overcome them all. Therefore we have the means within to overcome all negatives that come our way. 

Remember, before we were born, God designed a plan for each of us. He gave His Word to show us the way and illuminate the path. As long as we do things His way that plan will unfold before our eyes and walk us right up to the gates of Heaven. At that moment, all trials, illnesses, hardships will be forgotten. For we will see Jesus face to face and unimaginable glory will be our reality for all eternity.   

Let’s pray together: Heavenly Father, please help me realize You really do have a plan for me− And it is for my good. As I spend time getting to know You, I’m confident You’ll reveal it to me and help me accomplish it. As I get to know You better, through prayer and reading and studying Your Word, I’ll trust You more and more. As I walk with Jesus, Your Son, my Savior, it will come to pass in my life. With a grateful heart, I pray in Jesus name − Amen. 

 

For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷ How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!  Psalm 139:13-17 

Click on the link below to view Michael W. Smith recite Psalm 139

in one of his concerts. He then sings Thy Word.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncsgcvRiUBU