Many times throughout the Old Testament the Lord would ask this question of the prophets. Besides Jeremiah, the Lord asked Amos and Zechariah the same question…”What do you see?” Now in front of them were easily recognizable objects such as a almond branch, a boiling pot, a plumb line, or a basket of ripe fruit. But it wasn’t until the Lord explained the meaning and symbolism and pulled back the veil to reveal the true interpretation of the object, that the men were enlightened to the astonishing disclosure. Even today the Lord may show you something and ask, “What do you see?” That’s when you start with the simple answer and ask Him to show you the deeper meaning… or His perspective and vision.
Tag: spiritual enlightenment
John 8:12 ” When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ “
The question today is…are you walking in the light or in the darkness? Are you allowing panic, anxiety, and fear to rule and reign in your life or are you putting your trust and confidence in Jesus Christ? Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” While verse 19 says, “But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they don’t know what makes them stumble.” If you’re allowing the fear of the unknown to over-ride good judgment today, I urge you to stop…take a really deep breath…and consider. A wonderful word out of the Psalms is Selah…to pause. Pause to consider what has been the driving force behind all your actions lately. Is it fear or faith…panic or peace…agitation or assurance?
Ephesians 1:18 ” I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you…”
My prayer for you today is for spiritual enlightenment. God made His light shine in our hearts to give us this light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (II Corinthians 4:6)… and with this light of knowledge comes awareness and understanding. But not only this, but as Job replied to God, “My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You.” (Job 42:5)…I pray that you would be able to experience God for yourself, not just what you’ve been told about Him.
Isaiah 5:20 ” 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.”
Even within my lifetime I’ve seen this huge shift of what we consider right and wrong. And with the advent of mass media, the Internet, Snap-Chat, YouTube, and Hollywood…we see our societal mores slowly morphing into something our Great-grandparents would be appalled at. But this blurring of ethical principles and practices didn’t happen overnight…for it relied on man’s pride, rebellion and apathy to flourish. So now we sit, so desensitized, we don’t even react anymore to what we know is wrong…but if we do, we’ll likely find ourselves being chastised for being intolerant and narrow-minded. Job 24:13 warns of this Spiritual blindness…of evildoers who rebel against the light, who don’t know its ways or stay in its path. I ask Heavenly Father, that we would be enlightened by Your Word, and that You would illuminate our minds with Your truth, that we may be able to discern right and wrong correctly. Amen.
I Peter 1:3 ” Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
What does it mean to you to be born again? Maybe it’s been a long time since you even thought about it, especially if you’ve been a Believer for years. When you said “Yes” to Jesus, you underwent spiritual rebirth. What was once corruptible became incorruptible, and passed from death unto life. When we are born again, all is made new…for by God’s great mercy and the sacrificial blood of Christ, we are saved from our sins. To be born again means we are truly a new person standing before God…righteous and blameless in His sight.
Genesis 1:3-4 ” And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.”
The diversity between bright sunshine and complete darkness is a stark contrast. In bright sunshine, we can walk confidently, even in unfamiliar terrain, for we can see the path we’re following and the obstacles around us. But when it’s total darkness, we struggle to make our way…stumbling, falling, and lurching along…fearful of the next step. Isaiah 42:16 speaks of this, “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.” Allow the God of light to illuminate your path today with truth and wisdom.
I John 2:10-11 ” Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”
I love nightlights! I’ll admit I have at least 8 spread throughout the house, casting their subtle radiance so I won’t trip and fall in the dark. God’s truth is like a nightlight into our darkness…showing us His way so we won’t stumble. But when we choose to not live by the light of His truth, we are easily deceived and blinded by lies that only foster hatred and distrust against our fellow-man. When we love one another, the light of God’s truth illuminates situations, obstacles, and personalities for what they really are…exposing hurting hearts and revealing with honesty how we’re more alike than different.
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
I can’t stress too much the need for you to be in the Bible…to be reading for yourself…learning for yourself what is said within the book covers. Devotionals and commentaries are good…but they’re telling you about God. To have a full, complete, and enlightened instruction of what’s in the Bible, you must read it for yourself…allowing the light of truth to illuminate the areas of your life that need change. So I ask you…are you brave enough to have the word of God shine a light into the dark places of your soul?
Psalm 112:4 ” Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.”
This verse tells us that even in the midst of suffering…God’s love shines forth and His favor surrounds us as with a shield. (Psalm 5:12) Circumstances can still be dark around us, but people will notice something different…a light shining forth from us, as we steadfastly put our faith and trust in God. Situations may not change, for we live in a broken world…but what can change is our attitude and reaction to them.
Matthew 10:27 ” What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.”
In those times of darkness… when unhappiness and turmoil have you crouched down in the valley of despair…God will speak truths softly to you. Precious truths that will encourage, exhort, and sustain you during that critical time…but it doesn’t stop there. God wants you to share with others these precious truths when the light of day finally shines again in your life. For after you have passed through the valley of the shadow of death, the truths God whispered to you then, become the lifelines for others who still remain in darkness.
Safetypinlove 