Uncategorized

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14

Jesus declared himself as the light of the world, and He affirmed the same attribute over us. His ministry was to light the path and show the Way to the Lord, and He has imparted to us the same ministry as His ambassadors in a dark world.

Just prior to Jesus’s declaration that we are the light of the world, He preached about the beatitudes in Matthew 5. It’s as if He gave us the characteristics of being light and salt in a darkened world. The beatitudes are not something that the natural man is capable of doing in the flesh. However, a spiritual regenerated man can grow into by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

As we grow in Christ, we exhibit the poverty of spirit, and we become meek peacemakers who are full of mercy. We let go of the pollution generated by self and allow God’s light to shine through us. The beauty of light is that it doesn’t have to work hard at being light. As our soul changes, the light becomes part of us.

The main condition to be light is to be connected to the source of light who is Jesus. When we are in the right relationship with the Lord, we can shine brightly on a continuous basis regardless of circumstances.

The world needs the light in us desperately. Our light can bring clarity in a situation. It can help someone gain a new perspective in life. The light of Jesus in us can hold up a standard at our workplace. Our light can bring hope to someone who has been stuck in a bad situation for a long time. The Lord can use us in so many ways to touch the world around us.

Some people will not like the light because it exposes the hidden dark things of the flesh. Jesus was hated by those who desired to stay in the darkness and had no aspiration for change. On the other hand, those who were looking for light and direction were drawn to Jesus. This is why the Christian life seems so schizophrenic sometimes. On one hand, we may be loved and sought after, and on the other hand, rejected and marginalized!

Light is not meant to be hidden. We don’t have to apologize for who God has made us to be. If we are truly walking in the beatitudes described in Matthew 5, we are not operating in the flesh but in the Spirit. When we are pushed aside, there is no need to take things personally but celebrate that we are living out our calling. Rejection of the light is part of the life we have chosen.

Let your light shine today by living out the beatitudes described in Matthew 5 and allow God to use you to bring hope to a dark corner of the world! Amen!

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:7

God is light and there is no darkness in Him. The Holy Spirit, His search light, reveals and exposes problematic areas that would not otherwise be visible. Without the light of God in our lives, we live and reason in darkness. Many times we don’t even know we are in darkness until we see the light!

God’s light is powerful, potent, and painful, but it is also freeing! It’s not always easy to allow His light to shine in the crevices of our lives and those hidden places that no one sees or knows about. However, when we come to His light, we become free from what was holding us in bondage. We see clearly, and we don’t have to stumble in confusion any longer.

The above scripture tells us  that “we walk in the light”. We don’t just expose ourselves to light when we are ready or is convenient, but we need to make it a lifestyle. Walking in the light means that there is a continual exposure to light every step of the way. There is a constant soberness and awareness of what we are stepping into because the Lord is lighting our way.

The above scripture tells us that when we walk in the light as a matter of lifestyle, we have fellowship with our brothers and sisters who are walking on the same path.  Our fellowship is not just based on human emotions, likes, or dislikes, but it is based on truth. If any sin gets exposed in the process of walking in the light, the Lord has given us a solution in the form of the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all sin. We can apply Jesus’ blood to remove all unrighteousness and impurities. That allows us to stay in the right fellowship with God and with man.

The scripture in John 1: 5 (NIV) tells us, The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The darkness can never overcome light, but light always overcomes darkness. You can have a room that is completely dark, but one flicker of light can completely change the visibility in a room. On the other hand, one dark object placed in a well-lit room only takes a visual space, but it does not change the visibility in the entire room. Jesus came to overcome the world and the darkness in it. When we receive Him, we have the privilege of shining in the darkness and not be overcome with it!

Praise God for the His light in our lives! Where would be without Him!

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. Psalm 19:7-9

The law of the Lord constitutes His testimonies, statutes, and commandments. The law has many benefits to our lives.  God’s law literally transforms our hearts, minds, and our will. We become a changed person as we learn God’s word and obey it. Some people struggle for years with certain issues, but they are not willing to go to the word of God for transformation. We can’t just look to the Bible for encouragement but not receive the rest of the benefits of the word of God. While being comforted and encouraged is important, but allowing our hearts and minds to change by God’s law is of paramount importance!

The Lord’s testimonies are certain. There are no ambiguities in God’s testimonies. They allow a simple and immature person to become wise. One doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel and learn by trial and error. He/she can do right the first time because they have followed God’s word.

His statutes are right, and what is right brings joy to our hearts. What is right settles the hearts and brings clarity to the mind. It removes the fog of confusion!

God’s commandments are pure. Because God is holy, His commands are pure. There is no ulterior motive for giving us His commandments except that they are good for us. They allow us to grow in health and strength in all areas of our lives.

The fear of the Lord is clean. There is no manipulation or evil in the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is not oppressive but it is liberating from all other fears. To the level we respond to the fear of the Lord we remain protected from harm and foolishness.

Praise God for His judgments! His judgments have complete accuracy and fairness. God’s judgment is not arbitrary based on His feelings or His mood of the day. The Lord is not impulsive in judging, but He is very patient with us. The Lord is the best judge, and He has the best plumb line for truth and justice. When God judges, He does it righteously. There is no partiality, politics, or personal agenda. He judges based on principles that He has established which don’t change through eternity. Praise God!

As people of God, we need to be willing to give up our cultural values and our family upbringing in order to take on everything God has for us in His word. Many people embrace the Bible only to the degree that it doesn’t interfere with their old family values. We can only grow to the level that we are willing the Bible to be the final arbiter in all areas of life including our marriages, parenting, finances, work, friendships, enemies, etc.

Is reading the Bible part of your daily life? If reading the Bible is not a priority, how do you know if you are obeying Him?

“How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” John 5:44

In the above scripture, Jesus very clearly declared that we cannot be in a state of belief if we are more concerned with receiving honor from man than God. Paul stated something similar in

Galatians 1:10b: “For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

If we allow the approval of man to make us or break us, we have gone back to the slavery that we came from!  Man’s approval or disapproval is a moving target, and it is only bound to cause insecurity in our hearts! The Lord will provide plenty of opportunities for criticisms and complements, and each of those can affect our hearts and shape our behavior if we let it. The test is there to teach us to resist desiring man’s honor and its false security. Instead, we have the privilege of seeking sure security which is found in God!

A desire to receive honor is not necessarily an evil desire. The scripture tells us that God will give honor in due season. It also exhorts us to honor those in authority and those serving among us. The key issue is not the desire for honor, but what are willing to do to receive the honor!?

This is very similar to having a desire to be in a courting relationship leading to marriage. Having a desire to be married is a God given desire, but are we willing to lose ourselves to be in a married relationship? Do we have to be with the person every free moment to ensure we have their attention? Do we settle for less in our spiritual standard and stay in an unequally yoked relationship? Do we compromise our purity to ensure we don’t lose the person?

Similarly,  we can be tempted to draw attention to ourselves and compromise a Godly standard to receive honor from man and in the process displease the Lord. Honor is something that God gives to us; it is not something we have to strive to get. If we strive to have man’s honor, we are bound to make compromises in the process of getting it!

Jesus is our perfect example in receiving proper honor! He did not seek the honor of man. On the contrary,  many times He walked away from the attention of man to focus on His purpose! If Jesus had looked for man’s honor, He could have asked His disciples to find Him a Stallion not a donkey to enter Jerusalem! He could have dressed in priestly garments and had phylacteries on to secure man’s honor as a religious leader. However, His focus was not on worldly honor; He only desired His Father’s honor, and that was enough for Him.

The Father was pleased to honor Jesus! As a result He allowed the Son to be honored and recognized by man for the work He did on the earth. Jesus will continue to be honored by people through eternity while the Pharisees went to the grave with their earthly honor!

Do we have the certainty of the Father’s approval? Are we living our lives for the audience of ONE?

 “How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?” John 5:44

Believe (in Greek): to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in

Honor (in Greek): opinion, judgment, view opinion, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone

At the first point of our salvation experience, God’s love has touched us so deeply that everything fades compared to being in His presence. However, things change over time. We start going to church and getting to know our new found brothers and sisters in Christ. We get involved in serving, and in the process, our attention gradually starts shifting from Jesus to His people!

Over the years, what others think of us becomes very important. That’s how it used to be before we were saved, but we thought we were freed from those issues! Surprisingly, we find ourselves fretting over the opinion of others all over again! The only thing that is different is that instead of being concerned about our family or coworkers’ opinion, we are now concerned about the opinion of our spiritual family!

Every word or look that is directed toward us from certain spiritual people can either take us to the highest mountains of acceptance or drop us into the lowest valleys of rejection.  We don’t even give an opportunity for the Lord to have the final analysis in the situation. The estimation of people and their judgment upon our lives can completely affect our emotional/spiritual state. This is when a hard examination of our faith is required.

Jesus’ statement is very important to heed and take to heart. He is stating, “How can you believe who receive honor from one another…?”. Unfortunately, Jesus found the Pharisees in this state of unbelief. They were the religious leadership of the day. They had no lack of honor in men. Not only they honored each other, but they also expected honor from others. However, God’s honor has faded out of the picture. In the process, they lost their faith because they were too focused on getting and keeping man’s honor!

It is very easy to get distracted beloved! We can assume if we have man’s honor that we have God’s honor! That’s not always the case! While man’s honor is important, it is never more significant than having God’s honor! Do we have God’s honor apart from man’s honor?

The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; Proverbs 30:25

Ants have certain characteristics of lifestyle and behavior which makes them similar to human beings. The scripture highlights these insects by calling them “The ant are a people..” because we can gain insight from their little lives!

The above scripture basically states that the ants have a sense for change of seasons, so in the times of plenty they prepare and store up food for the season of scarcity. The Bible tells us that Joseph did the same thing for the Egyptians. God instructed Joseph through the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream; he showed him how to save for the upcoming long season of famine in order to preserve the people.

This is an important principle that we can all learn from. God has always been a God of seasons in the nature as well our personal lives. The creation itself goes through different seasons. The Fall and Winter are designed to keep the plant healthy, well rooted, and established. Eventually the fun season of fruitfulness comes in the Spring and the Summer seasons, and it brings joy and celebration.

If the ants counted on food in every season, they would not survive the Fall and Winter seasons when there isn’t much food around. The ants know to save for the dry seasons and so should we.

Practically speaking as people of God, we don’t live in debt like the world does. We have a culture of debt where everything can be charged, and people have thousands of dollars of credit card debts. Part of the problem has risen from not having any/enough savings. As a result when something unplanned happens, there is no plan or anticipation for the unexpected. That’s when we are forced to charge a bill on our credit card and pay high interest rate for borrowing that money.

Recently, my son’s car was in the shop twice, and each time it cost a few hundred dollars to fix it. At the second round of repair, he offered to pay for part of the bill. I was glad that he cared enough to inquire about the cost of repair since he is just a college student at this point. While, we weren’t looking for his monetary assistance, it gave a great teaching moment in the necessity of savings. I told him that he should always be in the habit of tithing and saving. That prepares him for the unexpected, and Lord willing when he gets his full time job, he will always be in the position to pay his own bills. Can I get an “Amen” from all the parents with adult children?

What season are you in? Are you preparing for the next season? Do you tithe and save regularly?

Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.  Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore.  Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.  And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. 1 Samuel 18:1-4

King Saul and Jonathan both took interest in David after he defeated Goliath. However, their relationship with David was as opposite as it could come. Saul’s relationship to David was a love hate relationship which over time turned to complete hatred. On the other hand, Jonathan lovingly and consistently loved David over the years until his death in a battle against Philistines.

Jonathan would have been the one to reach out to David since he was the prince and David was just a shepherd boy. Interestingly, Jonathan prophetically confirmed God’s anointed man and next in line for power by giving David his robe and his full armor transferring his birthright!

Jonathan’s attitude towards David was impressively kind and gracious. There were no subtle hints of jealousy or competition in his heart towards David. God gave him a love for David, and he trusted his heart instead of listening to his paranoid father. He could have easily been instrumental in sharing the news of David’s whereabouts with his father to get him eliminated, but he didn’t. On the contrary, when he knew Saul was chasing David, he sounded the alarm for David to run away from his father’s claws!

Once David heard the news of the death of Jonathan and Saul in battle, he mourned for both of them. David in his song about Jonathan’s death lamented,

“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me;” 2 Samuel 1:26a

When the Lord orders God ordained connections with others, they are free from strife, rejection, & fear. Sometimes a relationship is God-ordained but due to one person or both people’s insecurities, it impedes God’s purpose from fully developing to its fruition.

Insecurity and fear can also be an indication that the relationship is a man-made connection, and one or both people are holding on to it in their own strength for their personal reasons. A man-made connection may produce fruit for a season, but it comes with a high price of slavery of our soul!

If you were to pick the next man of God, would you have picked David as a shepherd boy? Most of us would do what Samuel did. He looked to Jesse’s older and more skilled sons as the possible future king. It wasn’t until he considered all the other older boys and ran out of options that he wondered if there is someone else that God had in mind. We can’t rely on what we see with our natural eyes, or it will betray us over and over again.

Jonathan took interest in David when he had nothing.  Jonathan did everything he could to see David protected and successful. He remained loyal to him all the way to the end. They had mutual love and respect for each other throughout their lives.

On the other hand, Saul was intimidated by David, and he tried to thwart God’s plan that the Lord already had set in motion. He could have been David’s coach and mentor, but he refused to see him as God’s anointed!

Godly connections see the hand of God on someone’s life, and they cooperate by doing their part in helping the person to move forward in God’s purposes. On the other hand, man-made connections are just about one or both parties, and the benefit it provides for them,. They will not be long lasting because they are based on selfish reasons.

Do you have Godly connections with other people? Just because someone is Godly it doesn’t make our connection with them Godly. If the relationship is based on fear of rejection, competition, or intimidation, we should seriously inquire of Lord about the nature of the relationship and our part in it.

Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent away, every man to his tent. And Jonathan attacked the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!” 1 Samuel 13:1-2

Jonathan, King Saul’s son, was a warrior just like his father, and he fought battles alongside of Saul by leading his father’s army. Fighting in battles could have also been a preparation for Jonathan as the successor to the crown. Jonathan was the first-born of King Saul which meant he would have had the right to the throne after Saul’s passing. However, God was not pleased with Saul due to his rebellion towards Him and chose to take the kingdom away from him.

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:1

This was not only going to be the end of King Saul’s monarchy, but it was also going to be the end of his dynasty! Jonathan lost the opportunity to the crown because of Saul’s disobedience!

The blessing of obedience and the curse of disobedience are not just limited to our own lives, but they affect the generations to come. That’s why it’s important to think long and hard before we run into disobedience and set things into motion that can cause a great regret later on.

We need to cut off the generational curses in our lives passed down from our parents/grandparents and begin the line of blessing because of our new inheritance in Christ. As we commit to walking with God, we choose to pass down a heritage of faith and life to our children and stop the death and destruction that was passed down to us.

Jonathan the prince lost the opportunity to the crown, but the scripture does not mention any resentment or bitterness towards his father and his father’s disobedience. He did not act like/ live like a victim.

Our lives may be different because of other people’s sin, but we can trust God that He still has something special for us in store in spite of what has happened to us in the past.

Jonathan couldn’t change his father’s past actions and neither can we change the past. However, we have a choice to feel victimized and stay stuck or keep looking to God for what He has ahead. Praise God for His grace that allowed Jonathan to stay in tune with the will of God rather than his own earthly/natural desires!

Lord, today we forgive those whose sin affected our lives. Free us from the consequence/bondage of their sins and reverse it in the name of Jesus. Purify our hearts. We declare that nothing can thwart the plan and the purpose of God in our lives! We look to you Lord the author and the finisher of our faith. Amen!

Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,  and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.  Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Luke 1: 39-45

Trust foundational to vulnerability

The scripture has no mention of  Mary speaking to her parents about the angelic visitation, but it does tell us that Mary with haste went to see Elizabeth. Mary must have trusted Elizabeth deeply. This was a vulnerable time in her life, and she needed a safe person to share her peculiar situation with. She was carrying the news of being pregnant while still a virgin. The average person would have raised his/her eye-brows to the story of angelic visitation and declaring that she was pregnant by power of the Holy Spirit!

Mary must have known that Elizabeth would believe her words. She knew that she wasn’t going to be subject to Elizabeth’s eye brow raising or her integrity being questioned in such a defenseless time in her life.

When I am in my vulnerable times, I don’t look for a lot of people to share my story with. All I need is one or two trusted friends who are safe to share my predicament. I know they will not judge me or label me, but they will point me in the direction of truth and love.

Recognition of the call brought honor

God confirmed Mary’s pregnancy and defended her by allowing Elizabeth to speak prophetically about Mary’s situation. Elizabeth without foreknowledge of Mary’s pregnancy prophesied about Mary’s fruit of the womb. Then she declared her as the “mother of my Lord”. Wow! What a timely and accurate prophecy!

Can you imagine prophesying over your young teenage cousin whom you have known since she was in diapers!? Your young cousin is not married yet, but you hear the Lord saying that she is now the carrier of the savior of the world!!

If Elizabeth had ever treated Mary as her cute little cousin, that day all of that came to a sudden halt. That day was a beginning of a new season. Elizabeth showed her high regards and called Mary the “mother of her Lord”.

How long would it take us to recognize the call and the anointing of God with those that we are in close relationships with? One of the dangers of any close relationship is that we can easily become familiar with each other to the point that we can’t hear or perceive that someone’s season is about to change. We can no longer look at them or treat them the way we used to.

David had that problem as a shepherd boy. When Samuel came to choose one of Jesse’s sons as the future king of Israel, his father didn’t even bother to invite him to the party. At first, Samuel the prophet was even caught up with the birth order and military qualifications of Jesse’s older sons.

Confirmation and Encouragement

Elizabeth was so in tune with the Lord that her language became a language of honor towards Mary who a week prior was just considered her younger teenage cousin. Elizabeth knew that Mary’s baby was going to be the Lord. She recognized it, confirmed it, and was excited for her.

The destiny of the two babies was going to be very different. Elizabeth’s son, John the Baptist was going to be a forerunner to Jesus. Elizabeth’s husband was the priest, and they had been barren for a long time. However, God didn’t choose their son to be the Messiah but a forerunner to the Messiah. From Mary & Elizabeth’s interaction, the scripture doesn’t give us any hint of hesitation or jealousy on Elizabeth’s part. Elizabeth was honored to stand before Mary. Mary humbly looked to her cousin for the encouragement she so needed in this season of her life.

Praise God for Godly relationships where there is a mutual honor and submission. These relationships don’t cause turmoil or confusion in ones’ heart but affirm and confirm the true call of God without any flattery. 

Lord, thank you for Godly relationships in our lives. Please continue to connect us with those who are part of our destiny, and we are part of theirs. Amen!

Do you have Godly relationships in your life? How do you define a Godly relationship?

Godly relationships recognize God’s call in each other’s life, and they do what they can to support and nurture the purpose of God in the other person’s life. These relationships pay attention to God’s purpose for coming together, and they value that above and beyond individuals’ desires and affections.

Relationships that are based on truth and the purpose of God stay healthy and flexible because they are sensitive to the Spirit of God and the change He is making in each person’s life as well as in the relationship.

We live in a society that we have more acquaintances than true personal friends. We can get to know people through our children’s sports, church ministries, Bible studies, gym, workplace, and a whole host of other avenues. However, most of those individuals are not the people we will call upon if we needed something. Many of those relationships have been developed over the convenience of doing a task together or being in the same place at the same time on a regular basis.

Godly relationships require a commitment of time, energy, communication, forgiveness, and sacrifice. True mature relationships are free from competition, backbiting, flattery, or possessiveness. Each person is given room to grow and become all that God wants them to be including making new friendships or moving in a new direction.

Mary and her cousin, Elizabeth, had a beautiful Godly relationship while their lives were very different from each other. Elizabeth could have been at least 15 to 20 years older than Mary. She was married to a priest but had remained barren for years. On the other hand, Mary was a virgin teen-ager engaged to be married to Joseph with no thought of pregnancy on her mind.

And Zacharias said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” And the angel answered and said to him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings. But behold, you will be mute and not able to speak until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.” Luke 1:18-20

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. Matthew 1:19

Within a few months of each other, both of their worlds got interrupted by an angel. Both of them were going to have a child. Both of their spouses were surprised. Elizabeth had waited for so long that Zechariah thought they were too old to be able to have children. On the other hand, Mary was a virgin teen-ager and wasn’t yet married to Joseph. Joseph wondered if Mary was telling him the truth, and he was entertaining the idea of letting her go quietly. These two women were carrying children with purpose, but the Lord’s plan for those babies was very different from each other.

In the next devotional, I’ll share about Mary & Elizabeth’s encounter and what we can learn from their relationship.