From darkness to light

The earth lay in darkness cold as a tomb 

there was no warmth or light

It lay without life like a barren womb

of a woman alone in the night

....It waited for Jesus

'In the beginning the earth was formless and there was darkness over the deep.'

This is what we are told in Genesis chapter 1 vs.1 and 2.

In the same way we, carnal mankind, are born into spiritual darkness, not knowing the ways of God our creator, each person going its own way and being right in its own eyes.  Out of this status quo has come chaos on earth, with wars and dissensions arising through local and global conflicts.

So what is the light that is needed in this spiritual darkness, and where do we find it?  We are told in 1 John ch. 1 v.5 that God is light, and are encouraged to walk in that light, and Psalm 119 v. 105 says that God's Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.  We are also told that Jesus is the Word of God.  So we see that the light that is God can be found in Jesus, and will direct our path.  John ch. 3 vs. 17-19 says:- 

'For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.'  He who believes in Him is not condemned, he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.'

So we see that light is associated with believing on the name of the only Son of God, and darkness is associated with not believing on His name and doing evil deeds.  

Is it by choice, or predestined, that we do good or evil?  What is good, what is evil, where is the plumb line?  Is my 'evil' somebody else's 'good', is my 'good' somebody else's 'evil'?  To whom somebody else's evil is good, then it is good.  To whom somebody else's good is evil, then it is evil.  To establish a common good or a common evil there must be a plumb line.  Without a plumb line there is no such thing as good or evil - only chaos.

So where is this 'plumb line to be found and how much does responsibility to change things depend upon the individual?

I am the ruling authority in the world, and I have the power to change the world, to create war or to create peace.  'She's mad' some would say, on hearing me make this statement. Others would say nothing, would just avoid me, thinking 'She's mad.'  Yet whether I speak these words or merely think them, I will maintain that 'I am the ruling authority in the world, and I have the power to change the world to create war or to create peace.'  The reason I can be so certain of this fact is that the world that I speak of is 'my world'.  I have no authority over your world.   I may have some influence, but I have no authority.  

'My world' consists of 'myself and others', and the 'power to change my world' depends on my relationship with others, with action, reaction and interaction being the tools that I use, and choice being the hand that uses them.  The Jews have a saying, 'To save one person is to save the world'.  The Muslims have a saying 'To kill one person is to kill mankind'.  Though the Jew speaks of saving and the Muslim speaks of killing , they carry the same message, the power to promote war or peace, one through an exhortation, the other through a warning.  These sayings have no authority in my world.  They may have influence, but they have no authority.  Always the power to choose what I promote remains with me. I can blow on a spark or I can spit on it. Whatever I choose to do with the spark will also determine what the spark itself will do.  Herein lies influence.  

There is an ancient Chinese proverb which says 'If there be righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character.  If there is beauty n the character, there will be harmony in the home.  If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.  When there is order in each nation there will be peace in the world.'  This proverb also carries a message, the influence of righteousness.  This proverb also has no authority in my world. It may have influence but it has no authority.  Always the power to choose what I have in my heart remains with me.

So now you see that I am the ruling authority of the world, and I have the power to change the world, to create war or to create peace....... my world that is, I can only try to influence yours.

the problem with trying to influence someone else, even with righteousness, is that whatever you are trying to influence someone else with must be able to prove itself and stand against any argument or attack to be able to achieve its objective of convincing and convicting the person you are trying to influence.  The Bible says that 'Every Word of God proves true'. It also says that Jesus is both the Word of God and our righteousness.  Psalm 85 tells us that when we, His people, turn to God in our hearts, then He will speak peace to us, that salvation is at hand for those who fear Him.  So it appears there is choice involved.  Our part is to turn to God in our hearts and to fear Him.  Verse 11 says that faithfulness springing from the ground will be followed by righteousness looking down from the sky.  In Deuteronomy ch. 30 God says He has set before us life and good, death and evil and encourages us to choose life, that we and our descendants may live.

So we see that peace and righteousness can be obtained by turning to the light of God, reflected through the Word of God, Jesus.  Then we the church, just like the moon which has no light of its own, but can only reflect the light of the sun, can in turn reflect the light of God on a darkened world, that they too may live.




Once again the Earth waits        

as in days of old
again there is darkness
again it is cold
But now there's a moon
to reflect the sun
to announce the return 
of God's Holy One
to tell of salvation
from sin and death
by receiving God's Spirit
..... His life-giving breath

Faith, the substance of things hoped for

Often I have been anxious, sick or down in spirit and, as a result of the Holy Spirit highlighting specific scriptures to me when I have sought God in each situation, I have been kept safe and given peace of mind.  I am aware that 'faith' has to come by hearing, and 'hearing' by the Word of God (Romans ch. 10 v.17), and so I would encourage all who read this post to seek that faith for themselves through the Word.

I hope that the reading of this post might in some way enable the reader to identify with me as a Christian, and rejoice in the fact that we can rid ourselves of the Satanic ruler of this world's grip on us by trusting in Jesus, and receive all the blessings promised in Him, remembering that with God all things are possible.

'They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. ' 

Revelation ch. 12 v.11

'My mouth will tell of Your righteous acts, of Your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come, I will praise Your righteousness, Yours alone.' Psalm 71 vs. 15 - 16

Observations on Faith

One of the explanations of the word 'faith' in my dictionary is 'acceptance of divine revelation apart from absolute proof', and this is the interpretation which fits very aptly the kind of faith that God requires that we have in order to not only please Him, but also to cause to be substance the things that we hope for , as shown in Hebrews ch. 11 v.1.
Faith is fruitful only when it is operated through acceptance of what the Lord is revealing to us, and obedience apart from reasoning.  In fact, reasoning will destroy faith because the carnal mind can only accept what it has already learned, not what it has yet to learn, and will try to convince it's host to do only what is pleasant.
We are told in Ecclesiastes ch. 8 vs. 2 - 5a:- 'Keep the king's command, and because of your sacred oath be not dismayed, go from his presence, do not delay when the matter is unpleasant, for he does whatever he pleases. For the word of the king is supreme, and who may say to him 'What are you doing'.  He who obeys a command will meet no harm,' and this appears to have been the attitude which motivated Abraham when told by God to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Abraham believed that, regardless of how it appeared to be to his natural mind, God's promise could not be annulled if he acted on God's instruction. 

God is neither the author of confusion nor a man that He should lie, and in Genesis ch. 21 v.2 we see that God told Abraham that through Isaac would his descendants be named. Yet in Genesis ch. 22 v.2 had told him to offer his son as a burnt offering. 
We see in v. 1 however that the reason for this was that God was testing him, and we see that Abraham still believed that God would keep His promise of him having descendants through his son Isaac, because in v. 8 He says to Isaac 'God will provide Himself a lamb'.
Way back in Genesis ch. 15 v.5 God had told Abraham that his own son would be his heir.  In v.6 we are told that Abraham believed God and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. So we see that believing God is righteousness, the kind of belief which does not waver in spite of the testing which will come to prove it.  This is FAITH!  

We are told in James ch.2 v.26 that just as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead. James had given the example of how Abraham had been told by God to sacrifice his son Isaac. He had actually carried out the instruction which God had given him without question, even as far as the actually stretching forth his hand to take the knife to slay his son.  In verse 22 we are told that faith was not only active along with his works but was COMPLETED by his works. Yet to his natural mind God telling Abraham in Genesis chapter 22 v2 to sacrifice his son did not go together with what God had told him in Genesis ch. 21 v.12 'through Isaac shall your descendants be named.

However, if we look at verse 1 of Genesis chapter 22 we are told that God was testing Abraham.  So we see that God tests His people.  This a very firm principle throughout both the old testament and the new testament. We are told not to just be hearers of His Word spoken to us, but to be 'doers' of that Word, and this is the 'works' we must do - we must ACT upon the the Word spoken to us by God through the Holy Spirit, regardless of what the carnal mind is trying to tell us. Whatever the Lord tells us to do in our walk with Him we should endeavour to please Him, even if what He says to us seems unpleasant.

Hebrews ch. 12 v. 25 states:- 'See that you do not refuse Him Who is speaking'  A whole generation perished in the wilderness because they did not listen to the voice of the Lord.  Jesus says 'He who hears my Word and does it is like a man who builds his house on a rock.'  Luke ch. 6 v.49

I hope that what I have shared emphasises that the Holy Spirit brings to our attention the importance of being obedient to the Lord's Word if we are to be like Him.