Your Word Is A Lamp For My Feet and A Light for My Path

Thy Word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path

 Psalm 119:105

 

A lamp for my feet:  My feet carry me to the crossroads and there I must choose which direction I will take.

A light for my path: The Word of God is the light for our path and we will gain wisdom and direction from it.

The lamp reveals what is ahead on each step I take so that I am aware of where I am.  Therefore when I have reached a crossroad the light of God’s Word will give me wisdom in which way to go.

 

This lamp for my feet and light for my path also reveals to me the dangers "masquerading as" delightful enjoyments lurking in darkness. 

Some of us were involved in some of these kinds of things before we came to Christ but we have been given the power to overcome through the blood of Christ Jesus and to be able resist these temptations. He has also given us a Helper, the Holy Spirit who will take the Word of God, which is living and active and powerful,(Hebrews 4:12) to give us the victory through our faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood. Even though we are now Christians, we can still be tempted, but we will be given the power to resist as we turn to God and turn away from that “thing” that wishes to have us. We belong to Christ Jesus as we were purchased by His blood. We must focus on the cross and our Savior, and keep an eternal perspective, if we wish to conquer temptation and defeat the enemy.

These things that "masquerade as" delightful, exciting, daring, and sometimes forbidden, also have an attraction that has addictive powers that will eventually destroy the person and hurt those closest to him. They are really snares to trap you, and dark pits for you to fall into. Some examples of these would be drugs, alcohol, compulsive gambling, witchcraft, Satanism, pornography, rape,  torture, occult world, cults, unnatural sexual relations, pedophilia, incest, appetite for violent, sadistic movies or games, and murder. Out of these things will come lies, deceit, cover-ups, foul language, pride/arrogance, uncontrolled hatred, anger and abusive behavior.  People are no longer seen as made in the image of God, but as vessels to be used, abused and trashed. 

Any of the above can start innocently enough by being influenced to just try it once.  Some people get hooked easier than others and use any one of these things as a crutch to get through life. Once hooked, they will progressively get in deeper. It may begin insidiously, but will incrementally increase until they can no longer stop the addiction by their own  power. They have been caught in the evil one’s snare and are trying to claw their way out of a deep, dark pit. They feel alone, rejected, chained to this addictive habit or behaviors with no way out. They want to be released, but find their grip is still glued to the thing that has taken over them and is destroying them. These people are someone’s sons, daughters, or brothers, sisters, or parents. They are lost and don’t always know it until they are so without hope they want to end it--- one way or another.

Like the Prodigal son in Matthew 15, it is all about them and what their desires are, and about their wanting it now!  It may begin with peer pressure, or feelings of rejection, or abandonment. It may begin with having too many electronic things but not enough “expressed” love from a family that is time challenged with busy work schedules and other necessities that need to be done. Some parents may expect their children will be happily occupied with their electronic devices and games. The parents may be so busy with work, and bringing home more work to be prepared for a business trip. They may be just wiped out after finishing their job, running errands, cooking, and cleaning that they just want to sit in front of the television instead of getting involved in a sport activity or listening to their son or daughter’s day. It could be that their parents are so addicted and fighting their own demons that their ability to be a responsible parent is defective.

What is the answer to all this? Most often, I think many people have to get to the place where the prodigal son ended up before they regain their sanity and realize it was because of their wrong choices. If they were a child when introduced to the evil that has damaged their life, as an adult they have the choice to do something about it. No one gets through life without being scathed, so we have to take what was done, acknowledge it has messed us up, then seek to get healing so we can make a better life that will benefit both us and others. It won’t be easy but nothing worthwhile is. The first step is acknowledging we are trapped in chains, in a dark dungeon, with no way out, and need a Savior to rescue us. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - everyone - to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).

Cry out to Jesus, the Christ, acknowledging you are a sinner who needs saving. Thank Him for dying in your place, for taking your sins upon Himself and taking the punishment for you. Why?  So that you could have a new life lived in Him, for Him, and to Him, with a Helper. The Holy Spirit and the Word of God will teach you and lead you through in His path, encouraging and directing you all the way. Ask Him to heal and change you so you can leave the sins you are in… and live for Him from now on. Ask Him to give the Holy Spirit to help you live for Him, and trust that He can, and He will.  Prayerfully thank Him. Get a Bible and begin reading at the gospel of John and find a Bible teaching, Christ honoring, graceful church to hook up with. 

Just as the father of the prodigal son in Matthew 15 was watching for his wayward son to come home, your heavenly Father has been watching and waiting for you to come home. He will be over-joyed and all heaven will celebrate your new birth in the family of God as an adopted child with family inheritance rights.

Praise Him, for He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and delivered us into the kingdom of light, the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14).

There is no sin so great that it cannot be forgiven if the person is sincerely contrite, and humbly cries out to Jesus Christ in repentance (a willingness to leave known sin behind), and put their faith in the saving work of Christ Jesus on the cross of Calvary, believing that He was raised from the dead on the third day and ascended back to heaven about forty days later with the promise to return.

If you are already a Christian and find yourself in an addictive behavior or habit you must admit this to your pastor, repent of it and ask God to break this addiction through the power of Jesus name and His shed blood. Remember, He has given us everything necessary to know Him and live a life honoring to Him (2 Peter 1:3-10) (even though it will not be perfected until He returns).  Ask Him to take away the desire for this thing and cause you to hate the thing that has taken you captive. Thank Him, and ask Him to enable you to live a victorious life for Him, and to help others on the way. Talk to your pastor about if there are others with similar addictions in your church, if there could be an arranged time to meet regularly for Bible, prayer, accountability, support and encouragement.  Do Not Hide It! You are not alone. You are not the only Christian who has slid into something that has taken him captive. Christ came to set the captives free.  He is your Hope as well as your Savior. Your pastor will (should) understand this. Talk to him after you talk to Christ Jesus.

~Annie~

 

 

 

 

 

I AM the Light of the World

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).

(John 8:58 and Exodus 3:14)

Previously, in the first eleven verses of John chapter 8, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees had brought a woman caught in adultery to the temple court where Jesus was teaching. They said, ”Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  Now what do You say?” They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing Him. 

Jesus bent down and wrote something in the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees began leaving one by one.  Jesus then asked the women where her accusers where.  He asks her if anyone has condemned her. Then Jesus tells her neither does He condemn her.  He says to her, “Go now, and leave your life of sin.” (See John 8:1-11).

Then Jesus spoke again to the people, saying, “I AM the light of the world.  Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12).

In this same chapter Jesus tells the Pharisees that He is from above but that they are of this world.  If they do not believe that He is the One He claims to be, they will die in their sins. He later tells them the reason they are ready to kill Him is that they have no room for His Word.  The Old Testament prophets told about the coming Messiah, even where He would be born, how He would be betrayed and suffer, gave a description of the crucifixion, and even that the grave could not keep Him. These religious leaders should have known and recognized Christ Jesus, but they didn’t.  They were so in the dark, that they were not aware that it was God they were trying to trap and have killed.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 

But God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:19-21).

In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1).

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father through grace and truth (John 1:14).

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has every seen God, but God the One and Only (John 1:17-18).

John the Baptist was a witness to the True Light who gives light to every man that puts their faith in Christ Jesus (see John 1:9).

When we are born again from above, the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit to desire after Jesus and His Word. The Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding of God's Word. All Scripture was breathed out by the Holy Spirit of God and is able to make one wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. Because all Scripture has been God-breathed it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  
(2 Timothy 3:15b-17; Romans10:17). 

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path (Psalm119:105).

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the life consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them (Ephesians 5:8-10).

John the Baptist was with two of his disciples when he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. After that, Jesus began calling more disciples to "follow Him." (see John 1:35-37). Now Jesus wants us to follow after Him and to let our light shine for His glory.

One day we will not need the sun or moon or any artificial light. The Lamb will be our light!

And the city has no need of sun and moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of he earth will bring their glory into it (Revelation 21:23-24). Amen!

~Annie~

I AM the Bread of Life

I AM The Bread of Life

                                                             (The first of Seven I AM’s)                                               

 

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, ‘I AM’  (John8:58)                 Jesus was claiming to be Jehovah, Yahweh, who spoke to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:14)

(In context, John 8:48-59)

Jesus said to them, “I AM the Bread of Life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me (John 6:38).

For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day (John 6:40).

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life (John 6:63).

Jesus said, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Jesus not only provides bread that leads to eternal life; He is the Bread of Life!

We read in John chapter one that Jesus is the Word that became flesh and made His dwelling among us, He is the glorious and Only Son from the Father, and He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

In Hebrews we read a description of God’s Word.  It is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, it pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of our heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Ephesians 6:17 tells us that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.  In all our spiritual battles the Holy Spirit will take the Word of God and use it to defend us and to defeat the enemy. 

In Ephesians 5:25-26 we read Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing of water through the Word.

We have been taught, with regard to our former way of life, to put off our old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitudes of our minds, and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:22-24). 

We cannot just put off our old attitudes without replacing them with godly attitudes.  Whatever you put off will be replaced either by worldly affections or godly affections.  We need to be in God’s Word regularly, (daily according to Jesus in Matthew 4:4), in order to progressively put off the old self, and to put on and practice living out Christ-like attitudes.  The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Teacher in this, as He takes the Word of God and causes us to delight in it.  Our desire to know God deeper will grow the more we are in His Word.  The more deeply we go into His Word, the hungrier we get as we delight in discovering truths that we may have not noticed before.  .  

Peter tells us to prepare ourselves for action, to be self-controlled and to set our hope fully on the grace to be given us through Christ Jesus.  As His children we have been set free from enslavement to evil desires, and we are to purify our ways by obeying the truth so that we have a sincere and deep love for the brethren.  For we have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living and enduring Word of God (taken from 1 Peter 13-23).

According to Peter, we are to crave God’s Word so that we may grow up in our salvation (1 Peter 2:2)

The Bereans,  in Acts 17:11, give us a good example of learning how to be “discerning of what is correct doctrine and what is false doctrine”.  If we do not examine what we are taught or what we watch online, we could be led astray from the truth of God’s Word.  Besides this reason, for people who are on their way to heaven, do we not want to know more about God now, and His Word?  Do we not want to be living our best in light of His Word so we will not be ashamed when we meet Him face to face?  No, we will not get our living out His Word here perfected until after He comes back, but we are to be progressively allowing His Word, ignited by His Spirit, to change our desires and attitudes to reflect Christ’s, to increase our love for each other, and to enable us to live by faith upon faith until He comes.  We must always rely on  the Holy Spirit to open God’s Word to us and enable us to apply it to our lives.  The Holy Spirit always works in accordance with God’s Word and never contrary to it. The Holy Spirit will always give glory to Christ Jesus.

~Annie~

 

 



Re-Blogged ... John Myer at BareknuckleBible

Admit It—Everybody Serves Something

  Posted on August 27, 2014 By Bareknuckle Bible

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I’m still not completely comfortable with the idea of being bought. It’s hard on the pride. I live in a country where freedom virtually links up to what it means to be human. Nobody brags about being someone else’s property. Yet the apostles boasted in being slaves of Christ. They didn’t feel dehumanized by the redemption of Jesus. Being bought with cash is one thing. Being bought with blood is another. I need to keep that fact front and center in my extremely American mindset. If someone gave His life for me, that doesn’t suggest I’m worth less!

Secondly, it’s not just the fact that I am owned, but who owns me that becomes important here. “Well, I’m my own person!” cries the dude with too many bumper stickers. “I own myself!” But allow me to quote from pop scriptures the gospel of Dylan: “You gotta serve somebody.” A folk singer can see it. The freedom of a world where only me, myself and I exists, is an illusion. Something always ends up running you. For your own sake, you might want to find out what that thing is.

At the end of the nineties, I did a whirlwind tour of the Far East. One thing I noticed was the wild dog population. Some of these animals ran the streets completely free, without human owners. Only their hunger and sex drives controlled them. They were filthy, wormy, disease-ridden, and wandering. In senses not too far removed, that’s exactly what happens when a mortal life decides not to belong to the divine.

If you wander around without Christ—the rightful owner of your life—a whole world of influences stand ready to pocket you. You’ll still get owned. Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Cor. 6:12), indicating that apart from Christ there are plenty of things with coercive muscle. In the beginning, some of these make fine goals, like getting promoted out of that cubicle and into an office. Aiming for that better school. Driving a car that’s not older than you are.  But take a simple desire and feed it with the steroids of time and money and attention and focus and the hope that it will give ultimate satisfaction, and that thing will transform into a fake messiah.

Paul Tripp, Christian counselor and author, says, “A desire for a good thing becomes a bad thing when that desire becomes a ruling thing.”  Although they start off harmless and good, desires make lousy lords. And it’s not long before those lords start to lead us into lousy directions, bringing out the worst in us. Consider the Texas mom who wanted her daughter to be a cheerleader.  She wanted it so badly, she hired a hit man to kill the mother of her daughter’s rival. It all started with a desire for something cool—a spot on the squad with pom-poms. No problem. Then the aspiration grew bigger than God, sprouting anger, jealousy, murder, deceit, and a willingness to jeopardize everything to get it. Call the whole thing crazy if you want, but that is a possible template for anybody belonging to anything other than Christ.

This whole problem can become intensely personal. Some Christians had gotten so far away from the concept of belonging to Christ that Paul wrote, “their god is their belly” (Phil. 3:19). Food ruled them. Others visited prostitutes (1 Cor. 6). Sex ruled them and lead them into a life of increasing perversion and addiction. The Bible speaks of the sluggard (a lazy person) always in bed (Prov. 6:9). Sleep rules them, eventually blunting their personal productivity as they hunt for a life mainly lived after 11:00 a.m.

All of these—food and drink, sex, and sleep—are personal, legitimate parts of the human experience, but they inflict damage when they become ruling principles in your life. Over time they give less and take more. Creaturely things aren’t supposed to control you because by themselves and in themselves they are void of meaning. They can’t take you anywhere except momentary gratification.  “If a blind man leads a blind man, will they not both end up in a ditch?” (Luke 6:39).

Amidst the gaggle of would-be gods and lords, only the real, rightful Master is “bringing many sons into glory” (Heb 2:10).

I’m feeling better already about being bought.

 

 

 

Thank you, John Myer,

This is good.  I re-blogged it from Bareknuckle Bible at WordPress.com

 

This is the first time I have re-blogged someone.  My purpose is both to share some of my own gleanings while learning at the same time, and now, maybe occasionally, re-blogging someone whose post I have benefitted from who requests that other bloggers feel free to re-blog.  I also like to share quotes from well-known, and maybe lesser known, Christian theologians from the past.

 

~Annie~



A Christ Centered Life

 

 

A Christ-Centered Life

In this short letter to the Colossian Christians Paul goes to great lengths to proclaim the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ in all things and for all people.  He is Lord over all creation and has brought redemption for all those who would have faith in Him and what He accomplished on the cross through His shed blood, death and resurrection. He brings freedom to those who are being held captive by Satan in the the kingdom of darkness, and translates them into the kingdom of light so that they may have a new life in Him.

Since a kingdom must have a king, in reality we must choose which king we serve. We cannot serve two kings at one time so must be rescued from the kingdom of darkness whose king is the world, the flesh, and Satan by recognizing we are sinners, being willing to walk away from known sin, crying out to God for mercy and grace, and by putting our faith in the saving blood of Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus then becomes our new King and we belong to Him. He has given us the Holy Spirit to enable us, in all ways, to live for our King and abide by His will.

Paul prays for the Christians by giving thanks that the grace of the Father, the gospel of the Son, and the love of the Spirit have been made manifest to them so that they can experience and exemplify the faith, love and hope of the Christ-centered life.  Paul calls on the Christians to remember who they are and what they have because of the shed blood of Christ and His wondrous work of grace and truth.

We are to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…

How? Through prayerful study and reflecting on the Word of God with the Holy Spirit as our Teacher.
Why?  So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing Him by bearing good fruit in every good work.

We are to be continually increasing our knowledge of God.
How?  Through setting aside a daily time to be prayerfully in His Word relying on the Holy Spirit for enlightenment of His truth. Why?  So we can apply what we have been shown to the circumstances of each day.

That we may be strengthened with all His power and grace for all endurance and patience with joy
Why?  Because He has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

 

~Annie~