Light Up Life and Faith
Even with all the hecticness of the last week, there is a peace about sitting down with You tonight, Father. Use me as You will. May the words flowing through my fingertips be the words that someone needs – myself included – as we walk this journey of life. Amen.
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When I sat down to write last Tuesday, I had every intention to pick up where I had left off the night before, but life happened and that didn’t!
So a little further down in the prayer GOD THE SPIRIT from The Valley of Vision there is this:
When I feel my lack of him, light up life and faith,
….for when I lose thee I am either in the dark and cannot see thee,
….or Satan and my natural abilities content me with a little light,
….so that I seek no further for the Spirit of life.
Teach me then what to do.
It never ceases to amaze me how God can bring seemingly random melodies in life into perfect harmony! I am continuing to read The Valley of Vision and I have also taken up, The Way of Love: Re-Discovering the Only Path to Peace in This Life (by Ted Dekker) a devotional that Karen and Massey gave me for Christmas 2021. (I’ve also been reading The Life of Christ by Umphrey Lee, loaned to me by a dear friend. It linked very well to today’s sermon!)
The Valley of Vision and The Way of Love intersected in the paragraph quoted above. In Dekker’s devotional, he speaks, as the Bible clearly states, that we are born into a world shrouded entirely in darkness. Only as we are in Yeshua (Jesus’ original name in Hebrew) is light brought into the darkness. Even as believers, we are blinded while living here unless we fully embrace the path that Yeshua has set before us. And it may sound far too simple, but it is what Yeshua calls us to, and that is love.
Dekker quotes 1 John 2:10-11,
The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. But the one who hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. NASB
One of our overwhelming issues in life is the lack of truly genuine, agape love. From a Biblical viewpoint, agape love is unconditional love. That is the kind of love God shows and extends to us, but it is certainly difficult to come by in this world. Even amongst those of us who would lay down our lives for those we love, to love them unconditionally is virtually unattainable. But that must be our goal.
Lord Jesus, as our Puritan friend prayed, when we feel a lack of Your Holy Spirit, when we are in the dark and cannot see thee…light up life and faith. And when we ask then that He teach us what to do, may we be filled to overflowing with Your love – not the shammy here-today-gone-tomorrow love of the world but Your agape – unconditional love. So be it…Amen.
Jan 8th, 2023, Sun, 7:15 pm
Seal and Impression
It wasn’t an overly eventful break but there was enough downtime to recharge my battery and get a good start on some beneficial habits. Father, I would ask for Your blessing on our time together.
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Over break, I made a point of reading the same prayer in The Valley of Vision pretty much every day. The Puritan that wrote the lines I read packed a lot in and his words stretched me. Although his original terminology has been written into more contemporary English, I still must look up words fairly regularly. And certain lines just take me a while to fully grasp the author’s intent.
In the prayer entitled GOD THE SPIRIT, the author is lamenting that he is shorting himself, if you will. God’s resources are infinite. They never run dry. They’re never in short supply. But us? We often let ourselves get to the bottom of the barrel.
Often, I feel like one of the foolish virgins (bridesmaids) that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 25:1-13. Part of their cultural tradition was that they come prepared with their lamps (small clay pots with a wick that was fueled with oil). The five wise virgins had everything they needed, extra oil included but the five foolish virgins neglected to bring extra oil.
They may have been lazy but for the most part, they were negligent. In all the excitement of the occasion – a wedding mind you! – they may have just forgotten. Regardless, when the bridegroom arrived, they were off in the middle of the night, trying to find oil.
There may be times when I ignore the Spirit’s words to me, but more oft than naught, I’m just not paying attention. Or I’m distracted by other things that I feel are important…but those things are never more important than what the Holy Spirit is communicating to me. The Puritan author writes,
I pray not so much for graces as for the Spirit himself,
because I feel his absence,
and act by my own spirit in everything.
Give me not weak desires but the power of his presence,
for this is the surest way to have all his graces,
and when I have the seal I have the impression also… (emphasis mine)
I’ve wrestled with that last line. I know what a seal is and how an impression is made. But trying to wrap my mind around it has been a challenge.
Hundreds of years ago, it was a common means of securing correspondence. Initially, it was used by the powers that be – royalty and then the “church”. The seal was of wax and the impression was made on the hot wax with a ring or something that would leave an identifying mark in the wax.
In 2 Corinthians 1:22, the Apostle Paul stated,
[God] has also put His seal on us [that is, He has appropriated us and certified us as His] and has given us the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts as a pledge [like a security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life]. AMP
God has put His seal on us, and the Holy Spirit is the impression – He is that security deposit to guarantee the fulfillment of His promise of eternal life.
God has surely done His part. Now it is our turn. We must lay hold of what has been given us. We must not let the paltry offerings of the world distract us!
Our Heavenly Father is more than generous, and we can’t ignore it! Amen? Amen!
Jan 3rd, 2023, Tues, 12:40 pm
Quiet Christmas Needed
Thank You, Father, for where you have me. It is not always a perfect place to be, but You are always with me. I’m not perfect myself, so You get me through it all in spite of myself. I cling to Your mighty power to do so. All praise to You!
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I am somewhat hesitant to do this, but I am in need of a little hiatus. I am weary on many fronts – physically, mentally… I am just grateful that I am rekindling my walk with the Lord. I’ve not stopped walking by His side, it’s just that our (my) conversation has been dragging in recent times. There has been far too much silence and far too little interaction and, as always, listening. And indeed, those failings have been on my part and not His. As I wrote yesterday, that area of my life is coming along and I will most certainly keep at it – it is too important to do otherwise!
Anyway, I am taking a respite for a week or so. We are on our Christmas break, and many of my friends and family are so in need of it. If you think of us, say a little prayer for us, that we may return refreshed and ready to continue our work. And let me stress, for myself and many others, it’s not just a job…it is a privilege and a responsibility. Everyone in our line of work, be they teachers, bus drivers, custodians, administrators, or any other position of authority, we all are in places of influence. May the Lord use us as He deems fit even in the most common of situations. When there are vacancies in the lives of children – and for that matter in the lives of our fellow workers – may we be the instruments of love that You need, Lord. May we be Your hands and feet to impact. May we be Your voice that we in our small way may be heard over the tumults of life.
May the Lord bless you abundantly in this season and the up-and-coming months. May your Christmas be merry and your New Year be filled with an abundance of His presence in every part of your life!
(Also, feel free to look my archives for plenty of reading material! Blessings!)
Dec 22nd, 2022, Thurs, 6:51 pm
Redolent!
O Holy Spirit,
As the sun is full of light,
….the ocean full of water,
….Heaven full of glory,
……..so may my heart be full of thee.
– Spiritus Sanctus, from The Valley of Vision, p28
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I continue to enjoy my copy of The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. The opening prayer is the opening lines of this particular prayer.
Actually, I’ve made a point of reading this prayer every morning for the last week. As I mentioned some days back, I felt the need to shore up my relationship with the Lord. First, I set my alarm 15 minutes earlier. For quite a while I got up at 4:00 AM but, at that time, I felt it would be better used trying to get a bit more sleep, so I set it for 4:15. But now I’ve made the deliberate decision to get up at 4:00 again. And I’ve exchanged some old unproductive habits, for new productive ones.
I read Our Daily Bread from their app, first thing. Then later, after a bite of breakfast, I’ve been reading this prayer from The Valley of Vision and another devotional entitled, The Way of Love: Re-Discovering the Only Path to Peace in this Life by Ted Dekker. (He is one of my favorite fictional writers, but I received this devotional as a gift and decided to start reading it.)
Focusing on the heavenly inspired has helped realign my heart and mind and I plan on keeping it up!
There’ve been a couple of things that have spoken to me from the Spiritus Sanctus prayer. One is after the author pleads for filling by the Holy Spirit, they write,
I bewail my coldness, poverty, emptiness,
………….imperfect vision, languid service,
…………prayerless prayers, praiseless praises.
There’s sure nothing wrong with being honest with ourselves! The phrases prayerless prayers and praiseless praises grabbed me each time I read them.
Another line that gave me pause was…
Come as joy,
….to dwell in me, move in me, animate me;
Picture that, being animated by joy! The world could sure use some of that…a lot of that!
Then …make me redolent of thy fragrance.
I wrote of the word redolent when I was first loaned this book back in August 2016
Its definition: strongly reminiscent or suggestive of (something). May I be redolent of the Holy Spirit’s fragrance for the rest of my life! For me to live for Him I must remain full of Him. I cannot fill myself with the things this world deems important. It’s like comparing a healthy meal to just consuming junk food. It may taste good in my mouth, but I won’t feel so good later and eventually, it will kill me. A steady diet of the world cannot satisfy – only He can do that.
And when we’re full of the Holy Spirit, we cannot help but cast off His aroma. May everything I say and do be redolent of Him! May the way I live draw others to Him.
When Karen puts a roast in the crockpot to cook for the day, by the time supper rolls around the whole house is permeated with the scent of that scrumptious meal! May I be so full of You, Holy Spirit that people have to get a taste!
Dec 21st, 2022, Wed, 8:37 pm
Parts Is Parts
Thank You, Father, for a great start to my morning. Some extra time set apart for me and You makes all the difference! May it become a habit.
Romans 6:12-14 (<<click here to read the passage)
This is going back a ways, but in the mid-80s, Wendy’s had an ad campaign for their chicken sandwiches in which the key phrase was “parts is parts”.
A gentleman at the counter of a hamburger joint saw another customer walk away with a sandwich and the dialogue went as follows:
Customer: “Excuse me but what was that in there?”
Employee: “It’s chicken!”
Customer: “Chicken?”
Another customer: “Processed chicken.”
Customer: “Processed?”
Employee: “That’s like when they take a lot of chickens and assemble their respective parts.”
Customer: “What parts?”
He asks someone else, and they say, “Different parts.”
Employee: “Parts is parts.”
Wendy’s sandwiches were (and still are) made of whole chicken breasts, not processed parts.
I do like their spicy chicken sandwiches, but this post isn’t a promo for them. My focus is on “parts”.
Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. v13a NLT
We have all kinds of parts that we can allow to become instruments of evil – our eyes can perceive things in twisted ways, our hands can perform wicked deeds, our feet can transport us to tempting destinations, our ears can listen to perverse and wicked verbiage, and our tongues can cut people far more damagingly than sticks and stones ever would.
Other parts can be in check, but if just one part becomes an instrument of evil the damage is done…parts is parts.
Instead, give yourselves completely [every single one of your parts] to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. v13b NLT (emphasis mine)
Honestly, it’s much easier said than done…right? But here’s the thing – and I’ve said it repeatedly – we cannot do this on our own. In order to succeed in this great endeavor, we must strive to work alongside Jesus!
He said in Matthew 11:29-30,
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” AMP
Only in Him can we be victorious…and it doesn’t just happen. It takes a conscientious effort on our part. It takes discipline. It takes consistency. Every bit of that until it is embedded in our hearts and minds. And the best thing is we’ll never go it alone, for the Holy Spirit is with us all along the way! Lord Jesus, help us!
Dec 14th, 2022, Wed, 5:00 pm