October 9, 2021
Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.
~Luke 11:35~
Most of us believe we have things figured out. We grasp understanding of what good and evil is and we carry on with choice words and actions, believing they are bearing fruit.
Sometimes we take it upon ourselves to take action in something without even consulting Jesus and we believe that since we see it as something good then it must be okay to go ahead and do. This of course brings us into disobedience. The thing is our natural eyes have a tendancy of portraying something to be a completely different way then the eyes of our Lord. Jesus says take heed. Make sure that this light you claim to see is not actual darkness. We are all capable of deceiving ourselves; "Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them." (Deuteronomy 11:16)
We can so easily believe we are worshipping God when we may actually be worshipping ourselves.
We carry fallen human hearts and we are too close to that which can trick us into thinking we are who God wants us to be. We make our own decisions rather then consulting God and we wonder why we still feel trapped.
We want to picture ourselves as God fearing men and women. This is good however, are we doing a self check in making sure we are carrying light in our bodies rather then allowing deception to steal our opportunity to? "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light."
(II Corinthians 11:14)
If the devil can disguise himself as good, what makes us any different? I'm not here to panic anyone and I am not here to point fingers. I too need to take a daily self check and make sure all that I am carrying is of the Light. It is our job to shine it forth onto others and glorify our Father. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)
If we carry the opposite then we will be spreading the opposite. The last thing this world needs is more darkness. Let us strive to bring glory to God alone. Humans naturally want to be recognized, seen, heard and loved. As we focus on not offending others we push to gain love in ways that are not approved by our Lord. "Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man’s sake."
(Luke 6:22)
We wait to say something before its too late in fear of causing someone to walk away from us. We allow lies to trickle out of our mouths in hopes to gain a sense of friendship that is merely based off false love.
"A faithful witness does not lie, But a false witness will utter lies." (Proverbs 14:5)
We put on our human responses first above giving control to Holy Spirit. "Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name." (Psalms 86:11)
It is Him who gives us true light. It is Him who teaches us how to respond. It is Him who allows us to truely be the light unto others. If we are in our flesh, we leave room for darkness. We leave room for a shadow to overtake us and cover us from noticing our own ways. Take heed my friends, ask Jesus with a pure heart which is residing within; light or darkness. "Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!"
(Isaiah 59:9)
For when the light shines, it makes no room for the dark to remain. It is up to us and our own free will to really learn to gain God's heart rather then His mind. We are not the ones to receive glory, He is. Jesus teaches us but we must be willing to push aside our own ways of doing things, open our hearts to His command and trust that His light will quench our inner darkness. If we ignore it and attempt to fill ourselves with some light without removing that which truely remains; we will be as useful as shining a small flashlight in the midst of a darkened town. It will only get us so far.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for Your warnings in Your word which shows me to always take into account my own ways, to be observant of the things I do and say to line up with Your will alone. Search me O Lord, test my heart. Show me if there is any wicked way in me, any darkness disguising itself as light. You are the Light and You are the only way I can shine. Fill me Lord with more of You and diminish myself. I want to die to flesh each day and walk in Spirit, bringing You glory and You alone. In Your Mighty Name, my King and my Lamp, Jesus Christ. Amen.