#278 Shedding Light on Discouragement 2 Peter 1.19
I am having a bout with discouragement. A picture that a dear Sister emailed came to mind, of a sun rise reflecting its glorious rays on a lamp. To me this was a beautiful visual of the morning star arising in our hearts.
May the Lord bless you this day as you shine His light and love. Ours is a reflected light and love from the Father and the Son, just as this lantern reflects the sunrise. His reflection enlightens our own souls and shines forth to the blessing of others. It melts away any coldness and feeds an inner holy fire of gentle all-consuming heavenly love.
Pr 4:18-19 (NIV) The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day....
“And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19
We have the prophetic word of the Law and the prophets, made more sure and stable by the words of Christ in the New Testament. We do well to pay attention to this prophetic word because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place. It gives us light in the darkness of this world. The prophetic Word of God shines in the darkness until it is replaced by the Day of Blessing it foretells. The Word shines until the morning star Jesus arises in our hearts, for the purpose of gradual illumination until the light of Jesus rises at Spiritual Noon to enlighten our whole life.
Shine the Light of Truth in my heart, Jesus.
Shine through the darkness of depression and discouragement, illuminating me to see through my misconceptions, my assumptions and my negative judgments.
I was reading in Luke 22 in preparation for one of our Bible studies, and asking God to speak to me through these verses. “And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.” Luke 22:3-4 We need to beware of the spirit of Satan, the Accuser. He accuses the truth of God to be a lie. Mark 1:13; Matthew 4:1-10; John 8:44 He accuses guilt to the saints of God. Zechariah 3
The spirit of Satan substitutes the perceptions of man for the Truth of God. Jesus rebuked Peter when Peter responded to his Master’s prophetic words regarding the necessity for his experiences in Jerusalem and what he would suffer from the elders and chief priests and scribes, including his death. Peter began to admonish and forbid Jesus. ‘God be gracious’ (in averting this calamity), far be it.’ (Strong’s #2436) ‘There is no way this will happen to you.” “Get behind me, Satan: you are an offence to me, for your thoughts are not of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:21-23 The spirit of accusation led Peter to accuse the word of Christ as not valid, and to accuse the character of the Father as lacking in gracious blessing to allow such things. He could not have been farther from the truth. The greatest Gift and Blessing was in the Father’s purpose in the death and resurrection of His Beloved Son! O may we be aware and careful to not accuse the Truth of God and Christ as inaccurate and to believe our own perceptions instead!
The opposite of the accuser is the Advocate. ‘…if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
When we are tempted to define our life in Christ as ‘failure’ let us pray for the light of Jesus, our Morning Star, to arise in our hearts.
“Who would dare to accuse us, whom God has chosen? The judge himself has declared us free from sin. Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us!” Romans 8:34 Phillips
I am having a bout with discouragement. A picture that a dear Sister emailed came to mind, of a sun rise reflecting its glorious rays on a lamp. To me this was a beautiful visual of the morning star arising in our hearts.
May the Lord bless you this day as you shine His light and love. Ours is a reflected light and love from the Father and the Son, just as this lantern reflects the sunrise. His reflection enlightens our own souls and shines forth to the blessing of others. It melts away any coldness and feeds an inner holy fire of gentle all-consuming heavenly love.
Pr 4:18-19 (NIV) The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day....
“And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.” 2 Peter 1:19
We have the prophetic word of the Law and the prophets, made more sure and stable by the words of Christ in the New Testament. We do well to pay attention to this prophetic word because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place. It gives us light in the darkness of this world. The prophetic Word of God shines in the darkness until it is replaced by the Day of Blessing it foretells. The Word shines until the morning star Jesus arises in our hearts, for the purpose of gradual illumination until the light of Jesus rises at Spiritual Noon to enlighten our whole life.
Shine the Light of Truth in my heart, Jesus.
Shine through the darkness of depression and discouragement, illuminating me to see through my misconceptions, my assumptions and my negative judgments.
I was reading in Luke 22 in preparation for one of our Bible studies, and asking God to speak to me through these verses. “And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.” Luke 22:3-4 We need to beware of the spirit of Satan, the Accuser. He accuses the truth of God to be a lie. Mark 1:13; Matthew 4:1-10; John 8:44 He accuses guilt to the saints of God. Zechariah 3
The spirit of Satan substitutes the perceptions of man for the Truth of God. Jesus rebuked Peter when Peter responded to his Master’s prophetic words regarding the necessity for his experiences in Jerusalem and what he would suffer from the elders and chief priests and scribes, including his death. Peter began to admonish and forbid Jesus. ‘God be gracious’ (in averting this calamity), far be it.’ (Strong’s #2436) ‘There is no way this will happen to you.” “Get behind me, Satan: you are an offence to me, for your thoughts are not of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:21-23 The spirit of accusation led Peter to accuse the word of Christ as not valid, and to accuse the character of the Father as lacking in gracious blessing to allow such things. He could not have been farther from the truth. The greatest Gift and Blessing was in the Father’s purpose in the death and resurrection of His Beloved Son! O may we be aware and careful to not accuse the Truth of God and Christ as inaccurate and to believe our own perceptions instead!
The opposite of the accuser is the Advocate. ‘…if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
When we are tempted to define our life in Christ as ‘failure’ let us pray for the light of Jesus, our Morning Star, to arise in our hearts.
“Who would dare to accuse us, whom God has chosen? The judge himself has declared us free from sin. Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us!” Romans 8:34 Phillips
