Shine On

On November 13, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 60: 1

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

Yahoo! That is my commentary, Yahoo! I love seeing the good news of the Lord and this verse is light in a dark place (all puns intended). Look at verse 2: “For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.” Dare I say it again? Yahoo! Isn’t that “Sonshine”? Remember the verse from Monday? It was Proverb 4: 18 and I titled it “Sunshine”. Look at God confirming His word to you today.

Though darkness fill the earth, light shines on the children of God. Yea! Jesus fulfilled and confirmed this. Behold his words, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8: 12). Isn’t that what Isaiah wrote? Isn’t that what Solomon conveyed in Proverb 4: 18? Do you think God is trying to get a point across? I think He wants us to realize that even when there are clouds on the horizon and our view is bleak He is still the radiance of love, compassion, help, and all else shining on us. His love is warmth on our shoulders. His glory is our crown covering us from the head down. 

Your light has come, glory to God. He is the Lord Jesus Christ and you need his light shining through the darkness. Though the world may be cloaked in darkness, Jesus is light for his beloved. Don’t live in darkness, don’t let that cloud remain. Shout because our Lord breaks through all and shines his glory on us. Praise his name!

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Glorious Countenance

On June 23, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 119: 135

Make Thy face shine upon Thy servant.

This is my prayer today and I hope it is yours as well. There is something so simple and yet so holy and intimate about this little phrase. It has captured my heart today as if there are no other words to say in the universe. What prayer shall I utter which can eclipse the sweetness of this petition? What prayer is more powerful than the simplicity of a heart yearning for the eyes of God’s beholding?

Lift up mine eyes, O Lord, that I may behold your glory, the glory which was yours in the beginning and shine your glorious light upon my countenance that I may reflect the beauty of your love, the beauty of your grace. 

Look upon me Lord with favor. Let me find favor in your sight and in the eyes of every person. Let your light so shine that all will know that there is a god in heaven, the one God, Yahweh: father, creator, lover of my soul.

Allow me to be a blessing to all I encounter. Pour through me the abundant generosity of your soul. Let all see that you are a god of great kindness. Shower upon me, precious Lord, the truth of who you are. Let me know you as you truly are and make me a disciple of faith. 

And Father, I pray that your love and grace will fall like a blanket of light on every person who reads these words and that your eyes will behold them in the embrace of your great affection. Let your light rest upon them and keep them. Amen.

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Praise in Place of Fear

On May 7, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 9: 2 – 4

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. Thou shalt multiply the nation, thou shalt increase their gladness; they will be glad in Thy presence as with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide spoil. For Thou shalt break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor as at the battle of Midian.

Many people look upon the last days as days of darkness and they are afraid. Well, in truth, there will be great darkness and even now that is the case but the light prevails. I have read the end of the book as have you. We know how the story ends. Although there is great darkness in the world the light is even greater. Where darkness touches the earth, the light shall increase and shall disperse the dark for there cannot be darkness in the light. Do not fear days of darkness. Jesus is the light and He reigns!

Think of Paul walking on the Damascus road. Now there was a fellow who walked in darkness but behold, a great light came upon him and he was saved. There will be glory and praise in the lands of darkness because when the light comes there is no greater joy experienced by mankind. 

These people are under a yoke of deception and oppression but Jesus came to set all people free. There is liberty in Jesus and he is going to break the yoke off of their shoulders. Even today, people are getting set free all over the world even in dark countries.

We have a part in this great prophecy. First, we must not fear the dark. We should glory in the light rather than fear the dark. It is all about where our eyes are trained. If we are in fear rather than faith it simply means that we are looking at the wrong thing. Take your eyes off of the darkness and put them on the Son of light. Then your gladness will increase as the noonday sun. Secondly, pray for all peoples in all lands. There is great deception at work but the Son is the light and the truth. Where he is there can be no darkness and he breaks off the chains of lies. Third, there is great cause for celebration and praise. Glory in the Father of light. Shout His name and sing His praises for He is good and He has caused truth and light to be revealed in this earth. Glory to the Father!

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Set Apart

On April 23, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Thessalonians 2: 13

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

Before time began, in the beginning when there was only the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God chose you and predestined you for salvation. That is some good news and you could use a little good news. There has never been a moment throughout all of history that your Father has not has His mind on you. He predetermined when you would be born and He awaited that moment with great anticipation. 

By the grace and love of God you have been set apart, sanctified, to God. You were chosen. The love of God and the Spirit have called you out and you have been called specifically to this point of time. Your sanctification is by the Spirit of God and your belief, your faith in the truth.

The truth is a constant guide for us. Thy word is truth (John 17: 17). Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). The truth has set us apart and we are set apart for the truth. A lie will never lead us into our appointment. The devil is the father of lies (John 8: 44). Lies are what lead us away from our ordained position in Christ. That is what happened to Adam and Eve, they believed the lie instead of following the truth. They lost their way and lost their pre-ordained appointment with God. They were in the most enviable of positions but lost it all because they entertained the lie instead of adhering to the truth.

We all are in the same position today. We have been ordained, set apart, for such a time as this. Each one of us has a God anointed and ordained position in His family. We have been sanctified for this purpose by the Holy Spirit of God. Ultimately, though, it is our choice whom we shall serve. Shall we follow the truth and accept our inheritance through Christ who is Lord? Will we turn our eyes to the Word of truth and fill our spirits with the life of Jesus? Or, will we follow the lie? The world constantly floods our environment with the lies and fear. And those words can be very enticing and, of course, they appear to be the truth if we don’t hold them up to the light because the devil is a deceiver. He makes the false look true and the truth to look ridiculous. It takes an effort to follow the truth but that is why Jesus gave us the Spirit. He will always lead us in the truth and pave the way to our glorious position in the Father. 

Your faith in the truth has set you apart for God’s glory. Never take your eyes off of that which saves.

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Glory, Glory

On April 21, 2015   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

2 Thessalonians 2: 14

And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wow! Does that say what I think it says; God called us so that we could gain the glory of our Lord Jesus? It seems to. What does this mean to us?

In my early days I thought God called me so that I could go to work for Him. I constantly questioned God as to what I should do for Him. I had no idea that He called us to Himself so that He could crown us with glory. How could He possibly mean to give me the glory of Christ?

Our Father has been at work for centuries paving the way for us to become children. He was not looking to make us servants? He was looking to make us heirs of His kingdom. That is a lot to bite off for some of us. I was comfortable serving Him but when He wanted to promote me or worse, spend intimate time with me as His own beloved child, I ran. Then one day I had what I call a prophetic dream and Dad showed me our dynamic. Honestly, I didn’t realize that was my stance with Him. It was a true eye opener. I awoke still in the moment. The dream didn’t fade but rather stayed with me all day. I was grieved down to my bones seeing the face of the Father as I rejected Him time after time. I thought I was being humble and honoring Him with my service but that was smoke and mirrors. The truth was I was afraid. Now, I don’t admit to being afraid very often but I can’t think of anything else. It was a fear of intimacy with Him specifically. I was afraid that if I let down my guard, He would let me down. I was a victim of my own bad theology and bad teaching of some others too. No one ever told me that He was trying to wrap me in His glory. They told me He was trying to make me strong. Well, I was plenty strong enough, thank you very much. But that was a lie and now I know who the liar is. Maybe that is part of the reason I hate lies so much. They steal life from us and they are everyone right from the pit of hell.

So here is the truth and I hope you can handle it better than I could. Your Father loves you and His goal, His purpose is to shroud you in His glory: the glory of the Father, the glory of the Son and the Glory of the Holy Spirit. You, my beloved, are the fourth appointed for this glory. Be more spiritually mature than was I. Allow the Father to wrap you in His arms and in His glory. He wants to bless you, honor and promote you. He wants to rain His glory down on you so that all will know that you are a child of the Most High. Get a big revelation of the Father’s adoration for you and His deep desire to set you in high places. You are meant for glory.

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The Glory of the Lord

On April 24, 2014   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Isaiah 58: 10

And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday.

When I read this verse I also hear Isaiah 61 which is Jesus’ commission. Do you recall in Luke 4 that Jesus entered the temple and stood up to read and the book of Isaiah was handed to him? He read Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives…” and so on. This is the mission of Jesus in the earth. When you read today’s verse in the light of Isaiah 61 and Luke 4 you see the prophetic utterance that was on Isaiah when he wrote what we know today as chapter 58.

Jesus has in fact given himself to feeding the hungry. Just think of the times he fed the great multitudes as well as how he is the bread of life to us all today. He came that he might fill the desire of the afflicted bringing them the good news of the gospel. This light, then, that Isaiah spoke of which will rise in the darkness is the glory of God which is in Christ Jesus and all his work. When the work, the commission of Jesus is performed his glory shines so that the darkness must give way. Jesus’ glory shines as brightly as the noontime sun. There is no gloom in the glory of God.

In addition, you must understand that today’s verse is also a personal word to you today. We all operate under the commission of Christ. I was flabbergasted the first time God gave me Isaiah 61 as a personal message because I didn’t understand that each of us is called under Christ’s commission. Think of the military for a moment. We have been commissioned as officers in Jesus’ great army but the commission is not authorized in our name but rather in Jesus’. We are under his great commission and authority. Therefore, Isaiah 61 refers to you just as it does to Jesus. So, God is revealing to us today that when we give ourselves to the performance of Jesus’ commission the glory of the Lord will be revealed and will light up the dark places. In other words, we can affect the glory of the Lord. Isn’t that exciting? When we operate under our commission and give ourselves to feeding the hungry, helping the afflicted, preaching good news, etc. then we cause God’s glory to radiate. When you hear this, though, do not only think of the poor in your community. God has a much broader concept in mind. You can shine God’s light in the lives of your employees, boss, family, the person at the grocery store; literally every person you meet. Don’t forget the poor but don’t ignore the person in the cubicle next to you either.

Notice one thing more. Today’s verse teaches that we are to “give ourselves” to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted. It does not say that we are to give bread to the hungry. It says that we give ourselves. This then is not a passing smile or a casual nod. Our commission requires that we give of ourselves. This means our inner self or our real self. We must strip away the mask that we carry through our work day and allow the love of God to shine through. We must open the treasure trove of our hearts for that is where God and Jesus live. The only way we are going to satisfy the desire of the afflicted is to give them the heartfelt love of the Christ. When we give ourselves to the needs of others the glory of the Lord Jesus shines. When the glory of the Lord shines, the love of God is revealed. Every ray of sonshine illuminates and reveals the Father.

Would you like to see the glory of the Lord? Watch as you give yourself over to the needs of humanity. Christ will be revealed and his glory will drive away all darkness.

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