Food for Thought: Meditations with the King™

Isaiah 60:1-2

1“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

      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.

9/1/2016

As I was driving tonight I noticed for the first time a flashing light up on a hill. The Lord had me pull over for a minute and this is what He spoke:

“See that flashing light? I AM that beacon, I AM your beacon. A light shining on a hill is not meant to be hidden. It is not meant to be hidden.”

At hearing this I was reminded of two scripture verses. The first passage, Isaiah 60, is posted above. The second is from Matthew 5:14-16: 14“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Light in the Greek as used in Matthew 5 verses 14-16 is Strong’s G5457  φῶς, a neuter noun.

φῶς phōs, foce; from an obsolete φάω pháō (to shine or make manifest, especially by rays; compare G5316, G5346); luminousness (in the widest application, natural or artificial, abstract or concrete, literal or figurative):—fire, light.

Per Strong’s concordance this word as outlined in Biblical usage represents:

1. light
A. the light
i. emitted by a lamp
ii. a heavenly light such as surrounds angels when they appear on earth
B. anything emitting light
i. a star
ii. fire because it is light and sheds light
iii. a lamp or torch
C. light, i.e., brightness
i. of a lamp

Light in the Hebrew as used in Isaiah 60:1 is Strongs H216 אוֹר, a feminine noun.

אוֹר ʼôwr, ore; from H215; illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.):—bright, clear, day, light (-ning), morning, sun.

Within its Biblical outline usage is: light of lamp

With these two passages we see that being LIGHT is:

to shine, to make manifest, to be luminescent, to emit (diffuse), to illuminate, to be bright/clear

The question is then: How do we ensure our light shines?

Exhortations from Scripture which utilize the same word for Light as found in Matthew Chapter 5:14-16, a smattering of which are provided below, all point to the importance of how we live.

– Matthew 6:23 (ensure that what you take in with your eyes is healthy)
– Luke 11:35 (“see to it then that the light within you is not darkness”)
– John 1:5 (“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”)
– Eph 5:8 (“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”)
– Eph 5:9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
– 1 Thess 5:5 (“You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”)

Does your life reflect His light? Does it reflect the fruit of His character (Galatians 5:22-23)? Are you boldly letting your light shine out to illuminate the darkness – are you being a voice for truth, righteousness, justice?

If not, why not and what are you waiting for?

7/25/2016

I love the book of Joshua and greatly respect the man Joshua. I feel that in Chapter 1 alone there is so much to be gleaned on how to walk by faith, how to stand waiting upon the Lord, how to trust Him, how to contend and war for the promises He has spoken to us, how to take our promised land.  All this in the first few verses of Chapter 1. And then there are countless more lessons and fleshed out examples for us in the proceeding 23 chapters that follow.

One day, as I sat reading the 4th chapter of Joshua, I was quite struck by the following verse:

Joshua 4:9
“Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.” (emphasis mine.)

While reading, the below pieces struck me, and I’ve sketched out a bit of the significance embodied in each one which came to me while meditating upon this verse.

• twelve
• priests
• covenant
• set up

Twelve – number representing the 12 tribes of Israel, this number is also noted to denote authority in Scripture

Priests – represent those who make atonement for sin, are intercessors, are set apart for God, servants of God, holy lifestyle. Multiple facets to priestly service

Covenant – binding, contract, unshakable promise, everlasting

Set up – establish, to erect

in the middle of the Jordan – dead center of the impassable, confronting obstacle which stood as a barrier to their promised land

And the question arose. 

Why did the priests stand in the middle of the Jordan?

They could have stood right at its entrance while the people passed for Joshua 3:15 states that as soon as the priests’ feet touched the water’s edge the Jordan stopped flowing and the water piled up for the Israelites to pass.

They could have crossed over and stood on the river bed at the other side of the Jordan. The word of the Lord simply was, “Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.'”(Joshua 3:8) [no specific location for place in the river specified].

But they stood in the middle of the Jordan until the people passed over. (“The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan.” (Joshua 3:17)).

DECLARATION

Why did the priests stand in the middle of the Jordan?

There was a declaration that the priests were making by standing firm in the middle of the Jordan.   In the middle of what had once been an impassable obstacle to their crossing over to their promised land. Impassable, impossible, until they moved in faith to respond to God’s call.

As they walked into the Jordan they carried and then subsequently held up the ark of the covenant.  Standing firm in the middle of the Jordan river, they were declaring His TRUTH, His promise, His decree, His Presence.  They held up the sign of His covenant, His Presence for all the Israelite’s to see as they came up to and crossed over to the other side.  And the priests were unwavering as they stood, standing firm, holding their ground until all passed over.

Then Joshua had a man from each of the 12 tribes pick up a stone from the middle of the Jordan, from the location where the priests had stood, in order to set up a memorial on the crossed over side (Joshua 4:4-7).

What about you?  What are you declaring as you view your impassable obstacle which stands between you and your promised land?  Are you declaring His Presence with you as you stand firm waiting for Him to call?  Are you carrying His Presence with you as you by faith cross over when He says the time has come to take your land?  He is with you!

When the attacks from the enemy come, and they come, who do you focus upon? The enemy standing before you or the Lord?

I once had a dream which God used to speak a very strong message of where our focus needs to lie when face-t0-face with the enemy.  I share it with you:

There was an egg the size of an apple hovering in the air and coming towards me; this egg was preparing to hatch.  I got all excited and walked over to it and as I did so, I noticed a raven swooping down and coming directly at this hovering egg. I had a few things in my hand and I threw it at the raven to protect the egg. As the raven came right up to the egg and was hit by what I threw, it transformed into a small demon person the size of the raven. It wasn’t interested in the egg, it was engaging with me.  I immediately started to speak in tongues and I was angry and started backing away from it heading back to my companions waiting at the car.  As I did so, a larger more human-size demon cloaked in a red cloak and hovering a bit in the air approached me, following me back to the car trying to harass me with its presence.

I knew I couldn’t let it distract me or take the focus of my attention by engaging with it and so I immediately put on my spiritual shield (Eph 6:14-17) and raised my spiritual eyes to the Holy Spirit to see with higher sight. I knew that even if it followed me I had to ignore it.  (end dream.)

What was the message? Focus.

Focus upon whom?

The enemy which stood before me was trying hard to taunt, harass and terrify me. They were trying to engage me so that my attention would focus on them and once they had that….

The Lord has been teaching me, quite literally teaching me at times through boot camp training exercises, where to place and keep my attention. Who to look to. What to focus upon.

Often the words of Psalm 121 will come to mind “I lift my eyes up to the hills, from whence cometh my help? My help comes from the Lord.”

Why focus on Christ? Why look to heaven?

He is our Rock and our Salvation (Psalm 18:2; Psalm 28:7); He is our Stronghold – we will never be shaken (Psalm 62:2; Psalm 9:9; Psalm 37:39). He is at our right hand; it is He who takes hold of our right hand and leads us forth (Isaiah 41:13). He is, as one of my favorite books states (my paraphrase), at our right hand and on our left side, He goes before us and He covers our backside (Tales of the Restoration by David and Karen Mains).  He  directs what our response should be (Psalm 32:8).

Psalm 73:23-26,28
“Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. …But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”

(picture courtesy of pixabay)