Isaiah 60:1-3 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
For several years now, I’ve been focusing on the Kingdom of God, a central theme of Yeshua’s preaching [Luke 4:43], and will be offering a series of devotions on this topic with particular emphasis on our present season, which I believe portends the birthing of this Kingdom. A study of the gestation process from conception to birth yields insight as a natural parallel into the historical process we’re witnessing and taking part in. This theme will be developed in the coming days.
Our personal spiritual journey is an essential part of our participation in the birthing of God’s Kingdom, and it carries close parallels to the creation account. When God spoke in Genesis [Genesis 1:1-5], He began with the simple words, “Let there be light!” because “..darkness was on the face of the deep”. Our natural birth from the maternal womb involves the movement from a place of darkness into the natural light of this world. So, the birth of this universe is mirrored in our natural birth. But it also is powerfully exemplified in our spiritual birth, as we move from the darkness of sin and death into the light and life of the Son of God.
Similarly, our natural birth involves moving from what feels like experiential chaos and uncertain transition into an intimate relationship of mother to infant child. Likewise, our spiritual birth transitions us from a life without ultimate meaning or purpose, a life of “chaos” as it were, into an intimate relationship filled with God’s light as He reveals His love and His purpose through the regeneration and resurrection life He gives.
These parallels exemplify fundamental ways of God. He is the Light of the world. Having separated the light from the darkness and called us to be children of light, we have a relentless hope and a magnificent destiny, especially right now in these birth pangs of His Kingdom. His prediction that the darkness would grow much deeper just before His glorious appearing, is upon us, and sets a context into which we must shine all the more brightly. As the word says, “His glory shall be seen upon you.”
This empowerment to shine has never been more relevant and critical than it is now. The darkness of our world, the chaos of our age, will either drive us to despair or fuel us to burn with the light of His Holy Spirit. We can see the division of darkness from light is well underway. And there will be less and less gray. Therefore, more than ever, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven”; [Matthew 5:16].
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]As parents trying to raise kids in this world, we’re constantly reminded by the Lord of Proverbs 22:6, ‘Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.’ The Hebrew word ‘train’, in this passage is, ‘Chanak’ which can be translated, ‘train up’ or ‘dedicate.’ It’s the root word from which we get the word, Chanukah.
While Chanukah is not a Biblical feast mentioned in the Old Testament, it is an important one. Chanukah commemorates the story of small group of men with much courage -- enough courage to defeat even the greatest of the world’s empires.
Some time ago, we wrote about pearl harvesting as an illustration of how the Lord takes us into His “shell” like an irritating grain of sand, and over time, covers us with His beautiful covering, forming us into polished and precious gems for his glory and delight. This image of sanctification takes the metaphor in one direction: but here is another interesting thought. The beautiful pearl inside the oyster cannot be seen or enjoyed without a great price being paid. The oyster must die. It must be torn open in order to find the treasure within. This speaks to me of the original foundation and source of our beauty. Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah had to be bruised, afflicted, torn and killed so that the beautiful treasures God intended us to be from the beginning, could be discovered and released from the darkness of sin.
Lately we’ve been receiving more and more calls and emails asking us what we think might happen in the near future and how they should prepare. I love what John Calvin had to say about the matter…
In his book, Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan has written one of the most beautiful allegories about the journey we all travel as a believers. The book describes the hero, Christian, and his journey from the City of Destruction to his heavenly destination, the Celestial City. Now there’s one part of Pilgrim’s Progress that I want to focus on today — walking through the Swamp of Despondency!
While many around the world are apathetic and lack understanding about the times in which we live, we as believers should realize these are merely signs of the times and have a sense of urgency to be about the Lord’s business.
In Ancient Greece, mythology and history were hard to distinguish. Tales of gods and demigods abounded. The chief god of Mount Olympus was Zeus. It is told that Zeus became enamored with the princess Europa and decided to seduce and ravish her. Zeus shape-shifted, transforming himself into a tame white bull. Europa, the daughter of King Agenor of Sidon, was picking flowers, when she saw the bull, and then climbed on his back. Zeus carried her away. The Romans later recounted the tale which became known as the “seduction of Europa”, (with the Roman “Jupiter” replacing Zeus).