“The earth is violently broken, the earth is split open; the earth is shaken exceedingly” (Isaiah 24:17). 

The earth is violently disturbed as the result of the violent offenses committed against its Creator. It awaits the rule of the sons of God whose aim is to reflect the glory of Jesus Christ. Until then, it is held captive, not willingly but anticipating a liberty that will only come as the rule of the righteous. Some will grow bitter towards God because of the calamities that many of earth’s inhabitants are now suffering. They will think of God as being cruel and unfair. But His judgments will ultimately bring an end to sins that often appear to be benign, but are the root cause of wars and all earthly calamities. The mark established by God is not the aim of many leaders who now lead many astray. Thus sin runs its full course. He created the earth to be a habitation of rest and peace, but sin has left its mark producing turbulence and death. Pray that righteous rulers will arise in order for the people to rejoice because the Prince of Peace is ruling over them. 

”The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” (Proverbs 12:26). 

Choices made in relation to lasting friendships: What should we look for?—the importance of having friends.  The righteous ought to practice the art of carefully choosing their friends. Once the purpose of friendships is understood, each one can be taken seriously. There are commitments made to each other to be genuine and trustworthy at all times. The character of men is like a magnet which draws like-minded individuals together: Deceptive people seek those who they envy, with the character they could only wish to possess. Yet their deceptive ways have reduced them to mere pretense which leads many who trust them astray. The blind lead the blind into a ditch. Our influence is either positive or negative. We assimilate the character of the company that we keep. Choose friends carefully because our own character is reflected by these choices. 

Who are you leading? Who are you following? Our influence over our friends, and their influence over us, can strongly affect our attitudes, behavior, and decisions. We must choose our friends carefully. We will influence them and they will influence us. Mutual sharing is not wrong or inappropriate and can be a very positive thing if both the neighbor and the friend have committed their lives completely to Christ. 

“For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? (Romans 3:3). 

God is determined to fulfill every one of His promises. Too much is at stake for Him to fail. Yet there are many who doubt Him and question His authority and abandon their post defecting from the faith. Does unbelief negate God’s faithfulness? He allows the rain to fall on the unjust as well as the righteous. He provides for believers as well as unbelievers. Seasons of the year that change for all to receive the benefits of change. Yet God is determined to raise up a remnant among His people who will obey Him and receive the full benefit of His promises. They will hear His voice and heed to His call. If not the parents, He may reach some of their children. What is rejected by one generation may have been embraced by their successors. God will provide future evidence of His truth. When all else is shaken and crumbles to the earth, His Word will remain. And what was once cast down and rejected will be raised by and through what God has already spoken. Our faithlessness cannot alter His faithfulness. What parents may reject their children will be open to receive. What one generation may ignore the next generation will fully embrace. God is faithful even when we are faithless. No actions can change what He has decreed. If prayer is communication with God and He answers prayer, then why is it that so many prayers go unanswered? The demand is for evidence preceding faith rather than faith in God preceding answered prayer. Faith brings us to a new place of trust. 

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24). 

God has the ability to stabilize our walk and keep us from staggering. It is the staggering walk or the unsettled and unsure steps that eventually lead to a fall. We don’t have to waver in unbelief, but can maintain a steady confidence that God is all that He says in His Word. The world has a dizzying affect upon all who focus their attention in its direction. The contrary winds of error spoken by the majority blow in such ways as to cause the fainthearted to sway under its control. But God has a path that is straight and the power to keep us straight on the path. It leads to the presence of His glory as one who has victoriously endured the pressures that otherwise would have caused us to drift away. Even if we stumble or stagger or even drift for a moment in time, He gets us back on course and teaches us what we need to know in order that we may stand erect in the center of the storm. There His peace abides and we learn to trust in Jesus as Lord over the storm. 

“Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God” (Psalm 143:10). 

We often look to God with questions of bewilderment and doubt wondering why God does not give more attention to what we want and consider as important. Sometimes it seems as if the heavens are as brass when we pray our prayers and put forth our best effort to do our thing. He awaits our desire to be rightly taught before we engage in endless pursuits for worthless gain. The things that matter most await those who are willing to be instructed rightly. “Lord teach me to know Your will first that I may do the things I have been instructed to do.” We were born to cooperate with God in what He is doing. Every other effort will ultimately end in frustration and ruin. He alone is God and His will is to be known by and through all of His creation. “You are God. That is enough for every creature to know. But more importantly, You are my God. That says it all! 

“Blessed is he who takes no offense of Me” (Luke 7:23). 

The offense that occurs among men is the contradistinction between His deity and His humanity. Some would view Him as not being human enough to understand man’s dilemma and the challenges that all men face, while others would reduce Him to being just a man, the son of a carpenter. Then there are those who view Him as being an impostor who proclaims to be God. The paradox of His life as being fully God and fully man is the reason for many taking an offense to Him. But blessed is he who has received from the Holy Spirit the revelation as Peter received, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In this statement, both His deity and humanity are genuinely and fully expressed. Flesh and blood cannot make this known. Only the Father in heaven can reveal this to us thus positioning us to receive the revelation of the Father through our surrender and obedience to Him. 

“Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?” (Psalm 139:7). 

When we are born of the Spirit, the Spirit remains with us wherever we go. He is there in those moments when we feel alone and abandoned. He is there when our hearts drift in directions that would be far removed from the warmth that comes as result of meditation and deep contemplation on His goodness towards us. Our reluctance to draw closer to Him does not affect His pursuit of us. His Spirit is wooing us in our darkest hour to deeper levels of intimacy with the Son of God. Only Jesus can reveal to us the love of the Father that will provide stability and purpose for our lives. He was that voice of conscience convicting us when we were wrong. He was that voice of encouragement pressing us forward when we had the opportunity to do right. The Spirit is both our Comforter and our Guide. He alone can reveal to us the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13). 

It appears to be a misnomer to use wisdom and meekness in the same sentence. Wisdom often elevates the pride of many who then become even wiser in their own eyes. Godly wisdom is always to be accompanied with meekness for those who receive wisdom from God are constantly aware of its source. Whenever we lift our intellect to a level above that which requires simple faith, true knowledge would be eclipsed by vanity. Strong and convincing arguments may be impressive, but cause the mind to erode into believing a lie when the truth cannot yet be proven. The meek of the earth are teachable and can learn in order to participate with God in what He is doing. The wise and the prudent cannot even see it as being important, thus live their lives as contradictions even to their own beliefs. God will bring both beliefs and lifestyles into one. We can then live and speak what we truly believe. 

“Everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). 

Jesus is saying, “If you show the world that you know Me, I will show you that you belong to the Father.” Only Jesus can make it known to us that we truly belong to the Father; He is our pathway into the knowledge of His love. The reason is, He knows intimately all things concerning the Father, but His will is to make known to us what He knows. None can reach the grand and mountainous heights of knowledge on their own. All need Him to raise us to a higher level of understanding that we cannot achieve on our own. We are then “found in Him” as the Apostle Paul states it, “No longer on a quest of trying to find ourselves but rather found in a new and glorious place in Christ with His visibility and no longer seeing things as we once saw them.” He gives a peek into glory and we see the Father in Him. To see Him is to love Him and to love Him is to have knowledge of His love. May we grow in that knowledge and increase in His love. 

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light” (Psalm 36:9). 

The initial light of God leads us to greater light. We see Him as Redeemer and we are saved from the penalty of sin. The entryway into His grace has been provided as His light has shined upon us. There is also light shining on the path inviting us to enter in. It is not enough to enter in a park at the gateway of all that has been provided for us in Jesus Christ. The things that accompany salvation are awaiting us within the vast areas of exploration of blessings and joy that can only be experienced once we have passed beyond the Outer Courts and are willing to enter into the Holy of Holies. The further we are willing to be led, the deeper the level of intimacy we are enabled to experience. His light leads to the fountain of life. We are able to drink from the fountain that springs forth into everlasting life. When Jesus Christ becomes life to us, we can then live the abundant life. The pleasure of knowing the Father, as He is known by the Son, is made known to us. Lord, lead us to the greater light, so that we may be able to see You and be blinded to the distractions of the flesh, the world, and the devil. 

The enmity between us and God has been removed. Now, we are at peace with Him. But the light shines brighter and brighter as we focus our attention in the direction from which the light is shining. It is the revealing of His grace that enables us to see the path before us. Then we are enabled to continually see the path on which we are to remain. His light leads us to Jesus Christ as Savior. Then we allow Him to be Lord over every area of our lives as we follow Him. The path on which the light is directed leads to life in the Light of His love. His is the light of life.  Life is more than eating and drinking, apparel or occupation. Many are bored in their quest for life’s meaning. Many are in search for a meaning for their existence. Their lives are usually defined by their occupation or the reputation gained by what others may think of them. Life can be so narrow and meaningless without a deeper understanding of purpose. The dead cannot see the Light of Life. 

Dark rooms are the places of sightless men and lifeless graves are places where death rules as king. There is no light in those places where the Light of Life is absent. Many search for light in caves and wander into deeper levels of darkness. What do the sightless do since they cannot see? They feel their way through life. And when they feel nothing, they wander in the dark.