“He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs” (Psalm 103:10 MSG). 

If we received what we deserved, every inhabitant on the earth’s surface would warrant the consequences of their transgressions. Our treatment would be harsh while the sentence would be measured against the deserving. None would be able to survive the plight of heavy-handed justice from a God who would remain just in meeting all with the same treatment commensurate to their treatment of God’s Law. God does not give us what we deserve even when it is deserved many times over as result of repeated acts of rebellion. Instead of justice, He tempers justice with mercy. His sentiments remain the same in relation to our deeds. But God continues to extend opportunities for us to hear something different than what we may have grown accustomed to hearing in order to give expression to a new way of living. His mercy cannot be demanded. It is arbitrarily granted. He will have mercy on whomever He wills. Yet we all receive it extended towards us. He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. The time will come when all will be both compensated and rewarded. They will either receive the wages of sin, death, or the gift of God, eternal life. He has given us a Savior that we did not deserve. Jesus is the gift of life that has paid the wages for our sins. Only He is able to free us from what every person deserves. 

We will ultimately be fully compensated or rewarded for every deed done in our bodies. The wages of sin are still death, but the reward to those who are faithful to the end is the gif of God, which is eternal life. The gift is personified in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). 

Light exposes hidden things. Things that ought not to be will hide their intentions. People who wish to deceive do it under the covering of a disguise. But when the light is turned on, we see the details that otherwise would have gone undetected. There are many deceptions of the enemy of our souls to keep us in darkness thus contented with destructive things. The unlighted path leads to death without warning. Jesus is the light of the world in order for a contrast to be made between things that are by nature good and by nature evil. We are not left with the task of having to experience all things in order to know how they may affect us. All we need is the light that we may see the end results ahead of time. The traps that are laid before us are now laid open. All is well because we are guided by the Light of Jesus Christ who is the Word that is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway. 

Light reveals things that are in dark places but cannot be seen. No judgment can be made among things that are good from those that are evil unless there is enough light to distinguish the difference between the two. They are not alike but what difference can be made unless there is sufficient light in order for things to be seen? In dim light one may be able to at least feel his way around and some things may appear barely visible. It is only in sufficient light that one can walk with confidence through what would otherwise be dangerous ground. Jesus is the light of the world. Only He can show us the way, truth, and the life that light dispels darkness. The darkness exists within the world when Jesus is not in full view. 

“Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?” (Job 11:7). 

The deep things of God are baffling to the mind. It is impossible for any person to wrap their minds around the mysteries that are hidden from the exploration of an inquiring mind. The rhetorical question of Job was for those questioned to consider how little they currently know about Him. Even when a depth is reached, there remains an immeasurable depth left unexplored. Our depth is shallow in contrast to the reservoir of knowledge in reserve for the humble soul who would surrender His all to Him. These things have been hidden from the wise and prudent, yet He (Christ) reveals them to His followers. The deep things about God are hidden in Christ. In Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. It is more than the story of His life on the earth. But the plan of redemption and the hope of man’s future glory state are contained in Christ Jesus. The mysteries of the Kingdom of God are given and not excavated. Jesus is the free gift given to all who would receive Him. When one accepts His finished work on the Cross as being sufficient for all that opposed God dwelling within themselves, then what is completed can be appropriated to their lives. They are available to all who seek Him and not the fragments of knowledge apart from Him. 

“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). 

The degrees and dimensions of transgressions are not easily and readily understood. It is extremely difficult for a person who is engaged in an act to fully understand the full effect of that act upon others was well as his own future. This is also true both in doing good as well as doing evil. God measures the distance between His heart and our own which is affected by deeds done daily. We are forging character one act at a time into becoming whatever we will ultimately become. Those things done in secret are things that produce both guilt and shame. The reason why they are hidden is because the objective is to conceal them from anyone ever knowing about them. But ultimately our character will deceive us into making public what we once tried to hide. When it is known there appears no reason to further hide it. Who can know the depth of such errors? We need to be cleansed of anything that we would rather not be made public. Then we will not reach a place of becoming so desensitized as to blatantly rebel against God without any guilt or shame. 

“But what did you go out to see?” (Matthew 11:8). 

The search for significance will lead many out of their familiar environment. They believe that there has to be something out there that has a greater value and can add meaning to life. Many have abandoned family and home, while others have walked away from their employment because of this restlessness within themselves to see something or to experience something more than what had grown familiar. Jesus confronted the Pharisees and Priests who went into the wilderness in order to hear a message from a non-conformist who challenged the very core of their being. Even though they met a prophet with a prophetic word of preparation, their opinions of him did not lead them to the right action. Many are impressed but remain unchanged. Our pursuits in life must lead us to a wilderness journey of conviction and uncertainty, convicting us of sin and turn us to righteousness. It is the uprooting of the old that will make room for the new. Without this radical change occurring, many will change the scenery of their lives but never the core of their being. Significance and true peace can only come from Jesus Christ. His message prepares the heart to receive Him. 

“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above” (Isaiah 7:11). 

God extended an invitation to an evil king to request a sign. It was His challenge to reveal degrees of His authority either in heaven, the earth, or under the earth. The offer to the king was to choose for himself the means for which God would make His presence known. It would change the course of history and provide for those who would receive it with a new destiny. It would be for him personally to empower him to govern in righteousness and peace. If any lacks wisdom, ask God. He condescends to our level. A wicked and perverse generation seeks after a sign in unbelief. They place the burden of proof upon God’s shoulders with a predisposed view of what is real or not. God still allows Himself to be questioned by the unbelieving world with a willingness to provide evidence of the truth in contrast to the error of their ways. Even though the king rejected the offer, Jesus came into the world as the sign and a wonder to the world. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” 

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established” (Proverbs 16:3). 

Our works or the lack thereof is a direct result of thoughts. The primary occupation is assigned to us by God in Christ. What we think of Christ will determine the degree of work we would freely engage. He wants us to see and understand that we have been assigned to be a part of something so magnificent and glorious that none could possibly comprehend all that is involved. That portion we have come to partially understand must be committed to the Lord. As we move in it, He reveals more of Himself as well as entrusting to us a greater measure of stewardship. Then our participation will never merely be out of obligation, but rather an intriguing journey of knowing aspects of Christ which were beforehand beyond our reach. When we participate with Him in His work, we discover that His yoke is easy and His burdens are light. 

“Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven and you on earth; Therefore, let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2). 

Many are the thoughts of an active mind. Thoughts rush in as life’s experiences appear to build a defense against the truth. The rational mind is only able to see certain aspects of any situation. Our position on earth limits us from seeing the whole picture. Therefore, we must trust God who sees all and knows all before we wrongly judge a thing. Guard your heart from becoming bitter as a result of circumstances. But by all means, guard your tongue from speaking idle words or rash words void of knowledge. Only the truth that comes down from heaven is able to produce within you the confidence that is needed. God in heaven has a panoramic view of all things and knows how they are able to synergize together for the good of those who love Him. He gives knowledge ahead of time to settle you. But in times of reflection or in retrospect you will see that He was there all the while working in ways in which He alone is able. Therefore, let your words be few and not spoken in haste, but wait on God to show you what He is in the process of doing. From a heart that has been influenced by many thoughts is a mouth that speaks what has accumulated there. It continues to gather in things observed and experienced until the tongue is engaged without question or need for further reason. 

“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). 

Divine guidance is the most precious possession of any being. To be equipped for great effectiveness is important, but to be directed towards the very thing for which one is appointed is of much greater value. There are many who are equipped but misguided. They squander away their lives rather than using what God had made available to complete them. His intention is to show us the path of life. When we see the Kingdom of God, we will desire to enter in. He will then guide us on the path that we have been enabled to see. What greater joy can be experienced than this? When we know that our path leads to the fullness of life and that more abundantly! Only God is able to give us what we so desperately need. He has given us His Son. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Through having faith in His precious Word, we see what would otherwise have been missing in our search for significance. May all be led on this path to a greater purpose. 

“One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). 

His former condition of blindness was forever changed. He could see that healing could come forth through the Man who had laid His hands on him. This led to a kind of searching faith to discover the identity of the Person who could do what would otherwise be impossible. There was a plethora of information available that could be fodder for future arguments and discussions. But they would be theoretical and not necessarily factual. He was absolutely convinced of one thing that required no further discussion. He knew that He was blind, but now he is seeing. Many are in search for many things to convince them. Their doubt and unbelief restrict them from experiencing the Lord’s presence. This one thing that is known can be the watermark for all the other things that is yet to be revealed. If Jesus could heal him of his blindness, what other things may be possible for him to receive from the Lord? We are to cherish the one thing that we know. If we can believe that God is, then we can grow to trust Him to be the rewarder of all who would diligently seek Him.