“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1). 

The pronouncement of God is to arise above the circumstances and above all that was previously seen. All things are now viewed in the light that is in you rather than the darkness that is around you! The light of His countenance has risen upon you. You can now see in the light what you missed while you stumbled around in the dark. He has become your life and light. Now your light has illumined your life and now can serve as light to the world. They walk in darkness just as you once walked, but now what has been revealed to you is being revealed through you. Your life is an invitation, not just your words but everything about you beckons the blind to see. Even nations shall come to your light. 

The “Sonshine” of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ has risen upon you! As the moon reflects the light of the sun and has no light in itself, your life reflects the light of the Son of God. Do not allow anything to eclipse the light that is shining in your direction. The temptations that come your way are presented in order to shroud the view of your Beloved. These distractions can in no way provide for you what is being developed within you. The most earnest desire of Jesus Christ is to see the reflection of Himself in you. He has come upon all who have received Him. Now it is His passion to so shine thus erasing every shadow from your life. What more can be desired than this? This is the greatest of all treasures. All that He is taking hold of and becoming all that you are. Let the light of His glory rise and shine upon and in you. 

“The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” (Prov 18:14 KJV).

Our spirits possess resilience in order not to sink under the force of pressure. Once our spirits are awakened to the reality of the Eternal, its communion with the Holy Spirit will convey hope within our souls. The spirit of a man will sustain the infirmity of his body. The wounds and weaknesses of our bodies are sustained as long as our inner man is strengthened. It must be fed the nutrients required of it to increase in strength because its task is greater than we can know. There are many flesh wounds, exterior circumstances causing the soul to be cast down on occasion, but our hope in the finished work of Jesus Christ causes us to rise above all of them.

But when the spirit is wounded, it is borne down to powerlessness and helpless passivity and there is no other sustaining power to supply its need. It is when the guilt of sin has produced condemnation because what is known of God is violated. The soul is left without an anchor and wanders aimlessly towards things that merely cover up the deep pains now suffered. It requires a personal revival or renewal in order for the spirit to be directed towards its strength. No one can heal the wounds of the spirit but God. The Spirit knows the things of our spirit.

A book, a letter, or a sermon is the result of the deep meditation of the presenter. It is usually expressive of much of what has been read, prayed, and is birthed out of the relationship that person has with God and with others. Therefore, words may mean different things to different people. That is why I take pleasure in reading both the preface and the bibliography in each book. I like to know what the person was thinking beyond what he has written or spoken.

Jesus spoke with the deepest of thought. Everything He said expressed the heart and mind of His Father. He was asked on one occasion—“Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ (Matthew 22.35-40). Such a simple yet profound answer to a question would have baffled the most astute professor of religion. Yet His answer went far beyond the level of their understanding. All that Jesus was gave definition of the love that He addressed. Then to understand how love was to be applied to both God and to neighbor would send them back to their classrooms in pursuit of the elementary discussions of both categories.

In order to understand the statements of Jesus we need the mind of Christ. As His mind is developed within us, His Words will be accurately interpreted. It is the unrenewed mind that misconstrues and misapplies messages processed through it. As we commit to God’s Word pray that His mind would be given to handle what comes your way.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25). 

Is Church the place that we attend or a people in the process of being made? Many place more emphasis on place than on purpose. It is not a matter of getting what we consider to be our needs met. To be honest, we do not really know precisely what our needs are. There are symptoms, but our needs go much deeper. God knows. He knows our frame or the substance on which all that we have become was constructed upon. The foundation of our soul; mind, will, and emotion, is taken into account when the Word of God is spoken under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We are challenged at the very core of our being in order to discover His intentions for our lives. We are not in place to merely receive affirmations. They will only strengthen the soul in its rebellious state against the knowledge of God. He is our Father. He rebukes us, challenges us, and affirms us. Oftentimes, Church becomes a very uncomfortable place. We are called to reckon with God in relation to the sins that so easily beset us in order for His character to be formed in us. We are not human beings, but rather human becoming’s. We are a work in progress. Whatever we are becoming, all that we expose ourselves to contributes to the formation of our lives. Every moment counts. Time is too valuable to be wasted. 

Many have opted out of attending Church altogether. Their expectations were not met, or a disappointment was so devastating that they distanced themselves from the Church. Maybe unrealistic expectations have driven you away. It could have been a test of character warranting a different response from you. The Church does not consist of perfect people, but rather committed people. The commitment will be tested but the Word of God will bring understanding in His time. Patience is the virtue which must be established with our hearts. God is beckoning His people to come home and be established. Attend church this week in order to worship God. Allow Him to reveal Himself to you and do not depend on your own understanding. The definition that I use for worship is “worship is our active response to God’s revelation of Himself whereby we declare His worth.” It is not about us. If worship is to be real it must be about Him! Out of our worship He will be glorified and His glory will always be for our good. You may not see it now, but when patience is perfected we are able to see further. We can then see aspects of the Kingdom of God unknown to us before His work in us began! 

“ For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1Corinthians 2:2). 

Memory is a gift from God. When appropriately used, it can serve as a blessing. But when the lingering effects of memory close our minds to God, it is then a curse. During times of stillness the mind can relive experiences of the past. Our memories capture those moments and freeze-frame them into the catalogue of our minds. Things we have learned lay the foundation for further knowledge. Paul realized this and made a decision. He said, “for I determined…” The word “determined” in the Greek language is “krino” which means, “to separate.” Paul was in essence saying, “I separate the knowledge of the past from the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” God was determined to separate light from darkness. It is not that Paul was ignorant of other things. He knew many things, but now possessed the ability to separate what he knew from who he is in the process of knowing. To know Jesus Christ is a full time job that ought to occupy our undivided attention. All other information must pass through the filter of the revelation of Jesus in order for it to translate into wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge effectively and skillfully applied to life. What should this mean to us? It is saying that since the life of Jesus is to become life to us, we cannot afford to allow competing information to separate us from what we are convinced of. The discernment of the Christian is the ability to see through the lens of Christ what He sees. Only then can His judgments become our own. The wisdom that comes from beneath is sensual and self- seeking. The wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (James 3:17-18). It will not come through mere wishful thinking. It is yours only when you are determined to know nothing other than Jesus Christ, and to know Him as crucified for us as well as the rest of the world. 

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” 

(Job 42:5). 

When God is abstract, one must use his imagination in drawing a composite of Him. But when one is close enough to see Him, all they have to do is report to others what has been made known to them. What we hear of Him ought to whet the appetite of the hearer to be drawn closer by the Holy Spirit. When we are drawn close enough to see His features we see in Him what we so desperately need. Then it does not take any exaggerated language or overly dramatic expressions to convey to the heart of others the knowledge that has now become a part of us. It is as easy as breathing because we are reporting and not selling. He does the work in our hearts and imparts to us wisdom that is beyond our years. It is the personal experience that transforms us from seekers to saints. As eyewitnesses of His glory, we are changed. The change within us is sufficient to invoke the change in others. Once we have seen Him through the eyes of the Spirit, we have a story to tell and a message to deliver. He becomes greater than what we first thought of Him and we become diminished in size in our own eyes.