The Light of the World.

Three times in a row, I received a message on the Light of the world and so I thought I’d write about that here today.

Isaiah 7:15 Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose good.

Born to a land flowing with milk and honey, during a period of peace, Jesus was raised on a diet exactly as other children in the region (curds (milk) and honey), until He knew right from wrong at about three years of age, thus denoting His humanity in the world.

At around three years old, a child knows right from wrong. Nourished with proper food and assumed a proper soul, Jesus increased in wisdom and knowledge, as do all children raised in a proper manner.

It could be said that at this age, exercising between the pleasant and painful is the point of moral consciousness, which takes 10 to 12 years to fully mature. Jesus grew in wisdom, stature and favour with God and man (Luke 2:52). His light was now just beginning to shine.

Those with no light in them shall pass through the land, hard-pressed and hungry, filled with gloom and downcast. Just as the light began to shine in Jesus, the light will shine upon the Gentiles too, as they draw close to the Light Bearer, imitating Him in all His ways. The Gentiles will increase in joy, for the Lord has broken the yoke of their burden and loosed the chains of their past.

Church is the place of the broken, all at various stages of healing. We start as empty vessels, full of fear, ill and fragmented. As a cracked pot, with seemingly no use, we are less than God intends for us to be. But add the light of God and watch your life change. Continue to put Christ first and you will see the miraculous work in your life.

The broken pot, that’s you and I, are to be filled with the light of God. A clay pot given a new use, as in Judges 7:16-21 where the clay pots of the army of Gideon, were used to carry the light of God; a light not meant to be hidden, but released to the world. Where the enemy fled in terror, when it saw the light of the army shine brightly.

2 Kings 4:1-7 tells us of a woman who was about to lose her sons as slaves, to the creditors. The Prophet Elisha told the woman to fill empty pots with the remaining oil in her house and sell the oil. You see, this woman was drained and depleted; scared, broke, in heartache. She had nothing and was ripe for the filling. At the end of this, she had more than enough to pay her creditors, see her sons safe and was able to “live on the rest.” More than enough, not scraping by.

The woman came to Elisha (a type of forerunner of Jesus), He blessed her and her yoke (burden) was lifted. Our answer is in our emptiness. In our brokenness. In our willingness to go to the Father and do what He tells us to do.

Gideon’s army of 300, were not given swords, spears, or arrows. They were each given a clay pot, a candle and a trumpet. An army without weapons, but an army who won the war. It is in those moments, the moments of supernatural movement, which draws others to the Light of God.

It’s in the telling of our testimony and by the blood of the Lamb that we overcome. Revelation 12:10-11 ...for the accuser …has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony...

The Light of Jesus Christ still shines brightly today. Choose what is good and right. Be that light which shines in the dark places. Be sure to fill yourself with Him and be a light for others, a light which draws others into the kingdom of God, for no matter where we are, that is what we’re called to do; heal the sick, make the lame walk, open blind eyes, cast out demons and raise the dead.

Let praise go ahead of you and thankfulness follow behind, for Jesus pointed the way, teaching us the password if you will, to walking in this light of His. First, He blessed the bread, second, He gave thanks, then the bread fed thousands.

Judah means praise. Judah always broke camp first, as the tribes headed to the Promised Land. Praise always goes first and we must remember to give thanks. Just as only one leper came back out of ten and gave thanks and he was the only leper made whole, so too, will we be made whole in thanksgiving.

Praise the Lord and give Him thanks. Tell others of your testimony, shine brightly and overcome the evils of this world.