Friday, June 16, 2023

The Light Arises In The Darkness

 


This meditation is for all my fellow believers who love the Lord Jesus Christ
and strive daily to walk in His ways and precepts in these uncertain times.
 We are never alone. His inextinguishable Light arises within us amid the
 darkness of this lost and fallen world.  Faith in Him alone is our victory.

"Then said David to the Philistine,  "You come to me with a sword,
a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts,
the God of the ranks of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day
the Lord will deliver you into my hand..."
(1 Samuel 17:45-46)


David Slings The Stone
(1896-1902)
James Joseph Tissot
(1836-1902)
French painter and illustrator


"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require
of you but reverently to fear the Lord your God, that is,
to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve
the Lord your God with all your mind and heart
and with your entire being."
(Deuteronomy 10:12)

"The steps of a good man are directed and  established
by the Lord when He delights in his way and He busies
Himself with his every step. Though he falls, he shall
not be utterly cast down, for the Lord grasps his hand
in support and upholds him."
(Psalm 37:23-24)

"Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land; in the end
when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it."
(Psalm 37: 37:34)

"Praise the Lord, Hallelujah!

Blessed, happy, fortunate, to be envied is the man
who fears, reveres, and worships the Lord, who
 delights greatly in His commandments.

His spiritual offspring shall be mighty upon the earth;
the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

Prosperity and welfare are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.

Light arises in the darkness for the upright, gracious,
compassionate, and just who are in right standing with God.

It is well with the man who deals generously and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice.

He will not be moved forever; the uncompromisingly
righteous, the upright, in right standing with God
shall be in everlasting remembrance.

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firmly
fixed, trusting, leaning on and being confident in the Lord.

His heart is established and steady, he will not be afraid
while he waits to see his desire established upon his adversaries.

He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor and needy;
his righteousness, uprightness and right standing with God
endures forever; his horn shall be exalted in his honor.

The wicked man will see it and be grieved and angered,
he will gnash his teeth and disappear in despair; the
desire of the wicked shall perish and come to nothing."
(Psalm 112)

"But love your enemies and be kind and do good favors 
 so that someone derives benefit from them, and lend,
expecting and hoping for nothing in return, but
considering nothing as lost and despairing of
no one; and then your recompense, your reward will
 be great and you will be children of the Most High,
for He is kind and charitable and good to the
ungrateful and the selfish and wicked."
(Luke 6:35)

"...and ye shall be the children of the Highest, that is of God, 
one of whose name is "The Most High" the meaning is, that such
who from principles of grace, and with right views do such acts
of kindness and beneficence to their fellow creatures and Christians,
shall be made manifest and declared to be the children of God,
since they will appear to be born of Him and made partakers
of the divine nature, and bear a resemblance to Him...

  For He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil;
by causing His sun to rise, and His rain to fall
 on them, as on the righteous and good.

There is no difference with Him, whether on the right
hand or the left, for He is gracious and does good, 
even to the ungodly."
-Gill's Exposition on the Holy Bible


"Behave yourselves wisely, living prudently and with discretion
in your relations with those of the outside world (non-Christians)
making the very most of the time and seizing the opportunity.
Let your speech at all times be gracious, pleasant and winsome,
seasoned as it were with salt, so that you may never be at a
loss to know how you ought to answer anyone
who puts a question to you."
(Colossians 4:5-6)

"Let all your conversation be such as may tend to exemplify and
recommend Christianity; let it not only be holy, but wise, gracious,
and intelligent.  A harsh method of proposing or defending the
doctrines of Christianity only serves to repel men from those
doctrines, and from the way of salvation.

Salt from its use in preserving food from corruption, and rending it
both savory and wholesome, has always been made the emblem of wisdom.
The word has been also used to express in composition and conversation
what is terse, comprehensive, useful, elegant, and impressive.

How ye ought to answer every man-That your discourse may be so
judiciously managed that ye may discern how to treat the prejudices
and meet the objections both of Jews and Gentiles."
Clarke's Commentary on the Holy Bible




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