I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
I have been praying a lot lately about the circumstances in our nation and all of the rampant sin. This morning, in my devotional, God directed me to this verse. Egypt represents the sin that God took us out of, the salvation He freely offers to all through His Son Jesus Christ. But instead of moving forward with God, our nation as a whole has turned from God. We are worshipping other gods: money, technology, success, pleasure and self. So when we look around and see all of the problems in the United States, it is because we have sinned and have refused to repent. I, personally, do not think that God will be mocked forever and I am waiting for Him to act. I don’t know when that will be, but I do know that we need to repent and get out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land of hope, restoration and forgiveness.
Since I was a small child, I have feared the darkness. I always had a night light as I grew up, although my mother wouldn’t allow one plugged into my bedroom socket. Instead, there was a street light just outside my window that shone brightly all night long. When I went to college, I left the bathroom light on when I didn’t have a night light. When I moved into my first apartment, I had a night light in the kitchen and in the bedroom. These days, I have one in the living room and in the bathroom. I just hate it when the electricity fails and I am in total darkness until Dominion Power restores it. I don’t fear the darkness so much these days because I know that God made it just as He created the light. But I much prefer the light and being able to see things instead of stumbling around in the darkness. After all, God called the light “good.”
I feel very bad for those who live in darkness day in and day out. They don’t know about the light that can shine into their world and lead them on the path of eternal life. How difficult it must be for them when they are facing death, eternal darkness! We don’t have to walk in darkness, but some people choose to do so because they prefer not to be seen. They don’t want people to know them as they really are. I’m not sure that they realize that God sees them wherever they are and whatever they are doing. Our sins are always known to the Father who made us and yet He provided a way to save us from the darkness of our sins even before we are aware of His great love for us and His gift of salvation.
The darkness that is in the earth today is because sin is rampant and it doesn’t seem that it’s going to get better. People seem to prefer the darkness of sin and living for the evil one rather than choosing light and living for God. As I stated at the beginning, I don’t like the dark. I am not afraid of what it can do to me these days. Rather, I fear what it is doing in the hearts of mankind, with their permission. They allow darkness in and push the light away, much to the detriment of their souls. I like light. God made it and said that it was good. God separated the darkness and the light for a reason, and He wants us to choose to live in the light. However, mankind wants to confuse the two so that their sin is justified in their own minds. Again, I am afraid of the dark…not for what it will do to me because I am a child of the light, but for what it is doing to sinful man who continues to make the wrong choices and is even leading small children in their sinful ways. God will have the last word just as He had the first ones. He will speak and judgment will fall…darkness on those who chose darkness, for all eternity. I pray that many will repent before that Day of the Lord comes!
May you be blessed with the light of life shining in your hearts and may it reach out to others in the darkness.
Now that the hysteria about Covid-19 seems to be dying down, I want to address a plague that is even worse than Covid or the Black Death or anything that the earth has seen as deadly and dangerous. That plague is the plague of accepting sin as normal and this acceptance leads to certain eternal death and separation from God. No matter what we call sin, it is still wrong in God’s eyes and He will one day judge all of it. We have nice names so that what we are doing wrong doesn’t sound so bad. Abortion is a “necessary procedure”, fornication is “hooking up” and adultery is “playing around.” Even homosexuality is called by a euphemism, “switching teams.” God just calls all of it sin and it has become a plague that is destroying society and our values as we have known them. What was once seen as sinful is now accepted and the current mantra is not to judge others, just let them be, accept others the way they are, etc. Unfortunately, that attitude of letting others just live with their own sin leads to devastating consequences for the entire society. The more we normalize sin, the more rampant it becomes and the actions become even more outrageous. So, what is a Bible-believing Christian to do?
In this chapter in Numbers, the Israelites had once again sinned and God’s response was to judge them with a plague. Korah had rebelled against the leadership of Moses and his punishment was to be swallowed up by the earth. The people did not learn from that judgment from God because the very next day, they started mumbling and complaining about what had happened to Korah. God wanted to just wipe them out, but Aaron and Moses stood in the gap and asked God to have mercy. In the verse above, Aaron stood between those who were dead and those who were still alive, with a burning censer and a prayer on his lips for mercy, and God spared most of the people. However, almost 15,000 died because of this rebellion against the leadership that God had established, which was really a rebellion against God Himself. The Israelites are much like people today. They thought they knew more than God and were able to judge what God was doing in their midst. Think about that. Does anyone know more than God? Of course not! But in their arrogance and lack of right thinking, they proudly rebelled and paid a high price.
I believe that the high price of today’s sin is coming and as Christians, we need to stand in the gap as much as possible, pleading for God’s mercy, that some might accept the truth and live. God will not always be willing to look at the sin on the earth and just shake His head with sorrow. One day, His wrath will unfold and it will be a “great and terrible day,” especially for those who have turned from Him and decided that they have no rules to follow or moral code to govern them. So, I implore you to pray daily for God’s mercy and to pray specifically for specific people who need to know and accept the truth. Speak in love to them as God leads you, tell them the truth of God’s Word. Trying to scare them with God’s coming judgment won’t work because they simply don’t fear God, But perhaps they will listen to the sound of love. Be an Aaron in the midst of the camp of rebels and work earnestly to save as many as you can with the message of God’s truth and salvation. The plague that is coming brings eternal death; some will say that it is already here or God’s judgment has already begun. I don’t believe that because my belief is that when God judges, we will all know it, much as the Israelites did when the earth swallowed Korah and then the plague had the rebels dropping dead. What is happening in the earth today is a natural consequence of our disobedience and utter disregard for the Creator and the moral compass that He put inside us. We cannot turn the tide against the evil but we can stand in the gap and in so doing perhaps lead some to safety with the Lord.
Have a blessed day and may you never hesitate to stand in the gap and be an “Aaron” in a world filled with rebels against God.
Since I was a young child, I have preferred light over darkness and I still sleep with a night light nearby. In my childhood, my mother would not tolerate my foolish insecurities and never allowed me to have a night light, but there was a street light that shone brightly into my bedroom every night and with its shining comfort, I was able to sleep. I am not a fan of winter, not just because of the cold, but also because of the darkness that comes earlier and stays later. When we lived in Maine, I went to work in the morning in the wintertime, and it was dark. When I left school in the afternoon, it was already dusk and by the time I got home, it was dark. Darkness doesn’t really frighten me any longer; I just prefer to see clearly and darkness doesn’t allow that.
Jesus came for the specific purpose of saving mankind from darkness, but the darkness wasn’t surrounding them. Instead, it was in them. In fact, the darkness that is the equivalent of sin is in each of us because we were born in sin and only Jesus can lead us to the light of His grace and mercy and ultimate peace.
I cannot imagine Heaven because it boggles my mind that there is no need for the sun or moon there. God and Jesus illuminate the entire new city of Jerusalem. No darkness at all! After all, there is no sin in Heaven. When I think of how dark the world is today, and not just from winter, but from mankind’s evil choices, it gives me hope that one day there will be no darkness. It also makes me sad that so many who are living in darkness and think that they will never pay consequences for their evil choices are doomed to eternal darkness. I can only pray for them, speak truth as I am given the opportunity and wait for them to begin to make right choices, ones led by God. In the meantime, there is a blessed hope for each of us who are believers. One day, there will be no more darkness!
Imagine no more night! When I visited my husband while he was stationed in Iceland, it was amazing to me that the sun didn’t go down while I was there. There were blackout curtains on the windows to allow us to sleep during the brightly lit night. Now, imagine a world in which light is the only thing known. No darkness at all, ever. More importantly, no sin…no cursing, no lying, no killing, and most importantly, no evil in the heart or mankind. No woke culture proclaiming that lies are the truth. No politicians glad-handing and making promises that they never intend to keep. No sin anywhere in God’s New Kingdom, none at all! That is true light, isn’t it?
Have a blessed day and may you be encouraged by the thought that one day the darkness that surrounds us will be no more.
It’s true, even though many people who call themselves Christians don’t want to admit it. Wickedness is rampant in our nation that once called itself a Christian nation. To our great shame, we have turned away from the Creator and towards our own sinful desires. The laws that are being passed are lawlessness against God and He will not be mocked forever. I am appalled at the churches taking a stand for sin and against God and His Word. I am utterly devastated that there seems to be few who are taking a stand against the “woke” movement that is destroying the fiber of morality in our land. But my hope lies in the Lord because I know that His judgment is coming and in the end, righteousness wins.
Have a blessed day and may you stand for truth and not fall for the lies of sinful mankind.
I am sure that you remember being a child and having the adult with you grab your hand at each intersection of the road, carefully taking you safely to the other side of the road. I still do this for my younger grandchildren. Even in crowded parking lots, I am quick to grab a hand in the hope that I can keep them safe from the cars that are coming from all directions.
Did you know that sin comes at us from all directions? These days, it is prevalent wherever we look. If we look in the newspaper, there it is! Listen to the radio or television, there it is! So how do we navigate to the other side safely?
God takes our hand, just as we take the hands of those we love in order to safeguard them. But just as we walk carefully and lovingly to the other side, so does God. He doesn’t grab our hand forcefully and pull us to the other side of the road. Rather, He takes our hand gently in His and leads us there. How is that possible? Because His Word is in our hearts, so we are constantly being led to the safe place where we can fellowship with Him instead of with evil. Yes, evil is rampant, but God is bigger and will always help us get to safety if that’s where we want to be. Unfortunately, many of us like the sins more than the Savior, so we choose to stay in the unsafe territory where we can be run down by the sins all around us, much as a speeding car can do at an intersection if we are not vigilant. Choosing to take God’s hand is the right choice and for me it is the only choice. We don’t need to be afraid of all of the sin that surrounds us; God is bigger, better and already victorious!
May you remember that God is always reaching out His hand to you to take you safely to the other side of the street, no matter how much chaos there is between you and safety. God bless you!
Like many people, I hate total darkness. When the electricity is off in our house, it’s extremely dark because we live in a rural area and there are no lights around us at all. We have purchased all kinds of battery operated lanterns and candles for when those times come because although I know the layout of my home well, I don’t want to stumble accidentally and perhaps fall. But, like everything else, God has a good word for this situation.
The darkness is not darkness to God. That boggles my mind but it shouldn’t since He created the night and the day. God can see in the dark just as if it were light.
Now, think about the analogy between sin and darkness. If we have darkness in our hearts (sin), God can see it. We can put on a smile and do all the right things in all the right places and with all of the right people but God is never fooled. The darkness in which we try to hide our sins is like a fully lit room to the Lord. Since we can’t hide our sin from the One who made us, it seems that we should just confess it and make ourselves right before Him, doesn’t it?
Think about the darkness the next time you are in a totally dark and enclosed room and then think about God looking down on you and seeing you as clearly as if it were broad daylight. Remarkable imagery and good to remember that the darkness tries to hide things but God always brings them to light.
May the Lord shine His light ever brightly on you, in you and through you so that others in darkness may see the light and walk towards His truth, mercy and love.
God is calling us all to a relationship with Him but in our busy lives, we have turned aside and followed other paths. I believe with all of my heart that have passed the crossroads, much like the ancient civilizations of Israel and Judah. We have wandered down the wrong path, away from our roots of faith and God’s blessings. I don’t know if it’s too late to return to the original path, but I know that we, as Christians, need to be sounding the alarm that the path we are taking as a nation is the wrong one. We stood at a crossroads and went the wrong way. I don’t know when it happened. I just see all of the evidence that it did, and I fear for the future of our nation. God’s chosen people was Israel and yet, they ceased to exist for hundreds of years because of their stubborn refusal to repent and acknowledge God as Lord. Israel had the wrong leaders and their priests were not doing their job to keep the people focused on God. Is the U.S.A. on the same pathway to destruction? I fear that it is, but my hope lies in the Lord who will be with His people regardless of the judgment that is to come. We have passed the crossroads and are wandering in the wilderness of sin. All I can say is that we need to turn back, return to God and ask Him for mercy for our ungodly nation.
It has been seven plus years since I grabbed a salt shaker and liberally sprinkled it on my food. Any food I ate was doused with a few shakes of that magic shaker that made things taste better, even brussel sprouts. But, alas! After my stroke, my sodium intake is restricted, so I don’t add salt to anything these days. In fact, I read labels to make sure that there is little sodium in anything that I eat or drink. It makes for a bland palate sometimes but it is also keeping my blood pressure down and hopefully saving me the grief of another stroke.
On the other hand, I am called to BE salt, and so are you. I never realized how much flavor salt added until I wasn’t allowed to use it. So in being salt, you don’t know what you are adding to the world because you are just there, doing what you are supposed to do, sprinkling the presence of Jesus into the lives of those who need to see Him.
We are called to show others Jesus’s love, mercy, grace and encouragement. In so doing, we are liberally sprinkling Jesus from our hearts to the hearts of others, hoping that change will happen in their lives. Just as you sprinkle salt on your food and it “magically” tastes better, so your salt in the lives of others should be making their lives better in some way. A smile of encouragement, a thank you that is heartfelt, a blessing in the lives of people who go unnoticed from day to day and have lost their sense of purpose in life. We are the ones Jesus told to “go and be”. He did not say to stay at home and hope that everything turns out okay for the rest of the world. Each time we go out into the world, we are supposed to sprinkle it with truth, love, hope and His greatest attribute of forgiveness. Think about it. What can you do to be more like salt to a dying world? They are dying from spoilage, the spoilage that comes from having sin take over their lives. Whether you call it being “woke” or whatever, the same fate awaits them. They will die in their sins without the hope of salvation unless the salt that we are meant to be sprinkles the truth and stands firmly knowing that we are changing the world, one dash of salt at a time.
My blessing for you today:
As a former pastor used to tell us at the end of each message, “May the Lord bless you real good.”
There is a lot of talk these days about a coming revival and the hope that it will bring to a spiritually starved America. However, as in the days of Hosea, I don’t see revival on the horizon. Instead, I see God’s justice which leads to His judgment. We as a nation have turned our backs on God, angrily declaring that we can take care of ourselves and don’t need Him any longer. Of course, those of us who are believers in His grace and mercy and love know that we need Him in our lives daily. But the verse that stood out to me as I read Hosea this morning does much to explain the spiritual condition of our nation.
When what you are doing is so awful that you don’t want to even acknowledge it as sin, then you are not prone to turn to God, but rather away from Him. When the House passed a bill yesterday to establish same-sex marriage as legal in all the states, where was the outrage against their actions? I do believe that interracial marriage is sanctified, but I also believe that same-sex marriage is a sin. Our lawmakers want to “normalize” this sinful act and force us to accept it. They cannot acknowledge God as Lord and justify such an action. The spirit of prostitution that Hosea refers to seems to me to be rampant in the U.S. today, I’m sad to say. The lawmakers have sold themselves to the highest bidder, otherwise known as lobbyists. The voters have sold themselves to the lawmakers who promise them more freedom at the cost of their future legacy for their children. I’m saddened by the state of our nation, but I am not surprised. We got on this slippery slope decades ago and the ride is carrying us faster and faster to the promise of hell, not Heaven.
Am I totally distraught about this whole mess that our nation is in? No, because I have read the end of the Book and we win! It’s just the part of the book in which we are now that I’m not liking because I want God to come swiftly with judgment, but I also want Him to continue His mercy and grace for just a while longer so more can come to know Him. I trust that His way and timing are perfect, and as I see this nation slide farther into sin and debauchery, I cannot help but think that God is just, waiting and saying to His people that a time will come when every knee will bow to His sovereignty.
I hope that you have a blessed day, but remember to pray for our leaders. There are some (perhaps only a few) who are trying to stand strong in the face of great evil and they need our prayerful support.
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 