Uni-verse 288/10,000 For better through verse Luke 8 v 16
Can you shine like a candle?
Luk 8:16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light
We are each a candle. The Word of God is the match that is used to light it. The Holy Spirit is the one who lights the flame. The difficult situations we face in life are the hard surfaces against which the match is struck to give the spark to light the match. Thank the Lord for the difficult times and challenges in our lives for without these,how will we have a testimony or a “true believe it or not story” to share? Our natural abilities and talents, careers, positions and professions are the candlestick on which the candle is set. We need to be ambitious for God so that the candlestick will project the light more and more. We need to excel in our professions so that the candlestick is stable and strong. We should not however be too taken in by the grandeur of the candlestick, however exalted our position or our achievements. At the end of the day, the candle is the purpose, not the candlestick. Our hearts should melt like wax in the presence of the Lord.
In a time of prayer, the Lord revealed that when we spend less time in prayer and worship, it is like keeping the candle under a bed. When we keep a candle under a bed, not only will the candle not burn brightly owing to deficiency in the oxygen available for it to burn but it could set the bed on fire. Not taking enough time to fellowship with God is akin to setting the course of our life on fire. The Word of God says that those who walk in their own light are tormented and torn. Those who do so are like the candle in the famous Princess Diana memorial song " A candle in the wind." They burn out against the fury of the wind, forces within and without, natural and supernatural, that are too powerful to contain or contend with.
When we keep the candle under a lid or a vessel, it will be extinguished in a short while. We cannot hide our faith or the truth. We cannot camouflage our convictions to compromise with the world. We cannot allow fear , doubt ,disbelief , disappointment or discouragement or sin to put out the flame within us. We need to burn appropriately, consistently and unwaveringly. We need to burn high enough for others to see, long enough to make an impact and brightly enough to dispel the surrounding darkness. When all these conditions are fulfilled, then those who enter the Kingdom of God will see the light. A candle always thinks, “ I can burn”. It is not worried about becoming reduced to a dab of carbon. Similarly, a believer must always think, “ I can shine for God. I can shine forth for His glory and praise with His light, His wisdom, His power and His grace.” Grace empowers and enables and absolute grace enables absolutely.
Prateep V Philip
Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Showing posts with label light. Show all posts
Monday, January 2, 2012
Sunday, December 25, 2011
My Christmas Present-can be yours too
Uni-verse 282/10,000 2 Timothy 4 v 8
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
God is no man’s debtor. He is a righteous and impartial judge. He has reserved a crown of righteousness for those who love Him. He amply rewards those who serve Him. He gives a prophet’s reward to us even if we merely receive a prophet if he comes in the Name of the Lord. He that receives a righteous man in the Name of the Lord will receive a righteous man’s reward.
At the midnight of 24/25th December as a family we gathered near the Christmas tree to wish each other and to pray. As I was praying, our older daughter saw an appearance of Jesus and was given a word of wisdom. In His hand he held a beautiful crown for each of us. It was His Christmas gift for us even as we exchanged other gifts among ourselves. But as the uni-verse says He will give a crown not only to me but to all “who love His appearing”.
We must greatly rejoice and throw away our crown of thorns, of worry and fear, of anger and frustration. We must wear the crown the Lord gives us. Though it is not visible, it will reflect on the light on our faces,our attitudes, our smiles and our general “face language”. For easy lies the head that wears the crown of righteousness that Jesus gives.
Prateep V Philip
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
God is no man’s debtor. He is a righteous and impartial judge. He has reserved a crown of righteousness for those who love Him. He amply rewards those who serve Him. He gives a prophet’s reward to us even if we merely receive a prophet if he comes in the Name of the Lord. He that receives a righteous man in the Name of the Lord will receive a righteous man’s reward.
At the midnight of 24/25th December as a family we gathered near the Christmas tree to wish each other and to pray. As I was praying, our older daughter saw an appearance of Jesus and was given a word of wisdom. In His hand he held a beautiful crown for each of us. It was His Christmas gift for us even as we exchanged other gifts among ourselves. But as the uni-verse says He will give a crown not only to me but to all “who love His appearing”.
We must greatly rejoice and throw away our crown of thorns, of worry and fear, of anger and frustration. We must wear the crown the Lord gives us. Though it is not visible, it will reflect on the light on our faces,our attitudes, our smiles and our general “face language”. For easy lies the head that wears the crown of righteousness that Jesus gives.
Prateep V Philip
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Get your share of the Son-light
Uni-verse 260/10,000 For better through verse Malachi 4 v 2
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall
Malachi had the last word among the OT prophets. I believe that the word Sun is a deliberately introduced homonym for the “ Son”-Jesus, the Son of righteousness. God has deliberately kept one sun at the center of our solar system as a permanent symbol of His sovereignty. He keeps us in our paths as He keeps the planets in its orbits due to the gravitational pull of the sun. The sun is kept at the precise distance from the earth: if it was a little closer or further away, life as we know it would not exist on earth. The difference is that we can get closer than even our own skin to the Son of righteousness. The sun’s rays penetrate below the skin and similarly the light of Jesus penetrates us far below our skin level.
Believers are like the moon: we are ugly and lifeless in ourselves, having no real light of our own but we reflect the beauty of the light from the Son. Just as it is foolish to complain that the moon is dark and desolate, we must not find fault with the base level natural qualities of fellow believers. We only need to see if we as a body are reflecting His light. The image of “stall-fed calves” is quite apt and beautiful. We do not have to be always seeking pasture to feed like stray cattle but the Master , the Great Shepherd will bring the produce of the pasture to us.
Modern science tells us that all humanity needs the Vitamin D from the sun’s rays to be strong in our inner core or to be “bone-strong”. The light of Jesus has to shine on us each day to give us Vitamin D- devotion, discipline, diligence, dedication and determination. Devotion implies a constant tendency to remember and think of God as we go through the day’s routine. Then, we will find healing, protection and blessing forever under His wings. We will fear, love and serve Him and be counted as jewels or precious unto Him. He will say to us, “ Arise, go forth and shine.” Yes, let us get our share of the Son-light and our place under the Son.
Prateep V Philip
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall
Malachi had the last word among the OT prophets. I believe that the word Sun is a deliberately introduced homonym for the “ Son”-Jesus, the Son of righteousness. God has deliberately kept one sun at the center of our solar system as a permanent symbol of His sovereignty. He keeps us in our paths as He keeps the planets in its orbits due to the gravitational pull of the sun. The sun is kept at the precise distance from the earth: if it was a little closer or further away, life as we know it would not exist on earth. The difference is that we can get closer than even our own skin to the Son of righteousness. The sun’s rays penetrate below the skin and similarly the light of Jesus penetrates us far below our skin level.
Believers are like the moon: we are ugly and lifeless in ourselves, having no real light of our own but we reflect the beauty of the light from the Son. Just as it is foolish to complain that the moon is dark and desolate, we must not find fault with the base level natural qualities of fellow believers. We only need to see if we as a body are reflecting His light. The image of “stall-fed calves” is quite apt and beautiful. We do not have to be always seeking pasture to feed like stray cattle but the Master , the Great Shepherd will bring the produce of the pasture to us.
Modern science tells us that all humanity needs the Vitamin D from the sun’s rays to be strong in our inner core or to be “bone-strong”. The light of Jesus has to shine on us each day to give us Vitamin D- devotion, discipline, diligence, dedication and determination. Devotion implies a constant tendency to remember and think of God as we go through the day’s routine. Then, we will find healing, protection and blessing forever under His wings. We will fear, love and serve Him and be counted as jewels or precious unto Him. He will say to us, “ Arise, go forth and shine.” Yes, let us get our share of the Son-light and our place under the Son.
Prateep V Philip
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