“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus is the light of the world. Wherever and whenever he show up in a place, things happen and things change. Just as Jesus came and shine his light in a dark world, shouldn’t we be doing the same? We should be light affecting darkness. But I find that our light is not shining. We are finding that darkness is affecting light. It seem our light shine brightly in the church but when Monday comes we simply turn off the light. We are not affecting darkness. Our friends can’t see our light. Our Co-workers can’t see our light. Our family can’t see our light. They don’t see the difference in you. People ought to see something different about you because you don’t live the way they do. You don’t talk like they do. You don’t behave like they do. You are the light of the world. Whenever you show up, people ought to change their conversations. They ought to change their behavior. Keep shining your light. Don’t let your light go out. Let people see there is something different about you. Let’s be real Christian instead of fake Christian. Don’t take out the light. Don’t hide your light. Let your light affect darkness.

These verses are from the Book of Chronicles and were written by David as a praise to God when he was teaching before the assembly. The verse is a profound testament to the sovereignty of God and His reign over the entirety of the universe. David first praises God by acknowledging is power and glory. He also acknowledges the fact that God owns everything. The universe is His and God is unmistakably has control over all of it.

Christians are to recognize these truths. They are basic tenets of our faith in God. If we do not believe these truths completely, then will it not be difficult for us to humble ourselves before him and be obedient to His plan for our life? Indeed it will, and this is just further evidence of how important it is for Christians to really understand what giving our life in Christ meant.

As this verse from Proverbs 4 says to us, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” we should be willing to seek wisdom, and although it might cost everything else that we have, understanding is far more valuable to us. When we have understanding it becomes much easier for us to truly accept and apply the truth of God in our lives.

In verse 12 David completes his praise of God’s sovereignty wherein he extols the truth that God owns all things, he rules over all things. God can and does exalt those whom he deems trustworthy to be used for His purposes. In closing, David tells the assembly that even strength is given to us by God. This precept is true even today, as in “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 God still provides strength today as He did back in David’s day. We just have to have the wisdom and understanding of God’s sovereignty to be empowered by it.

Are you hearing the voice of God in your life? Does God know you? Are you following God? I believe we are in a bad place if we are not hearing from God and God doesn’t know us or recognize us. Some of us have made decisions in our lives base off of how we feel. Instead of turning to God and waiting to hear an answer, we make decisions on our own but we fail to realize that in the end we will lose. We must understand that our lives is not our own. God is in charge. He’s control everything. Sometimes we even ignore the voice of God when he is telling us not to go down that road. Some of you, God say to leave that relationship but you still in the relationship. Some of you, God say to get rid of that friend you are hanging out with, but you still hang out with that person. We make very important decisions in our lives without God in the picture. We make decisions base off of how we feel and we put God in it when God has no part in it. You ought to be in constant communication w! ith God. You ought to be hearing the voice of God in your life. God wants to lead you but you have to follow him. You have to put away your feelings and do what God ask of you. You will be better off in the long run. God will never lead you wrong. If God ask you to do something that you feel is hard, trust him and believe him. You will thank him later. Always remember God only want the best for you. Don’t forget that sometimes our best is not God best.

It is a dangerous place to not listen to the voice of God. The Bible calls this “Quenching the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) - Don’t do it.

Paul went through some of the most incredible circumstances while setting up churches throughout the Eurasian countries. Here’s a guy who was literally beaten with rods, locked in chains, thrown in jail to die, bitten by vipers, whipped and so on……however, he always turned to God for his strength no matter what he was going through. The awesome thing is that God always gave him the strength to make it through whatever burden he was having to bear at the time.

One thing was evident; I could not have done it on my own. God made it so clear that it was only through His grace that I was able to go through that four years and come out intact, in fact stronger for it.

There is a song by Hillsong called “His Love”. Whenever I hear it, which is often because I really enjoy hearing its’ message, I am reminded that love and grace go hand in hand. John tells us in this verse: “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.” 1 John 3:10 That in order to love and be able to give grace to others we need to know God’s love first.

Likewise, in order to love others we often have to know how to be people of grace and be able to extend that grace to them. How many people do you know who are hard for you to love? Do you find it really difficult to think of them as brothers and sisters in Christ, or go to them and give them an encouraging word or hug when they are in need? This is precisely where God’s grace comes in. He may have not had a reason to love us either, however, His Grace made it possible. As His children, we ought to extend that same grace to others, to truly be examples of Him.

I absolutely love spring. Everything comes to life. The flowers bloom; the grass turns green; the trees have leaves; the birds sing. There is an assortment of colors just waiting to burst forth. All of the new life astounds me.

Imagine the first day of creation. One moment, there was nothing. The next moment, God had created the heavens and the earth…with a word. During the next seven days, he continued to speak and everything burst forth into full life. Can you imagine that in less than a millisecond, every single flower burst forth? Animals suddenly appeared showing God’s creativity and sense of humor. Yes, I think God has a sense of humor…have you seen a baboon or a giraffe’s neck?

I think that creation was like spring. Everything burst forth at God’s word. I find it amazing how he can speak and it will be done. If you need something in your life, remember that God can speak one word and make your life anew, like spring.

What are your friends like? Are they Christians? Do they encourage you? Can you share your belief in Jesus with them? Do they give you Godly advise? Are they really concerned about your moral, well being as a Christian? Or do they tear you down or try to control you? Do they inspire you to draw close to God? Or do they cause you to slip away from God? Do you mostly try to please them or God?

This is very IMPORTANT stuff! It does matter, for you own well being, who you have as friends and who you marry.

We, as Christians are called to love everyone, to be kind to everyone, to witness to the lost, BUT we have to be very careful who we spend a lot of our time with. Who we listen to and who we trust our hearts with. We are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. That is true. BECAUSE our close companions, those we share our very personal lives with WILL have an effect on our lives, either for our good or for our harm.

God’s word tells us what kind of friends and spouses we should choose. “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said; I will dwell among them, I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-17

How can two walk together, unless they agree? If you are “yoked” up with a non-believer and you are a believer, you are not going to agree. There will be conflict. You will be tempted to compromise. No friendship is worth forfeiting your beliefs.

“Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17
“Do not enter the path of the wicked. And do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it. Turn away from it and pass on.” Proverbs 4:14-15
“Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse, he who guards his soul will be far from them.” Proverbs 22:5

If you are “hooked” up with the wrong people causing you to compromise your morals, your Christian standards, your beliefs, your faith, you need to find some new friends. God will send you some really good friends, He WILL reward you!

Ever notice how sometimes its hard to voice your opinions about your faith? The world we live into today has taught us to keep the touchy “religious” subjects on the down low, as to not offend anyone. We tip toe around people not wanting to rub anyone the wrong way. Its almost like we take God and stick Him in our pocket when we go out in public, and then when no one is around we take Him back out. We don’t want to talk about the Lord at work, we don’t want to talk about Him in front of our friends, our family, ANYONE. I’m not just talking about non-believers I’m talking about the Christians as well. Unless we are at church we don’t talk about the Lord. Because if we do , we may say something that will offend someone. Usually when a Christian is “offended” by something that more often than not means that they are convicted of a certain sin in their life. No one likes being convicted in our faith, we all fancy ourselves to be these “Mega Christians” , that we never want to feel t he uncomfortableness of being convicted. The Bible tells us that we should not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That means telling and talking about the Lord to anyone and everyone, no matter how uncomfortable It makes others feel.

More often than not you will hear Christians defend certain behavior. Drinking , for one, is probably one of the most controversial things to talk about with different Christians. I believe that drinking is wrong. Why drink alcohol and put that temptation in front of you? Why have one or two when you could be setting an example to other believer that may make them fall? So on and so forth. A lot of Christians get very defensive when they enjoy doing things that know that are against or taking that step to being against the Lord. They take what the Bible says and put it into their own version that fits their lifestyle. But think about what kind of example you would be if you were standing in a room holding a beer talking about the Lord? Wouldn’t be a very good one would it? Believers need to stop being so afraid to speak the truth. We need to stop being afraid we will offend others with what we say and how we live our lives. In the Bible Jesus says if we deny Him in front of others , He will deny us in front of His Father (God). Denying Jesus isn’t just saying we don’t personally know Him as our Savior. Its living how we please , not what how God says we should live. You don’t want to get to judgment day and after sticking the Lord in your pocket and living how you please, Jesus looks at you and denies He knows you. Don’t stick God in your pocket, speak out your faith!

O LORD, are you not from everlasting? My God, my Holy One, we will not die. O LORD, you have appointed them to execute judgment; O Rock, you have ordained them to punish.

In this verse from the minor prophet Habakkuk, he is recounting the battle against Israel by the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans are winning, mostly due to the sins that Israel has wrought against God. Habakkuk is lamenting and trying to understand which is worse: the sins that they have committed, or the punishment that has resulted from them. While Habakkuk realizes that they have brought this upon themselves, he wonders aloud if God is still on the side of the Israelites or not. The Chaldeans themselves were wicked warriors in their own right, who did not honor God, but worship other idols.

You might be wondering what the significance of this verse is, written by a lowly minor prophet. First of all, just because Habakkuk isn’t as well known as the Major Prophets like Jeremiah or Isaiah, God used the ordinary among the Israelites, as he does still today to deliver important messages. God’s ways are higher than our ways. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9. That characteristic of God has never changed and is the same today as it was back then.

When Habakkuk makes reference in the first part of the verse, he is asking God about his everlasting nature. The eternity of God’s nature is valid; if he is from everlasting, then he will be to everlasting for the Israelites and also for us today. The importance of that fact is that God will see to it that, unlike the Chaldeans, His children will still sit beside Him in heaven, no matter what ordeal they might go through. The Chaldean idol worshipers will have a future of eternal strife. This is a crucial promise that God has made to all Christians.

The second part of this verse provides an even greater comfort to us. Habakkuk is reaffirming that God is his Holy One. Because he believes that, and holds it in his heart as truth, Habakkuk will not die, but will in fact be with God in the end. He is reminding the Israelites how important this is, to love God with all their hearts above all else. Again, this is the same truth for Christians today. As we profess our complete love for God just as Habakkuk did, and that God is our savior and not attribute the goodness in our live as from idols, then God will truly deliver us from the eternal torment of hell.

The devil main objective is to steal, kill and destroy. We should expect the devil to attack our lives. If we are tearing devil kingdom down we ought to expect the devil to do something to us. We ought to be getting on the devil nerves. The devil wants to destroy your life. He will do whatever it takes to have you. He knows you. He knows your weakness. He knows what you like. He knows what gets to you. We ought to be working against the devil, doing what God has called and chosen us to do. If the devil has been attacking your life, it is a sign that you are doing damage to his kingdom. You are getting on his nerves. When you get on someone nerves, they usually yell or hit or do something to you or make a reaction letting you know to leave them alone.

Can you imagine that you are on the devil mind? You are all he thinks about. He is plotting and strategizing how to get to you. The devil will attack you because he knows your future. He knows what is coming. He knows the blessi! ng is coming. He knows your victory is ahead so he is doing all he can to mess you up and prevent you from getting to where you need to be. That’s why you had a rough childhood. That’s why you went through some things in your life that were unbearable. He wants to have you. Get on his nerves by doing what you are called to do. Get on his nerves by being obedient to God. Get on his nerves by living a holy and pure life. Cause the devil to hate you. Cause the devil to not stand you. Strike a blow to the kingdom of darkness. Are you getting on the devil nerves or is he getting on your nerves? What are you going to do to get on his nerves? Go get on the devil nerves.

Psalm 36:5-7 says: Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Interestingly, God has spoken about this subject in various places throughout Scripture, Psalm 36 being just one example. Psalm 86:15 is another wonderful example for us: “But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” So, not only is God faithful to us, but He is compassionate, gracious and slow to anger. Isn’t that comforting to know? He’s not going to deck us when we probably deserved it?

Psalm 91:11 shows us even more about this aspect of God’s character: “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” Not only will He not deck us, but He will protect us and defend us. This of course depends on our obedience to God to be provided to us.

When we are obedient, as Joshua was when God told him to step into the Jordan River so that he and the Israelites could go into the Promised Land, He will do the same for us. He will part the waters, open the doors, lay a bridge, or provide for a need in just the right way, at just the right time. This is how God fulfills His promises to us, in so many different ways. All we have to do is say, “Lord here I am, I am yours and will follow you.” When God hears that, He knows you are ready to receive the promises that He has for you. All He really wants to know is that we belong to Him. Are you one of His children?