In the beginning there was no dawn to end the night,
no sun to warm the day,
no moonlight reflected in the swirling water,
no horizon,
just a never-ending night!
God didn’t leave our environment in a murky, dusky twilight. “God . . . separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night'” (Gen. 1:4,NIV).
While the light described was literal, it has wonderful analogy and personal meaning for you and me, because light in the spiritual sense represents the truth, clarity, spiritual understanding, and discernment we receive from God’s written Word. So . . . read your Bible and turn the Light on!
Following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, His disciples fanned out all over the known world, telling people they could now be reconciled with God through faith in Jesus Christ. How were the religious faithful to know if this was true? How could they discern the true Shepherd’s voice?
A fascinating glimpse is given to us when the apostle Paul, who had started heated debates and even riots in practically every synagogue and city where he preached the Gospel, slipped into the little town of Berea. As was his custom, he went straight to the synagogue in order to share the wonderful good news that the Messiah had come. This time when he preached, “they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
We will recognize our Shepherd’s voice when we listen with our eyes on the pages of our Bibles.
God loves for us to come to Him and ask Him for things. But I wonder what kind of relationship I would have had with my husband if I shared only about fifteen minutes a day with him and spent the first minute or two thanking him for what he had done for me and the rest of the time asking him to do something else for me! I doubt we would have had a very good relationship! My husband wanted me to love him simply for who he was. And Jesus Christ, Who is my heavenly Husband, also wants to be loved for Who He is. Not just for what He has done, or may do, but for Who He is in Himself. Would you make time each day to praise Jesus for Who He is? Read the Bible, gleaning His attributes that you might live your life in praise of Who He is.
