Back when electricity was first being introduced to a little Scottish village, almost everybody in a particular church switched from the propane lanterns to electricity just as soon as it could be hooked up. However, the oldest couple in the congregation couldn’t get their electricity because they were waiting for the pole to go up and the wire to be strung. So they continued to use their propane lanterns.
The day finally came when the electricity was brought into their home. Everyone came for the festive event. The old man waited for it to get extra dark; then he told his wife to go turn on the switch. When she did, the light filled the room, and everyone rejoiced. The old man grinned form ear to ear, picked up a propane lamp and said, “It sure makes lighting my lamps easier.” And with that he lit a lamp and his wife turned off the electricity.
Sometimes we’re just like that. We can’t see the light for need to hang on to the darkness of our past. John 3:19-21 says, “And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
The Word of God is a light that leads us where we should go in a dark world. It lights up our paths and with clear directions, hope, and the love of the God who created us. He knew that we would need direction to navigate life and to keep us on the narrow road that leads to everlasting life. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” The Bible is the light that helps us find the narrow gate. It is our navigation tool for every season of life and for every situation we face. It is like a compass that always points to God. The Holy Spirit living within us acts as our personal navigator ever steering us closer and closer to our Creator.
A couple of years ago, a hurricane came and we were without power for about three days. We were able to stay with my mom during that time, but everyday my husband and I would drive over to our house (several times a day) to see if the power was back on yet. We called the electric company trying to get an update. It isn’t until you are without electricity that you begin to wonder how people lived without it before it existed. No electricity means no AC (a must in Florida!), no cold refrigerator to keep your food from spoiling, no internet, and no lights. The electric company is the source of the power that provides all these things we take for granted every day.
In our spiritual lives, God is the source of the power in our lives that lights our way. The hurricane corrupted the power source to our home, but God’s Word in incorruptible. It lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23). We do not have to worry about the storms of life ever disrupting our spiritual source of power. As long as we stay connected to God and His Word, we will always have the light that illuminates insight and wisdom to show us the paths we need to take.
Lighted Path #1: Exposure Cliff. When you walk into a dark room and flip on the light switch, instantly the darkness is gone. Darkness and light cannot both occupy the same space. When the light comes on, every thing in the room that was hidden by darkness becomes visible in the light. The light of God’s Word expels the darkness and exposes all our hidden sins. Ephesians 5:13 says, “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.” It’s like having a spotlight on all the dirty, dark sins of our life. That might sound like a bad thing, but without the light of God Word exposing our sin, we’d never realize our need for a Savior.
Lighted path #2: Salvation Way. Because God’s Word is His written communication to us through revealing His message to the apostles, who in turn wrote the books that in its total collection we call the Bible, we have God’s redemption plan that allows us to understand our sin and lostness without Christ and how we can be redeemed by grace through faith in Jesus. From the Bible we learn that there is only one way to Salvation. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Without the Bible, we’d be lost in darkness with no hope. In Acts 26:18 Paul recounts his Damascus Road experience where Jesus tells Paul what his mission is to be: “To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” The Light of God’s Word shows us the way to Savlation.
Lighted Path #3: Internal Place. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” When we hide the Word in our hearts we bring it to the internal place of our heart and minds as we meditate on it, memorize it, and apply it to our lives. As we do, it keeps us from sin because first we know what the Bible says and how God expects us to live and because if we have soaked it up into our hearts and minds then when Satan comes around to tempt us we have the Word of God ready to quench those temptations and send Satan packing. This is exactly what Jesus did in the wilderness when Satan came to tempt Him. For each temptation, Jesus quoted scripture back to Satan. As we hide God’s Word in our hearts, it will shine a light on the temptations of Satan and equip us to defeat him.
Lighted Path #4: Direction Circle. The Bible doesn’t just tell us how to be saved, it tells how we should live. When you walk into a dark room, you can choose to flip the switch and turn on the light, or you can walk through the dark and stub your toe – the choice is yours. It’s a choice that we have to make constantly throughout every day of life. Over and over again as if we are going in a circle, life presents a situation and we have to choose to follow God’s direction and obey His Word or we can stumble around in the dark as we try to do life our own way. God gives us a Bible full of His directions that can help us navigate life, but we have to be willing to follow them. James 1:22 tells us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. When we are “doers” we are walking in the light. If we are only “hearers” then we are stumbling around in the dark.
Lighted Path #5: Truth Highway. A highway is a main road that connects major towns and cities. The truths of the Bible is the main path that connects us to God. In John 17:17, Jesus prayed for the disciples saying, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:160, “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your Righteous judgements endures forever.” We can trust the Bible to be true….forever. Since it is true, we can trust it to light our path as we navigate life. Psalm 19:7-11 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much find gold; sweeter also than honey and droppings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned, in keeping them there is great reward.”
Lighted Path #6: Inspired Road. Not only is the Bible true, it is “inspired,” meaning that God worked through the various writers of the books of the Bible and led them in what to write so that the Bible is the very words of God to us. From the very beginning with Moses writing Genesis through Deuteronomy all the down the road to John writing the book of Revelation, every word was inspired by God. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The omniscient and omnipotent God provided His instructions to us as he inspired those who penned His words to us over approximately 1500 years.
Lighted Path #7: Profitable Path. The bottom line is that we reap the profits that the Bible has to offer. 2 Timothy 3:16b-17 tells us that God’s Word is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” These are all profits we receive from the Bible while living here on earth. But since the Bible also lights our path towards salvation, there is a spiritual profit of eternal life.
Lighted Path #8: Connection Junction. Just like when the hurricane knocked out our connection to the source of power, if we are not connected the spiritual source, we’ll be without power. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” If we are going to let the light of God within us shine, we must be connected to the source of power. God is the source that powers the light of His Word.
Lighted Path #9: Commissioned Route. We are not to keep the light to ourselves. Instead, as we go throughout our routes of everyday life, we are to walk in the light of God’s Word, we are to light up the world. In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus tells us that we (Christians)Â are the light of the world and just like a city that sits on a hill cannot be hidden, the light of Christ in us should not be hidden. Instead we are to let our lights “shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify the Father who is in heaven.” Because we have the light of Christ within us, wherever we go, we should be shining light into the darkness of the world and illuminate the path that leads to eternal life through Jesus. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.” In 1 John 1:5, we see that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. So if we, as Christians, have the Holy Spirit living within us then the light of God should be shinning out so that those still living in darkness can find their way to God.
Are you allowing the Word of God to be a light to your path? Are you allowing the light of God within to shine out into the world and lead others to Christ?
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God, Love and Marshmallow Wars: This book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel
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Looking for a speaker for your next ministry event? Julia is now booking for 2019 and 2020 Christian events for women’s and couples’ ministries for both small and large events.
Book with us now.
Julia is CEO of Wellspring Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping people and couples develop a passionate relationship with God. A public speaker, conference trainer, event planner, and blog writer, Julia is a two-time graduate from Grand Canyon University with a bachelor in Psychology and a masters in Professional Counseling. Saved as a child and raised in church and in a Christian home and private Christian School as a Pastor’s kid, Julia has taught Sunday school, led music, played the piano, served as Children’s Director, and engaged her gifts in many other areas of church life. Previously employed with the Florida Baptist Convention, Julia organized events and led conferences for church ministry assistants.
Julia enjoys sharing her journey as a growing Christian with others looking for a deeper connection with God. Through Bible study and her own life experiences, God has given Julia a passion to help couples understand God’s design for marriage while they learn to place God first in their marriage, cultivate meaningful relationships, build intimacy, and address the tougher issues that come in every marriage so that they can experience a marriage that honors and glorifies God. Julia also loves mentoring, teaching, and working with women to help them learn to live as Godly women.
With her history and experience growing up in both small and large churches, Julia enjoys bringing top level quality events to churches of all sizes. Her father largely pastored small churches and therefore she understands that these vital parts of the believing community need to be good stewards of the resources God provides them with. This knowledge inspires her passion for being available with a fresh perspective for those who want to provide their congregations with meaningful spiritual growth opportunities.
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