December 4, 2023 -- Proverbs 4:18-19 -- Christmas Light

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
    which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
    they do not know over what they stumble.
Proverbs 4:18-19 ESV

Jesus declared “I AM the Light of the World” (John 8:12). By the light of Jesus, in Whom is all our righteousness, we begin to see the condition of our heart. We realize the impulses that would cause us to stumble, to run to sin, to seek self-soothing behaviours all of this things which draw us further from Him, in Whom is all our comfort. Because in Christ there is brightness, there is the ever dawning greater light of wisdom and insight which are set ablaze by His love, we do not stumble over former sins, we see pitfalls and temptations long before they impede our steps.

The wicked stumble over the same sin over and over again. Their eyes are blind to the reasons they stumble. They do not know the blackness of their own hearts. Their darkened reason stumbles and falls on the same temptation over and over again because they cannot see it; plain as it is to others who walk around them. It is hidden from their sight.

Christians do stumble. They sin. They will at times walk by impulse rather than turning to Christ in Whose light we see Light. Then the Spirit of God will awaken the conscience and drive the him back to Jesus, in Whom there is forgiveness. The Christian will then seek to live in the Light of Christ not for the sake of mere obedience, but it is love that welcomes the Christian to the arms of Jesus. It is the steadfast love of our Father in heaven to which the arms of Jesus, our Savior, King and brother, welcome us.

Our Father in heaven hallowed be Your Name. In the Light of Jesus we see our weakness, our need, and our sins and then in His Light we know Him Who is all our righteousness. Spirit of God move us to be people who quickly acknowledge our sin, confess it, hate it, and turning from it will  choose once again to walk in the Light of Jesus. Ah, Father, don’t You ever get weary of hearing our confessions? It is tiresome to us to think how often we fail and fall. Don't You get tired of hearing our confessions? Thank You for the power of Your Word which reveals Your rich, endlessly reverberating response:

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God.
He does not faint or grow weary;
His understanding is unsearchable Isaiah 40:28

Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of His inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because He delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
He will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19)

https://youtu.be/Gnoa9o2rrO0?si=RpQEIkJAduAX5w3E Joy to the World

Copyright © 2023 Sh'ma Christian Ministries, All rights reserved.