If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon lie down in great torment. (Isaiah 50:10b-11 NLT)
Is there really such a thing as light, or is it merely the absence of darkness? It is, in a sense, more illusive than the contrast between heat and cold. We measure light in units called lumens and quantify the power to produce it in watts. Compared to the sun these are piteously miniscule. So it is with the light that emanates from the latent power of the soul! We think we are something when we are nothing. We deceive ourselves by walking in our own light and make our own warmth. But is this pleasing to our God? No! It is an abomination! The only light that is pure and holy is the light that comes from the Son! This light is the source of life and conveys with its warmth a fellowship with the saints. This light is found in the silent darkness of the prayer closet where only two voices are to be heard: the Holy Spirit and the persistent penitent sinner. Have light, have Son, have fellowship. Have not Son, have darkness, have torment. Surf knots allowed!
More than once the Bible explains to us the need for persevering prayer. There are many grounds, the chief of which is the justice of God. God has declared that sin must bear its consequences; sin, therefore, has rights over a world which welcomes and remains enslaved by it. When the child of God seeks to quit this order of things, it is necessary that the justice of God should consent to this; time, therefore, is needed that the privileges that Christ has procured for the believers should weigh before God's tribunal. Besides this, the opposition of Satan, who always seeks to prevent the answer to prayer, is a reason for it (Daniel 10:12-13). The only means by which this unseen enemy can be conquered is faith. Standing firmly on the promises of God, faith refuses to yield, and continues to pray and wait for the answer even when it is delayed, knowing that the victory is sure (Ephesians 6:12-13). (Andrew Murray, Persevering Prayer)
Because the sovereign Lord helps me, I will no be dismayed. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone determined to do his will. And I know that I will triumph. (Isaiah 50:7)
God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, ant the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. My children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if you do sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who pleases God completely. He is the sacrifice for our sin. He takes away not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (1 John 1:5b-2:2 NLT)
One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," He said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!'" Then the Lord said, "Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don't you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?" (Luke 18:1-8 NLT2)
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