This last month in Digging Deep has been an exercise in deep prayer rooted in scripture. I hope you have benefitted from it. It did my heart a lot of good this past weekend to travel to a relatively remote area of Missouri and meet some representatives of a little pod of diggers who are meeting together weekly for three hours each Tuesday and spending that time in the Words of the Holy Spirit.  You cannot look at the message ion the Holy Spirit for three hours with other believers without becoming more like the Spirit…more holy.

Sometimes we have a tendency to underestimate our connectedness with diggers all over the country (and some in other parts of the world, as well.) I think I would have never heard about these eight women who have grown together and are now introducing neighbors and friends to their study and to the Lord’s church. I am praying for them today. I want to be more like some of those women who came to talk to me last Saturday. I love them and will treasure their encouragement to me for a long time to come. I want to be around the throne with them.

As we begin the study for the month of May, I want to share this photo from one sister who lives in the Bahamas. Shameika Hanna is studying along this year, as she has for several years. A busy mom of five, she amazes me with regular evangelistic studies with women who need the Lord on the island of Grand Bahama, in-depth memorization and conceptualization of Scripture in her home with her children, and preparation and delivery of lessons to women of God. (You can hear her at this year’s Polishing the Pulpit in August; https://polishingthepulpit.com/.

Here’s her Psalm one prayer. It’s the prayer of a thirty-something mom on Grand Bahama. I’ve prayed this psalm recently as a sixty-something grandmother in Alabama. One of the things I love about praying the psalms is that, no matter your age or station, these psalms are incredibly relevant and practical.

Finish strong in your comfort prayers and let’s move forward to some comfort in the “grace space” described in the book of Romans. This part of the study has been extremely beneficial to me already!

This last month in Digging Deep has been an exercise in deep prayer rooted in scripture. I hope you have benefitted from it. It did my heart a lot of good this past weekend to travel to a relatively remote area of Missouri and meet some representatives of a little pod of diggers who are meeting together weekly for three hours each Tuesday and spending that time in the Words of the Holy Spirit.  You cannot look at the message ion the Holy Spirit for three hours with other believers without becoming more like the Spirit…more holy.

Sometimes we have a tendency to underestimate our connectedness with diggers all over the country (and some in other parts of the world, as well.) I think I would have never heard about these eight women who have grown together and are now introducing neighbors and friends to their study and to the Lord’s church. I am praying for them today. I want to be more like some of those women who came to talk to me last Saturday. I love them and will treasure their encouragement to me for a long time to come. I want to be around the throne with them.

As we begin the study for the month of May, I want to share this photo from one sister who lives in the Bahamas. Shameika Hanna is studying along this year, as she has for several years. A busy mom of five, she amazes me with regular evangelistic studies with women who need the Lord on the island of Grand Bahama, in-depth memorization and conceptualization of Scripture in her home with her children, and preparation and delivery of lessons to women of God. (You can hear her at this year’s Polishing the Pulpit in August; https://polishingthepulpit.com/.

Here’s her Psalm one prayer. It’s the prayer of a thirty-something mom on Grand Bahama. I’ve prayed this psalm recently as a sixty-something grandmother in Alabama. One of the things I love about praying the psalms is that, no matter your age or station, these psalms are incredibly relevant and practical.

Finish strong in your comfort prayers and let’s move forward to some comfort in the “grace space” described in the book of Romans. This part of the study has been extremely beneficial to me already!

Cindy Colley

When we think of the word “mystery,” many define it as something that cannot be understood – that which is shrouded in incomprehensible ambiguity. The Word of God, however, does not predominantly use it in this manner but rather as something which was hidden or secret (although the clues were there) and was later brought to full understanding. There are things kept hidden or dimly lit throughout the Old Testament concerning man’s salvation that have been brought to light – revealed completely in the New Testament. The “mystery of God” is a central topic of the New Testament. What exactly is this mystery?

Background of the Mystery

The Old Testament contains records of prophecies that the Lord spoke through various ones (prophets) who, many times did not fully understand the very message they were given and instructed to tell others. One such prophet, Daniel, admitted as much in Daniel 12:8 as he received visions of the latter days (Daniel 10:14). God’s answer to him was “the words are sealed till the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9 NKJV). A reading of the whole of chapter 12 gives us the details that were revealed to the prophet concerning “a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation… when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered… and the abomination of desolation is set up…” (Daniel 12:1, 7, 11; cf., Daniel 9). Students of the New Testament do not have to speculate about Daniel’s vision. The Lord in Matthew 24 used similar language in explaining to His disciples the signs of the times, that is, when they would see “…not one stone… left here upon another…” (Matthew 24:2). Jesus made it clear that they (those in the 1st century) would “see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place…” when He said, “this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place” (Matthew 24:15, 34). Indeed, within that generation, Roman armies came and desolated the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The Holy Place (the Temple) was destroyed, and the holy people (the Jews) lost everything that they held dear. This was God’s judgment upon Israel for rejecting His Son – the One Who rendered that retribution upon Israel (Matthew 23:37-38; 24:30; 26:64). It was also God’s way of bringing to full glory the one body of the saved. No longer would the dead corpse of Judaism hold on to the Lord’s glorious church – consisting of all peoples, nations and tongues (Jews and Gentiles)!

Revelation of the Mystery

The New Testament uses the word “mystery” about 20 times (all in the epistles except Mark 4:11) in reference to that which was hidden, but then in the first century was being revealed fully to the world. Paul emphasized this subject in his letters to the churches, with the book of Ephesians containing the most references. The apostle to the Gentiles said that God “made known to us the mystery of His will… that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ…” (Ephesians 1:9-10). Paul addressed both Jews and Gentiles; note in verses 12-14 his use of pronouns. The Holy Spirit revealed to Paul that the Jews (“we who first trusted in Christ,” Ephesians 1:12; Acts 2) and the Gentiles (“you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth,” Ephesians 1:13; Acts 10, 19) now share the inheritance because of Christ’s blood (Ephesians 2:11-18). In the third chapter of Ephesians, Paul clarified the mystery that was hidden throughout all ages. God revealed it to him (and to all the saints, Colossians 1:26-27) – namely, “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). The mystery was explained – Jews and Gentiles in one body, the church belonging to Christ, her Head (Ephesians 5:32). The last place Paul mentioned the mystery in Ephesians is the last chapter where he asked the brethren for prayers, that he may speak “boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19; Colossians 4:3). In Colossians 2:2, he said that the mystery is understandable, and to the church at Rome, Paul wrote, “…I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery…” (Romans 11:25). Deacons were to hold “the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience” (1 Timothy 3:9). During the first century, the Holy Spirit inspired Paul and all of the apostles to “…speak the wisdom of God in a mystery…which God ordained before the ages” to all the world (1 Corinthians 2:7). They did just that and took the one, true Gospel of Christ to all nations (Matthew 24:14; Colossians 1:5, 6, 23; Romans 1:8).

Struggling with the Mystery

It may be difficult for us in the 21st century to fully grasp the tension between the Jew and Gentile relationship in the 1st century. Israel had been God’s special people for 2,000 years (in order to bring the Messiah into the world). As a whole, they prided themselves in the Law of Moses and looked scornfully upon other ethnicities, even though their own Scripture hinted at Gentile salvation (Isaiah 11:10; 42:1-7; Amos 9:12; Malachi 1:11; Psalm 117). Many Jewish Christians struggled with the concept of Gentiles among the body of the saved. The book of Acts bears this out. In Acts 10-11, we have the record of God acknowledging the Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit (they miraculously spoke in languages unknown to them). Peter and the Jews with him needed to see this in order to fully understand that the Gospel is for all (Acts 10:45-48). Notice Acts 10:45 and 11:15, which link, “the gift of the Holy Spirit” to Acts 2. On the day of Pentecost, Peter clearly stated that what they were witnessing (i.e., the apostles miraculously speaking in languages) was what was prophesied by Joel (Acts 2:16-21; Joel 2). The promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was to Jews and Gentiles alike (“all flesh” Joel 2:28).

Due to Judaizing teachers causing trouble in the church by teaching that one had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved, a special meeting was held in Jerusalem (Acts 15). Peter reminded everyone there what had happened some years ago and how “God… made no distinction between us and them” (Acts 15:8-9). Paul (who was also at that meeting) addressed this subject in many of his letters to the churches. The books of Romans and Galatians are two such examples. In 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16, he warned about those who refuse salvation to Gentiles were not pleasing to God. To Timothy, Paul said, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16).

Indeed, God powerfully established among all the churches that the Gospel was “…according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith” (Romans 16:25-26). He accomplished this by giving both Jew and Gentile miraculous gifts, which was done by the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:14-18). Thus, through miracles, the New Testament was confirmed and completed (Romans 16:25-27; 1 Corinthians 2:12-16; 12-14; Hebrews 2:3-4).

Glory in the Mystery

Our Lord said in Matthew 24:14 that the Gospel would be “…preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Remember that in the context, He was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem; thus “the end” pertained to the Jewish system.) Thus, by the end of the 1st century, the revelation of the mystery by the Holy Spirit was made known to all nations. All people, no matter one’s ethnicity, now if they obey the Gospel of Christ, our Lord makes them in Him one special people (Genesis 12:3; 26:4; Galatians 3:19-29; 1 Peter 2:4-10). This is why Paul could write that “…God would make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27), and we today, with the complete Word in hand and in heart, take “…the glorious gospel of the blessed God…” (1 Timothy 1:11) to souls around the whole world (Mark 16:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:2). Glory be to God!

Emily Fisher

It’s busy at the Colley’s this week, but our agendas are not so pressing and our schedules are not bustin’ out like the devil’s. He is the busiest lion-wolf-snake-bee I have ever encountered. While he has always had the same agenda, I believe his forces are larger and more daunting than they have been in my lifetime. He cannot be in all places at one time (because he walks to and fro in the earth, Job 1:7), but he sure does a good job of stationing his minions in large numbers in key places in our lives. And he puts them on steroids in the lives of our kids.

While we often focus on the big picture, the devil is in the details. He starts in small things–little compromises–and worms his way into our hearts. If he can just plant a seed-thought in our heads, get our eyes to glance at one desirable image or have a yearning for one beautiful body, or keep us from one day of Bible study, or from one night of Family Bible time, or if he can get up in our busy-ness with innocent but distracting pleasures, or if he can just get us to waste a few minutes scrolling though the slime–then he can work his way from there into our very purposes in life. He can make us think about an image over and over, rekindle a feeling of lust or a desire to participate, and he can do it over and over throughout our days until he has us walking toward the sin, clicking on the image or tasting the sweet wine of sin. Just a taste and he can make us feel defeated and he can make us view our attempts to live righteously as failures. Sometimes we then feel like, “What’s the use? I have messed up. I may as well go ahead and fill the empty space with sin and then I’ll do better later.”

Later. That’s the damning concept. Time is not the sinner’s friend. It marches on relentlessly toward the point of no return. It envelopes and enslaves while promising a day when there will be time for repentance and God. The devil can make you loathe imprisonment, but love the first step into the prison’s chamber. He can deafen you to the locking bars behind you. He can make you think the stocks of sin are unbearable, but make you love that first moment when you lie down for the bondage. He can make you hate addiction, but love the first taste of the wine. He can make you despise the distant repetition of sin, but love the right-now, one-time deception of which he is the master. He can make you hate the wolf, but fail to recognize the wool over your eyes is just a lamb’s costume–that the wolf is right inside that well designed “get-up” , ready to pounce. He makes you think you can walk away from the danger, while he is that lion already chewing off your legs. You will not run.

If you are waiting till later to defeat him, you are planning for eternal failure. He’s not as powerful as your God (1 John 4:4), but if you align yourself with him, He wins–every time.

Later. While you wait for later, he takes your prime–the years of your health and wealth and your heartiest influence. There may be a day when you can have his wonderful mercy at the last minute before you cross the Jordan, but you will not easily reclaim the innocent souls you influenced for hell during the time you leased-out to him, You will not reclaim the hours of praise and worship that should have blessed and nurtured. You will not retract the damnation you shared during the years you walked with the deceiver. If you had a thousand hearts to give as you cross over, they could not undo the damage of a heart given-over to Satan during the formative years of your children. He is so busy. He offers shining, but damning, moments in life–times when you make vows, sign on dotted lines, enter into covenants or move to new arenas–he offers these glamorous moments from which it becomes ridiculously hard to ever spiritually recover. He gets you in a marriage, a job, a Sodom or a financial obligation. He gets you. He is busy and he rejoices in this iniquity, especially if he can make your desperation feel like a celebration.

And did I mention he wants your kids? He wants to get their innocence. He wants their hearts before they are even perceptive enough to see danger. He wants to lock them in to his system before they get their bearings… before their spiritual eyes are focused. He is unrelenting in his quest for the most vulnerable. He wants them to buy into tolerance before they even understand the concept of sexuality. He wants them to form addictions to devices and entertainment and media before they have an inkling about the power of the visual temptations in those little devices. The lion wants children. Children are the ground level for evil’s empire and the devil wants “in on the ground level.”

I hate the devil. He wants me and from the moment I start to think I am not subject to his lure, He starts to get his serpent fangs in me. I am personally vulnerable to the tempter’s power and I cannot let that personal vulnerability be forgotten for one moment, even as I strive to get others to see him for what he is. He loves to get the people who are bad-mouthing him. I have to strive and recommit and constantly examine my own armor and defense.

He can do big things. He put the stone on the tomb. But that big rock was no match for God in that garden. God never took his eyes off the body of His darling Son. He has his eye on the body of the Son today and that’s where I plan to stay. His outstretched hand is there to rescue me from the great power of the Father of lies. I’m going to hold that hand till he sends His angels to collect my soul and transport me safely to that other garden.

I really hate the devil. Can you tell?

Cindy Colley

I remember the day it happened as clearly as if it was yesterday. I tried to look up a telephone number in the local phone book (we did once have books of phone numbers), and I could not read the number. The numbers were blurry. I still remember the feeling I had, having to admit that I needed glasses.

Blurry vision is not a good thing. It can distort numbers, objects, and just about anything you are trying to see. I couldn’t work with this distorted view of things, so I made an appointment to have my eyes checked. What a blessing those reading glasses were.

Blurry vision doesn’t mean you can’t see anything; it is the inability to perceive things clearly.  Depending on how bad your vision is, the blurry vision may occur only when you are trying to read numbers. Sometimes it affects everything you are trying to see.

Spiritual blurry vision is like physical blurry vision. Some things may be very clear to you, but others may not be clear. They just may not make sense. For those who won’t accept God’s Word as authority, everything is blurry. Whether or not something is clear or blurry may depend on what you “want” to see. Do you want to see what the Bible says, or do you want to ignore it?

One of the most obvious cases of spiritual blurry vision is Peter. We see this over and over again during the three years he spent with Jesus. His problem was often not wanting to accept what was right in front of him.

Remember when Peter wanted to walk on the water. There he was with the disciples traveling across the Sea of Galilee, and he saw a figure walking on the water. The disciples were afraid because they thought it was a spirit. Jesus called to them and told them it was He, but Peter had blurry vision. He said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus told him to come, and Peter got out of the boat and started toward Jesus. The wind was blowing, and Peter became afraid. In this case, blurry vision took the form of doubt.

In John 13, we read about Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. When He started to wash Peter’s feet, Peter questioned the Lord. Then he very bluntly told Jesus that he would never let Him wash his feet. Jesus had to make it clear that if He didn’t wash Peter’s feet, Peter would have no part with the Lord. Peter once again had blurry vision. He couldn’t see the lesson Jesus was trying to teach him and the other disciples. Jesus had to explain to them, and they still did not completely understand.

Peter was not the only one with blurry vision. When Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him and described how they would know who it would be, John asked who it was to be. Jesus had said that the disciple that dipped in the dish with Him was the one.

Though Jesus told the disciples over and over again that He would be taken from them, they just didn’t understand. They had blurry vision.

We are much like that ourselves. We have specific commands in the New Testament, but we tread on the line between right and wrong to justify our behavior. We do this with our dress, what is acceptable in worship, drinking alcohol, using euphemisms, missing church services, etc. The list goes on and on. We have a bad case of blurry vision. We see clearly what we want to obey, and we can’t see clearly what the Bible tells us about things we don’t want to do the way God tells us.

We have been given the Word of God which is to guide us in this life. We can choose to read, study, and obey it; or we can have blurry vision. We can ignore it. We can refuse to obey it. We can say we don’t understand it.

Blurry vision will be no excuse when we stand before God in judgment. So, before we meet our Lord, we need to get a spiritual vision check-up.

Sandra Oliver

This month of studying the comforting power of prayer has once again called me to self-examination. Do I fully rely on the Lord to keep His promises when persecution or trials come my way or do I make myself physically ill in worry over things I cannot control? Do I pray daily and directionally as a matter of routine (to click on “completed”) or am I passionately interested in talking to Him? Maybe most importantly, am I putting my own efforts behind the things for which I am asking or am I putting my own ideas and effort first and then praying, just in case my ingenuity doesn’t work? In other words, am I just praying to “cover all the bases”?

I have dear sisters who are suffering through persecution from those in the body (similarly to Nehemiah when his own countrymen in Jerusalem tried to stop the wall-building). I have sisters who are grieving the loss, both physically and spiritually, of adult children. I talked with a sister yesterday who is on her way to file for divorce after the painful discovery that her husband is living in adultery. I spoke with a young friend earlier in the week who is standing, almost alone, for righteousness on a college campus where there are lots of others who should know truth and should be coming to her aid.  I spoke with a mom who is fighting for the mental and spiritual health of her young and innocent daughter against the missiles of the devil in our world. These things are just at the top of a long list of unimaginably painful paths.

Let me say this with great affirmation. I do not always get it right. But one thing I have learned in the past couple of years is this: My current estimation of how earnestly God is working to aid my cause or the cause of truth/righteousness is not accurate. There is just no way the human mind can, in a time of trial, comprehend the providence that is occurring in events that are hurting His people. There will be days in your life when you will cry out in anguish to Him and then, as you go through another heart-wrenching saga or a day of unexpected and sad plot twists, you are tempted to think He did not hear you at all and that, indeed, He is not listening.

And then there will be another day: A day when you see, and you do so rather clearly, that God had to bring you through excruciation (each hard thing had to transpire) to bring you to a point of victory, vindication or rejoicing. He had to bring you through decisions that you could not control–decisions that, at the time, seemed defeating and cruel; that, in fact, those agonizing decisions, events and persecutions that you loathed, were the very ones that ended up working together to be the deliverance from the situation, the enemy, the fiery trial that was the curse in your life.  As many have said, “God does not always save you from the fire. Sometimes He saves you through it.” It is the very hard thing–the thing that is a test of your very endurance– that is required to bring about the end result that is productive and, yes, comforting.

It’s important to remember that:

1. The spot of comfort may not even occur till heaven. (That’s hard to think about on time’s side. But one day, all people will “get” the rapidity with which all struggles find their final cold, hard, stop and transfer, in a defining moment, to eternal bliss or eternal damnation. This life is just a breath.)
2. It’s impossible to recognize the good in the pain when you are in the hottest part of the flame. Faith does not consist of being able to understand or figure out. It’s trusting till you do, even if that time is not on this side of the great Judgment Day!
3. The day when you DO finally see that every ridiculously hard thing was required by His providence for the ultimate victory and rest for His own, brings a measure of comfort you would never have experienced without the hard things.

I am not a wise woman. But I am blown away every day by the amazing wisdom in the Word. I can do anything for this short lifetime. May He keep giving me the good things, easy and hard, soothing and painful, heart-rending and heart-mending, until He takes me home. When you’re through the fire–whenever that is– the warmth of the very flame that tested you feels so very good!

Psalm 37! Just take the time to go and read it. He says it so much better than I could even begin to say it!

by Cindy Colley

We are not to bear false witness against others.  It violates God’s law, and a man or woman engaged in such will not be held guiltless before God in the day of judgment, unless there is repentance.  To smear another’s character and good name to further a personal agenda, or retaliate against another to cause another harm, is simply evil.

All one has to do to successfully discredit another is spread false accusations around to those willing to listen to juicy gossip.  As the saying goes, “Gossipy tongues would not go far, if gossipy ears were not so willing to listen.”

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”     (Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20)

“You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.  You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice.”    (Exodus 23:1-2)

“There are six things which the Lord hates.  Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him.  Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood.  A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”   (Proverbs 6:16:16-19)

“Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, And do not deceive with your lips.”     (Proverbs 24:28)

Some soldiers were questioning Him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?”  And He said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”  (Luke 3:14).

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”      (Matthew 15:19).

ERNST JANNING:  Judge Haywood:  The reason I asked you to come:  Those people…I never knew it would come to that.  You “must” believe it, “You must: believe it!” 

JUDGE DAN HAYWOOD:  Herr Janning, it came to that the “first time” you sentenced a man to death you “knew” to be innocent. 

Eileen Light

audio lecture.

Psalm 9:11 “Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples His deeds! (ESV)

In my new role as Director of Women’s Ministry, the enormity of meeting the needs of all demographics of women perplexed me. Then, an absurd idea came to mind: Perhaps I should write a weekly devotional. So, I purchased a laptop, downloaded a thesaurus app, and began my quest to produce one devotional every week.

It turned out to be anything but easy, so when I received an invitation to join a writer’s lunch group, I jumped at the opportunity.

These writers were older and more accomplished, and I found their suggestions quite helpful. In response, I shortened each devotional, avoided repetitive word usage, and attempted to adhere to the “ly” rule by refraining from placing a word ending in “ly” at the beginning of a sentence. (Honestly, I never understood the “ly” rule as evidenced by this very sentence!)

It was also brought to my attention the abundance of exclamation marks in my work. I had never considered it, but after contemplation, concluded my reasons for using them was valid. The stories of which I write are far more exclamation-mark worthy than fiction! How could the greatest stories from the greatest book about the greatest person who ever lived be written void of exclamation marks?

Wasn’t it a mighty God who parted the roaring seas, gave sight to the blind, and brought dry bones to life? Such miraculous stories absolutely require an exclamation mark!

Writing of the immense love of our Savior literally defies human words and requires emotion! We ourselves are recipients of the love shown through the crucifixion story! How can that not bear an exclamation mark?

The recounting of God’s providence and protection over us takes our breath away. His power and forethought in our lives require an abundance of exclamation marks!

Writing of the many ways God calms our fears, hears our prayers, and guides our paths would be incomplete without exclamation marks!

So, I took creative license and concluded; Rules are made to be broken. Sisters, there is no way I will tell you of my glorious God and loving Savior without an exclamation mark or two!!

Father God, thank you for offering us a life filled with reasons to celebrate!

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

One of our elders has an encouragement for us every time he makes announcements. At the end of his announcements he says, “As you go out into the world this week, be salt and light.” He is telling us to be a good example everywhere we go and to whomever we come in contact.

We hear that phrase, “salt and light,” but I wonder if we know what it means. It’s easy to say it, but how easy is it to live it?

Taken from Jesus’ sermon on the mount, we can read the full context of “salt and light”. “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall it saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16).

To understand the meaning of these verses, we need to understand the two basic elements about which Jesus is speaking—salt and light. We understand that salt has preservation properties and adds flavor. We enjoy the taste it gives our food, but it can lose its flavor.

In Palestine, the salt is obtained from marshes along the seashore or salt lakes. If it comes in contact with the ground or is exposed to rain and sun, it becomes insipid and useless. When this happens, the only thing to be done with it is to throw it out. If it is thrown carelessly onto the ground, it will destroy the fertility of the ground on which it falls.

Jesus wanted His disciples to have “preservation properties” and to add something good to the lives of those with whom they came in contact. He wanted them to give off a good flavor (attitude), not become useless or destructive. He wanted them to maintain the distinctive qualities of good; otherwise, they would be good for nothing.

Light is a source of illumination. It can be natural or artificial. Light reflects. It allows things to be seen. Light represents holiness, goodness, knowledge, and wisdom, while darkness has been associated with sin and evil. Light represents all that is good, while darkness represents all that is bad.

Light was the first thing God created. He made that distinction between day and night, giving us special lights for both. Light was important from the beginning, and it continues to be important to us today.

Jesus is saying in these verses in Matthew that the Christian influence must first be felt where we live, in our own neighborhood. It is the church fulfilling its mission, because we are the church. Wherever we go, our influence goes with us. Jesus says, “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him” (John 11:10). Once again, night (or darkness) is associated with stumbling.

Here we have two statements proclaimed by our Lord that we are salt and light in the world. Based on what we know about each of these, we need to show the presence of God in our lives. As salt preserves food and contributes to the taste, we need to preserve God’s Word in our hearts and show it in our lives. As light illuminates, our lives need to light up the paths we travel every day.

Being salt and light has to become part of who we are and what we do each day. Being salt and light will determine the way we act in every situation. It will be apparent in our dress, our speech, and our actions. When our elder tells us to be salt and light in the world, I know he wants us to show God’s Word in our lives, preserve the godliness our Lord wants us to exhibit, and be an example of what a Christian should be. May that be the aim of every Christian every day.

Sandra Oliver

What things had Jacob done that made Esau justifiably angry?

Genesis 25:19-34 (Read 4 verses each.)

Genesis 27:1-46 (Read 5 verses each.)

What was Esau’s plan because of this?

Genesis 27:41-45 – And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob. 42 And these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; 45 Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence:

Much later in history, why did God tell Edom He would destroy them?

Obadiah 8-15 – Shall I not in that day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau? 9 And thy mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter. 10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever. 11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. 12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress. 13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; 14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress. 15 For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

What things had the Edomites done when their brethren the Israelites were in trouble?

Apply this to ourselves and our siblings. How could we accidentally do what Edom did?

     “But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger…” We shouldn’t look when our brother or sister gets a spanking.

     “…neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction…” Particularly, we shouldn’t be happy when they get a spank or get any sort of punishment! We shouldn’t think, “Serves them right…”

     “…neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.” Do we feel good about ourselves when our siblings get punished, and we don’t?

     “Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity…” Is it very kind of us if we primly play in the room where our brother or sister is being made to sit for punishment?

     “…yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity.” If something is taken away from our sibling as part of their punishment, should we try to take advantage of the situation and take it for ourselves?

     “Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.” When our sibling gets in trouble, we shouldn’t delight in adding to their punishment by trying to get them in trouble for more things.

“And Mother, do you know what else Samuel did?…”

What did God warn Edom, that should be a warning to us too?

Obadiah 1:15 – For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

What does God say about taking vengeance?

Leviticus 19:18 – Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Proverbs 20:22 – Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

Proverbs 24:29 – Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.

Romans 12:17-21 – Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Whose place is it to take vengeance?

1 Samuel 24:12 – The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee.

Psalms 94:1 – O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.

Hebrews 10:30 – For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Is it enough for us to not actually take vengeance ourselves?

What should our hearts be? Should we wish for vengeance on others?

What was Edom’s attitude when they watched Israel getting punished?

What did God think of them for that attitude?

Obadiah 1:12 – But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress.

What does God warn us about our attitude?

Proverbs 24:17-18 – Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: 18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Proverbs 17:5 – Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.

Sometimes it’s tempting to get even with a very annoying sibling by thinking of ways to get them in trouble.

What does God say about those to make mischief?

Psalms 7:14-16 – Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood. 15 He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. 16 His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

What qualities would be in our hearts if we make mischief for others?

Psalms 36:1-4 – The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful. 3 The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good. 4 He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

Are we flattering ourselves in our own eyes?

Is there no fear of God?

Why should our fear of God keep us from making mischief?

Who is going to take vengeance on us if we make mischief for others?

Psalms 6:10-7:5 – Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly. Shig-ga’-ion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite. 7 O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me: 2 Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver. 3 O Lord my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands; 4 If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:) 5 Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

Proverbs 6:12-19 – A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers; 14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. 16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Proverbs 11:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

Why would flattering ourselves be a quality associated with making mischief for others?

Do we like to get others in trouble because it makes us look good?

When God ponders my heart, what will He really think of me?

Proverbs 21:2 – Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.

Will He see me as innocent as I see myself?

Leviticus 19:18 – Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Matthew 19:19 – Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Matthew 22:37-40 – Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Mark 12:30-31 – And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Galatians 5:15-16 – But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

If we try to get even with each other, we’ll endup destroying ourselves and destroying our family!

Instead of loving to get others in trouble and trying to get even with them for bothering us, what should our hearts be instead?

Matthew 5:38-48 – Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Why does God say that loving our enemies will make us His children?

He loves and does good for His enemies.

How did Jesus react to the ones who were hurting Him?

1 Peter 2:21-24 – For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:

What does it mean He “committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously?”

Jesus knew He didn’t have to get even, since God would judge the ones who hurt Him.

Luke 23:2-30 – 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. 3 And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. 4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. 5 And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. 6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7 And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. 11 And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12 And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves. 13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15 No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. 16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him. 17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) 18 And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: 19 (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) 20 Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21 But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. 23 And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25 And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. 26 And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. 28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. 29 For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. 30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

But did Jesus want that?

Luke 23:33-35 – And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.

If l want to be a child of God and a follower of Jesus, how does my heart need to change?

Beth Johnson

Chennai Teacher Training School

Women’s Studies

Muliebral Viewpoint

Articles and Books by Beth Johnson