5/3/2008 9:38 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: God goes before His people to lead the way
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Exodus 13:20-22
Message of the verses: “20 Then they set out from Succoth and camped
in Etham on the edge of the wilderness.
21 The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead
them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they
might travel by day and by night. 22 He
did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night,
from before the people.”
It
could be said that this pillar of cloud and fire represents the Word of God,
for the Israelites did not have any written Word as of yet, for God had not
given it to Moses to record as of yet.
Psalm 109:105 reads a follows: “Your
word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” Jer. 23:29 says, “Is not My word like fire?’
declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer which shatters a rock?’”
Today
the Lord leads His children primarily by His Word, for the believer has God’s
Holy Spirit in him to illuminate the Word of God, but the unbeliever does not
have the Holy Spirit in him, therefore he cannot understand the Word of God or
the thoughts of God. “11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man
except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no
one knows except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the
things freely given to us by God, 13
which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in
those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual
words. 14 But a natural man does not accept the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand
them, because they are spiritually appraised.
15 But he who is spiritual
appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For
WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind
of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:11-16) “12
"I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them
now. 13
"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into
all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He
hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (John 16:12-13) These verses help me to understand that God’s
Spirit opens my eyes to understand what He has in His Word for me through His
Holy Spirit as the Psalmist records in Psalm 119:118. In the next chapter of Exodus while Pharaoh
was trying to capture Israel
just before God dried up the Red Sea so Israel
could cross on dry ground the pillar of cloud was light to Israel but it was darkness to Egypt
Spiritual meaning for my life today: When I think of how the feast of Unleavened
Bread speaks of cleaning up my life from sin, it makes me think that I need to
have a clean life in order for the Spirit of God to speak to me through the
Word of God, so I can be more like the Son of God.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Whenever I am going through some difficult time in my life it seems to
me like it makes life difficult to understand and tolerate, yet afterwards when
it is over and I look back at it then it does not seem that it was so difficult
to bear after all. I am going through
one of those times right now, and it concerns the waiting for the job in Hawaii
to come to pass, for there are a couple of things that I wish to accomplish
before we leave and one of them is getting up to see Andrew before we leave,
but there is much to accomplish before we are to leave, like doctor’s
appointments and Matthew’s birthday party, and also his dedication at church
next week. Life is a puzzle now and my
steps of faith for today is that as I yoke up with the Lord He will put the
puzzle pieces together for me in the way He wants them put together.
I
trust that the Lord will give me the strength to overcome the temptation that
has always been difficult for me to overcome.
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