The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"To Be, Or To Bear?"
To be, or to bear? That is the question.
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:12-14).
"Lucifer" means "light-bearer." Our enemy, who existed in a God-created perfection until he fomented iniquity within himself, served as a special receptacle of God's light. Gemstones covered his being, absorbing and then reflecting the Creator's illumination in what must have been a sublimely glorious display of loveliness. Alas, however, Lucifer determined that the Light shining in and through him was of him. "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty" (Ezekiel 28:13-17). Sin originated in God's creation when the light-bearer foolishly and futilely sought to be light in and of himself. Later, the devil infected Adam and Eve with his deception - "ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). All misery in a fallen universe proceeds from this devilish and human failure to acknowledge the one and only "I AM," namely, the living and true God (Exodus 3:14).
Day by day, born again believers must rightly answer the question. To be or to bear? By definition, the Christian acknowledges our complete dependence on the Lord. We could not be Christian otherwise. "We are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Philippians 3:3). However, our spiritual enemies tempt us to forget that "in Him (God) we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). If we succumb, we forget or ignore that we do not and cannot live by our own light, which is actually darkness (Matthew 6:23). We must rather bear the light of God by affirming His promise to lead us, provide for us, and empower us in "the light of life" (John 8:12).
"The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord" (Proverbs 20:27).
"Thou wilt light my candle" (Psalm 18:28).
The I AM calls us to be the only thing we can be, the bearer of His light. Our Lord will lead us in faith and faithfulness as we believe His promises in Christ, and heed his warnings regarding a devil who once bore the light of God, but who now sadly bears a darkness that will one day result in his demise. To be, or to bear? Let us rejoice in bearing God's light through Christ, and may our hearts be humbled as His beauty shines within and through us.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
"O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD."
(Isaiah 2:5)
"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us."
(Psalm 90:17)
"Without Me ye can do nothing… I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
(John 15:5; Philippians 4:13)
Weekly Memory Verse
He is thy life.
(Deuteronomy 30:20)
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