They Saw the Light - Abraham - Part 5

Come into my heart

Come into my heart

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Come into today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

It's amazing how much light can be released through a single candle.  We have all experienced power outages in our homes.  We scramble to find a flashlight or a candle.  As we light the candle, it fills the darkest room with light. Even in the midst of darkness there is a restoration of hope and vision.  Darkness leaves us with feelings of confusion, hopeless, fear and death.  So what was going through Abraham's heart and mind when the Lord asked him to take Isaac, the new light of his life, and sacrifice him on an altar?  The answer is in the Letter to the Hebrews.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,”concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Abraham did not have to extinguish that candle but God did.  He gave His Son so that our light would burn eternally!

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4-5)

They Saw the Light - Abraham Part 4

Come into my heart

Come into my heart

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Come into today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

As you lit the candles today did you notice what happened?  Yesterday you extinguished the candles and it left dark smoldering wicks.  But today as the flame on the matchstick drew near, the wick burst into flame and gave off light and warmth.

Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” (Genesis 17:15-17)

Abraham and Sarah saw the light.  There bodies - old and beyond childbirth - were given new life and a new son.  Years earlier they had tried to answer God's promise of offspring and Ishmael was born.  But only God can birth Isaac. There is a promise made regarding the coming Messiah (the light of the world) in Isaiah:

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
      My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
      I have put My Spirit upon Him;
      He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
      He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
      Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
      A bruised reed He will not break,
      And smoking flax He will not quench;
      He will bring forth justice for truth." (Isaiah 42:1-3)

They Saw the Light - Abraham Part 3

Come into my heart

Come into my heart

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Come into today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said:

      “ Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
      Possessor of heaven and earth;

      And blessed be God Most High,
      Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

And he gave him a tithe of all. Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth,  that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.” (Genesis 14:18-24)

Abram meets Melchizedek. Abram meets Jesus. Abram meets the Light! 

It is clear from the testimony of Scripture that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Everything we know about Melchizedek is a reference to Jesus Himself. Jesus as a priest is one with the Father.  Jesus will do nothing or say nothing except that which is on His Father’s heart. Jesus, as a priest, releases His kingdom authority in the form of justice, righteousness, peace, salvation, healing and blessing. Anything that Jesus releases out of His character and His nature is God’s authority being released into our lives to change our lives. Do you realize that when Jesus says something, it immediately effects a change because it is based on the authority and dominion of God?"* 

Jesus released His light to Abram.  Jesus releases His light to you!

*Copyright 2005, Return of the Priest, Prince of Peace Press.

They Saw the Light - Abraham Part 2

Come into my heart

Come into my heart

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Come into today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you. Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD (Genesis 13:14-18).

Abram saw the light and the light transformed him.  Seeing the light of God is not meant to be some "internal spiritual experience" that warms our hearts.  It is meant to release us into our full destiny as members of God's kingdom.  Children sing it best when they cry out, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."  Notice with Abram that the Lord began to expand the realm of his influence.  Look to the north, south, east and west.  You will have "light-filled influence" over all that surrounds you.

From Heaven Above to Earth I Come
From heaven above to earth I come
To bear good news to every home
Glad tidings of great joy I bring
Whereof I now will say and sing.

"This is the Christ, our God and Lord
Who in all need shall aid afford
He will Himself your Savior be
From all your sins to set you free."

"He will on you the gifts bestow
Prepared by God for all below
That in His kingdom, bright and fair
You may with us His glory share."

Welcome to earth, Thou noble Guest,
Through whom the sinful world is blest!
Thou com'st to share my misery
What thanks shall I return to Thee?

My heart for very joy doth leap
My lips no more can silence keep
I, too, must sing with joyful tongue
That sweetest ancient cradle-song.

"From heaven above to earth I come" is based on a German song, "Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her" written by Martin Luther in 1535. It was translated to English by Katherine Winkworth.

They Saw the Light - Abraham Part 1

Come into my heart

Come into my heart

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Come into today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

God's promises continue to be new every day.  Light your first two candles.  Lighting the first reminds us of what God has accomplished in us.  The second, as we light it for the first time, reminds us that God is bringing forth fresh light upon us today

But out of the multitude, God would choose a single man through whom the promise would continue.  A man, nine decades old, and his wife, ten years younger, would be chosen to parent the promise.  Abram and Sarai were called out of Ur and promised three things—they would receive a land set apart for holy use; they would be blessing with offspring beyond count; and finally the Word declared:

“And all peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.” 

God made an irrevocable covenant with this man and his offspring.  Deliverance would come forth from his bloodline. Through the offspring of Abraham, the light would come.  In the midst of darkness, Abraham saw the light.*




*Copyright 1990 "They Saw the Light" Prince of Peace Press

They Saw the Light - Adam and Even Part 5

Come into my heart

Come into my heart

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Come into today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Centuries passed by.  The hope of light was still burning.  The hope of salvation has endured years of sin and darkness at its worse.  The offspring of Adam and Eve had also been tarnished—one was dead and the other banished by God.  The earth and its inhabitants reeled in hopelessness and dread.  Sin had become an horrendous monster.  The world was headed for disaster.  It would be covered by the judgment of flooding waters.  Its second set of citizens, seeking power and unity, would be scattered by many languages.*

 "Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
         And He saved them out of their distresses.
 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
         And broke their chains in pieces.
 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
         And for His wonderful works to the children of men" (Psalm 107:13-15)!

When things look worse, God brings forth light, salvation, hope.  This will be the last day to light your first candle on your advent wreath.  Tomorrow we move on with the lighting of two candles.  God is bringing forth His light as well.

*Copyright 1990 "They Saw the Light" Prince of Peace Press 

They Saw the Light - Adam and Eve Part 4

Come into my heart

Come into my heart

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Come into today

Come in to stay

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

"You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in— first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it" (Romans 5:12-14 The Message)

I was meditating on the Genesis story of the fall of Adam and Eve.  I've read it so many times.  But my heart was stirred when the Lord directed me to read ahead to Genesis 4:1 - "Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain..."  Immediately the Lord revealed to me that Cain had neither seen nor experienced the glorious and intimate presence of God that Adam and Eve had known in the garden. The first born of Adam and Eve had to be taught!  It has been said, "There are no grandchildren in the kingdom."  Each person and each generation must be told of the wondrous news of God's presence, salvation and light.  The other evening we had our daughter, her husband and their two children over for supper.  We lit the Advent candles and prayed together.  Three generations watched that candle burn.  Three generations know His light.  You've seen the light - pass it on!