Greetings in the ‘life-transforming’, name of Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! This is one of those mornings that you look out the window and say: “This is the day that the Lord has made! I will find something positive and good in it!” I trust that you had a great weekend – Monday… and experienced the Presence of God in many ways that caught you off-guard. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to encourage you and bring hope to your life.
By a bit of God-ordained ‘coincidence’ I received an email from a company that publishes a rather new and interesting Bible translation-paraphrase. There are only a few books of the Bible that have been completed, and one of them is the book of Psalms. I have had this book for some time and was rather excited about it when I first received it…but had not looked at it for a time. I took this as a ‘sign’ that God wanted me to go back and read it again…so I am doing that.
Today, I am looking at a portion that, until I read it in this “Passion Translation” , had not had the meaning that I was told to look for. Let me give it to you as we would normally read it: Light is shed upon the righteous and joy upon the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name. Psalm 97:11-12 NIV…now read it this way: For He (God) sows seeds of light within His lovers, releasing a harvest in the souls of the righteous. Seeds of joy burst forth for the lovers of God! So be glad, and continue to give Him thanks, for God’s holiness is seen in everything He does. Psalm 97:11-12 TPT.
The implication is that God, in the lives of those who believe in him, has planted seeds of light that produces the fruit of kindness, graciousness, and goodness through words-actions…deeds. In this fruit are seeds of light that will start to grow in those who have been recipients and a new crop will begin to grow. I know…it takes time and a little nurturing–okay, a lot of nurturing sometimes but our focus, like God’s is on the harvest. Please note that the seeds of light that God has planted in your heart will produce more light and when we sow seeds of light in our world–we will see a harvest of light.
I am sure that you know that we live in a dark world. You have probably talked about it, thought about it, complained about it, felt helpless in the face of it…but God suggest that we plant the seeds of light, that we ‘push back’ the darkness. Do you remember the Sunday School song: Jesus Bids Us Shine by Susan B. Warner…”…in this world of darkness, we must shine, You in your small corner and I in mine — Many kinds of darkness in this world abound: sin, and want, and sorrow-so, we must shine, You in your small corner and I in mine.” Is it possible that as adults we forgot the simple truth that we can make a difference in the dark corners of life by allowing seeds of light to produce light-emitting fruit. Could it be that as a ‘light’ begins to radiate out of a small corner, that little by little – that one light will be joined by another and another and another? “Shine Jesus shine – fill this land with the Father’s glory…” and God says: “I am…and I need your help. Will you shine?”
Something to ponder..have a blessed day!