world – Counted Faithful

Walk Through The Darkness

“When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;”

Job 29:3

As I was reading my Bible today, this is the verse that stood out the most to me. The last phrase, “…when by his light I walked through darkness;” spoke volumes to me today.

First I thought about the darkness. I thought about how dark this world is. How steeped in sin this world is. There isn’t much light to be found throughout this sin-stricken world. Yet, we as Christians have to walk through it.

Sometimes in life, we will go through darkness. I believe Job went through a time like this when he lost everything that he had. It was a dark time in his life, just think, not many people could hold up and act the way Job did through all this. We will have problems, we will have issues, we will go through storms and trials, life may seem dark, but we just have to walk through it.

We all go through dark times. That is just how life goes. It is what we do when we have to walk through darkness that defines us.

Job had the answer for walking through darkness and it is still the answer today. He walked through the darkness “…by his light…” The only way we are going to find our way through this dark world or through our own dark times is by His light. What is His light? What is the light that God has for us?

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Psalms 119:105

The Word of God, the King James Bible, is the Light that we need to make it through the darkness. His Word will guide us and direct us. It will show us the way we need to go, what we should do, and how to live our life.

As a Christian, you aren’t going to make it too far in this dark world without the Light of the Word of God. It will show us what is right and what is wrong. If used correctly, the Word of God will never take you down a wrong path or lead you into destruction. It will light the way and guide you on the path you should take.

During the dark times of life, when troubles and trials come, the Word of God is still the Light that you need in your life. Job knew that he needed it and he went through some serious problems, yet he knew the only way through the darkness was by the light of God.

So if you are struggling to see where you are going in life, if you feel lost in the darkness of this world, if your life is dark with no hope, turn to God and His Word as it will give you the light that you need!

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Abraham

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

Hebrews 11:8-10

Abraham is the next character that we find in the Hall of Faith. He is actually listed in this chapter twice. Today, we are only going to look at the first occurence that he is mentioned.

When I read these verses, I make the comparison to that of today’s Christians. This whole chapter of people of faith have lessons that we can learn and use in our lives.

Abraham was called to leave everything he knew and go live in a strange country. Abraham obeyed, and went out. If you follow the life of Abraham, you will see that because of his faith and his obedience, God blessed him throughout his life.

We as Christians are living in a strange country. We are just passing through. We should be looking for that city whose builder and maker is God. To do this, it requires faith.

We are sojourning here in this world. We are temporary residents in this world. We are to be in this world, but not of this world. Abraham, lived in a strange country, but he stayed separated from the inhabitants in that he didn’t become one of them. There was always something different about Abraham.

As we dwell here in this strange country, we should dwell with those who have the same promise we do. I like what the Bible says, “dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.” When I read this verse, I think of church and the people in it. I think of the people that I know who have the same faith as I do, the same promise that I do.

Even though we are in a strange country, God has given us the church so that we can find motivation and encouragement to make it in this world. As a Christian, we should have that church family that we are a part of.

As we journey through this strange country, let us have faith as we look for that city which is built by God. Let us have faith to stay separated from this world. Let us be faithful to church so that we can be blessed and be a blessing to others.

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Cast Not Your Lot

I was reading through Proverbs 1 the other day and I noticed something that I really hadn’t noticed before. When you read through a chapter of Proverbs each day, sometimes it seems like the same things jump off the page and are just reminded of the same issues you need to work on in life. So I was thrilled when I saw this truth and it has been on my mind since.

“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole as those that go down into the pit:

We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:

Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:” Proverbs 1:10-14

In these verses, we see the sinner trying to entice the son and trying to get the son to go their own way, the way of foolishness and destruction. A few different things stick out from these verses, but I want to zero in on verse 14.

“Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:”

I was thinking about what this verse meant and I thought about it in a way that I have never thought of and that is what I would like to share today.

Whenever I read the book of Proverbs, I always read it in the mindset of teenager. Whenever I see the word ‘son’, I always think of him in the teenage years. Solomon was talking to his son, we really don’t know his exact age, but Proverbs is a great book for teeangers to learn from as well as adults.

So in these verses, I see the sinner telling the son to come with them. I see the worldly crowd telling the teen who has grown up in a Christian home, attends church, and has had his parents protect him from the world and the evil therein.

The sinner will entice you, no matter who you are, to get you to go with them. They want you to partake in their loose living and their evil deeds. They want you to be just like them.

When I see this verse and the sinner saying, “Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:” I think about how the sinner wishes they had what you still have.

You see, the sinner doesn’t care about you, they just want you to be just like them. If you are not part of their crowd and partaking in the things they do, they will try their hardest to get you to join them.

They want you to cast in your lot, or the wealth and riches you have, both spiritually and physically in some cases. They want you to be just like them, with nothing to show for their life.

When you cast in your lot with the sinner, you are giving up your testimony and reputation. These are the things that are valuable in life. When you say someone’s name, whoever it is, you automatically think of that person and their character, whatever it may be, good or bad.

The sinner and the world want to get you to throw your testimony and reputation into the same purse as theirs, and ruin what you have worked so hard to build. They want you to be a part of them and they know that you will never fully be a part of them until you give up your testimony and reputation.

Guard your testimony and reputation! Don’t give in to the world! There is no return on your investment in the world!

Reasons to Cast Not Your Lot

Your testimony and reputation is yours. It is based on how you act and what you say and do. When you cast your lot into the world, you become just like them.
When you cast your lot, you lose everything you worked for. In a matter of minutes your life can change. It takes only minutes to ruin a reputation while it takes years to build one. Don’t throw away your hard work to have a good testimony and reputation on a few minutes of feeling cool or like one of the crowd.
You are not only wasting your life, but also the time and effort that was invested into you to help you build your reputation and testimony. I believe that we are who we are based on the decisions that we personally make. But I also believe that the decisions we make are influenced by those around us and those who have been in our life. Think about your parents, the preacher, the school teachers and many more, the people who have invested in your life hoping you would make it. Don’t waste their investment either.

We all have the decision to make whether we cast our lot into the world’s purse or not. It is our choice. I want to raise my children right, but that will not happen if I cast my lot. I want to make my parents proud, and others who have invested in my life, but that will not happen if I cast my lot. I have a lot riding on whether I cast my lot into the world or not.

On vacation this past week, I stopped by the church I grew up in. It was good to see many familiar faces. One person in particular, in passing, said, “It is good to see that you are still serving God.” I’m thankful that I am still living a life where that can be said about me. I pray that I would never cast my lot into the world’s purse. I pray that God would protect me and my family and 30, 40, 50 years from now, that statement can still be said about my life.

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