Psalm 119:105 NKJV
Acts 9:6 NKJV
I John 1:7 NKJV
Luke 1:37
Listening Series
Psalm 119 is unlike my other Psalm. There are 22 sections and each section begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The title of verse 105 is the Hebrew letter Nun. Literally, in the Hebrew the first word is ‘Ner’ the word for lamp. In English the word order says, “lamp to my feet your word is and a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105 is translated, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
While themes in scripture are clear and easily understandable, there are parts that have cultural examples that we sometimes need to sort through. Acts 9:6 is a good example. When the Saul of Tarsus (later called Paul) was on the road to Damascus and he was blinded by the light, Jesus said to him, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
A goad was a tool like a modern day cattle prod. It was used at the time to guide livestock. When Jesus met Saul that day, He knew it would be hard for Paul to go from being a Jewish Pharisee who had persecuted Jesus to being a Servant of Jesus. Jesus knew Saul (Paul) would be fighting against everything he had known. Paul was facing a life-changing event. The person he had been was a polar opposite to the person he would become. He had been a highly respected Pharisee who persecuted Jesus. He would become an Apostle of Jesus who traveled and established churches for Jesus.
That example almost jumps out at us. We ask, what is a goad? Sometimes, those hidden gems are even more difficult to spot in scripture.
So, reading scripture is an adventure in listening to the Spirit. When we pray and ask the Spirit to guide us, scripture is read with an extra lens. Think of it as a CT Scan that shows all the hidden parts inside. While you can spend a lifetime learning those hidden parts, there is a way to learn by listening to God. By asking the Spirit to speak to us as we read, we have access to an inner tool (our own CT Scan).
The Spirit can tell us the deeper meaning, or the Spirit can give us a sixth sense that we need to stop and look something up. Since we have incredible tools available via the internet, we can dig for almost any answer. Looking up the meaning of a goad is a great example.
The key here is that God’s word is a light that guides us.
God guides us.
We are not alone without help.
Through His word, both written and spoke, God guides.
We listen and the respond in our daily lives.
As we pray and read, we listen for the movement of the Spirit.
If we come to a part of scripture that we do not understand, we can stop and wait for the light to reveal the truth. Even when I was young, my dad taught me listen to the Spirit when I read scripture. Now, in the 1960’s we didn’t have the internet, so when I came across a complex verse that I didn’t understand, I would stay with that one verse and continue to listen, or sometimes when I got stuck I would go to an adult teacher to ask for help.
Through scripture, the Spirit also guides us to good choices.
1 John 1:7 tell us, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
The light of the Spirit guides us with light. The key is listening while we are in fellowship with the Spirit. We are also be in fellowship with other believers.
Over this past year (due to the separation caused by the Pandemic) our social interactions changed greatly. Most churches met online or if they had the space, they practiced social distancing. In my case, I was accustomed to texting and I became part of new texting groups for prayer and support with other believers. I met with my prayer partners online. For others, Zoom meetings became the new normal.
My children and I live in different states, and we ‘evolved’ to be part of a texting support group for each other. We ask for prayer 🙏 , we laugh 😆 , we cry 😢, we share how God has blessed us in special ways today. Since my children range in age from 37 to 44 and they all have children, I also learn special things going on daily with my grandchildren. I consider our communication to be a mega blessing from God. They are my people. We fellowship together.
God evolves and changes.
The point is, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37).
As we read and study scripture, God speaks.
As we fellowship with other believers, God interacts.
As we watch for the light in the path, God guides.
The light and the lamp of the Spirit are our eternal guide.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Listen and Watch
Ask God to teach you how to watch for the lamp and the light to guide you. God WILL perform miracles on your behalf.
In God, Deborah
acrazyjourney.com
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