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33 No man, when he hath lighted a
candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a
candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.
LORD, let ME be a CANDLE here in my home! May I be
a bright and shining light to my husband and children by being POSITIVE, by
PRAISING, by SERVING my husband once again with the strength that You supply, by
surrendering to You by being SURRENDERED to HIM. May I find JOY in reverencing
You by REVERENCING HIM!
34The light of the body is the
eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light;
but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of
darkness.
LORD, I give off SPIRITUAL LIGHT, YOUR LIGHT, when
I am no longer spiritually blind...when my eyes have been opened...when I
have been given spiritual SIGHT.
But..."The LIGHT of the body is the EYE."Are you
saying, LORD, that the dimness or brightness of my "candle" is gauged by what
kind of "eye" I have?... There are two kinds of eyes- a SINGLE EYE AND AN EVIL
EYE.
LORD, You said, "For from WITHIN, out
of the HEART of men, proceed evil thoughts, adultries, fornications,
murders, thefts, coveteousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness,
AN EVIL EYE, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things
come from WITHIN, and defile the man." LORD, what is an EVIL EYE?
Deut. 28:54ff says that those with an EVIL EYE will eat their
loved ones. They are concrned only for themselves. Prov.23:6-7
says that one with an EVIL EYE says, "Eat and drink...but his
heart is not with thee." He has no love for others REALLY; he
is concerned only about HIMSELF. In Mt.20:15, the one with
the EVIL EYE is jealous, selfish, and concerned about himself.
So the EVIL EYE must be the BIG "I" and "SELF" of one's heart
and DUPLICITY (the hypocritical deception of seeming to love God
and others but in reality caring only for SELF. SINGLENESS of
heart is freedom from this duplicity. To have a SINGLE EYE
is to be "abandoned to Christ"-being ENTIRELY HIS-being fully
surrendered to Him in relationship to others with RIGHT ATTITUDES.
Surely the HEART is what You are talking about here-HEART ATTITUDES.
Wow! I need to think about this-especially the ATTITUDE
of REVERENCE!
What does it mean to reverence my husband? It means
FEAR! It means that I should be AFRAID not to obey him...AFRAID not to support
him even if his ideas seem "crazy" or unwise...AFRAID to try to run the
"show" here...AFRAID to take matters into my own hands...The dictionary says
that REVERENCE is a feeling of deep respect, love, and awe.
But LORD, HOW can I have a deep RESPECT for him
when I just DON'T at times? Thinking that his ideas are WONDERFUL and
supporting him in them is sometimes VERY HARD to do because I don't FEEL
that his plans are wonderful. But having REVERENCE for him is YOUR
COMMAND, isn't it? Maybe reverence is like love. We are
commanded to DO IT by our actions and our words, and the "feelings" will follow.
Yes, that must be it! :)
If I KNOW that what HE DECIDES is really what YOU
DECIDE and want for us, THEN I can reverence him. You are a SOVEREIGN GOD, and
You will work through his decisions (and even his mistakes-for MY
GOOD!
So...even if some of his decisions in MY MIND seem
unwise, I must remember Phil.2:3b-"...but in lowliness of mind let each esteem
other BETTER that themselves." Thinking MY IDEAS are BEST is only a matter of
PRIDE, and I must remind myself of things that have taken place in the
long run in my children's lives because of my PRIDE. And seeing the good
effects, especially in my son's life, because I "let go" and let his daddy make
the decisions for his education, gives me FAITH that good things will happen
AGAIN if I am only surrendered to YOU by being surrendered to HIM. Surely YOU
will protect me and the children just as You protected Sarah IF I REVERENCE
my dear husband.. And You might even change his mind.:) Really it is a matter of
FAITH IN YOU!
LORD, give me a DEEP RESPECT for my husband! Let me
KNOW that You are guiding him in his decisions for our family. Let me KNOW
that we are protected as long as I trust in You by trusting HIM.
Amen!
Back to the verse... If my eye is SINGLE toward
YOU, (if my ATTITUDES are right), then my whole body will be FULL of LIGHT. (I
will be FULL of the Holy Spirit of God.) Only THEN can I be a bright and shining
light to my children!
Also, I wonder if this verse has anything
to do with Oswald Chambers words? He says:
"The tiniest thing we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit (i.e. WRONG ATTITUDES) is quite sufficient to account for SPIRITUAL MUDDLE, and all the thinking we like to spend on it will never make it clear. Spiritual muddle is only made plain by obedience. Immediately WE OBEY, WE DISCERN (i.e. when the eye is single, the body is full of light)...When the natural power of VISION is devoted ot the Holy Spirit, it becomes the power of perceiving God's will and the WHOLE LIFE is kept in SIMPLICITY." (parentheses and emphasis mine) LORD, when I asked my husband about the "evil eye",
he implied that a man with an "evil eye" will respond wickedly in his
heart when he SEES something. If he sees a beautiful lady, his heart will
respond with lust; if he sees a $100 bill lying on the ground, his heart will
respond with coveteousness; if he sees a famous person being honored, his heart
will respond with envy. It all boils down to SELFishness. It remind me of
the verse in II Pet.2:14-"Having EYES full of ADULTERY, and that CANNOT CEASE
FROM SIN; beguiling unstable souls; an HEART they have exercised with COVETEOUS
practices; cursed children."
When the eye is evil-when the HEART is wrong, the
whole body is full of darkness. The whole man is FULL of SIN until God gives him
a NEW HEART, a "SINGLE EYE"-a surrendered lfe! This reminds me of Your
words in Jer. 24:7-"And I will give them an HEART TO KNOW ME, that I am
the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will
be their God; for they shall return unto me with their WHOLE
HEART."
Yes, You have done this for me, and I give thanks!
But LORD, I find that the whole of the Christian life is a CONSTANT "battle" for
SURRENDER. It's a continual struggle to have RIGHT ATTITUDES that only the
Spirit within me can win. I guess that's why You said,
35 Take heed therefore that the light
which is in thee be not darkness.
I know I have LIGHT because the "GREAT EXCHANGE" has taken place. (My sin on Christ-His
righteousness on me).(Term coined by Dr. John Piper) You have saved me! I
delight in Your Word and in communion with You, and You have given me a surrendered heart, BUT...when I don't
continually STAY FULLY SURRENDERED with RIGHT
ATTITUDES at ALL times, the light within me becomes DARKNESS, especially
to my husband and children. And if my ATTITUDES are wrong towards my dear
husband, my children DO NOT HEAR A WORD SAY!
36 If thy whole body therefore be
full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when
the bright shining of a candle doth give light.
If the WHOLE body is FULL of LIGHT, having NO PART
DARK (no bad attitudes), then my candle will NOT FLICKER. It will be a candle
SHINING BRIGHTLY for my children!
Ah, LORD, You close here with the POSITIVE. and I
have a promise from Your Word which gives me encourgement and HOPE
from:
"For THOU wilt light my candle: the
LORD my God WILL enlighten my darkness!" Amen!
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