Tag: Luke 11
Know the true light!
Scripture reading for March 18: Luke 11
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” Luke 11:33-36
The setting of this teaching revolved around Jesus casting out a demon from a man who was mute. The man was instantly delivered and began to talk. But some people said that Jesus cast out the demon by Beelzebul, who was considered by the Jews to be the prince of demons. (Luke 11:14-20) Jesus carefully explained that no kingdom divided against itself could stand. The casting out of that demon was by the ‘finger of God’ and demonstrated that the powerful kingdom of God was in their midst. Satan’s kingdom of darkness is always trying to twist the light of truth and keep people in darkness. Unredeemed man loves darkness and refused to come to the light. (John 3:19)
Jesus used the example of a lamp being lit to drive out darkness. The lamp would be put on a stand to help everyone see. The eye is the lamp of our body as well. If our eye is healthy, it allows light to come into the body that we might see things clearly. If our eye is bad, our lives will be dominated by darkness. From these simple illustrations, Jesus warned those judging Him as using Satan’s power to cast out demons, that their ‘eyes’ were ‘bad’ and they really were living in darkness. The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. (Psalm 119:105) Jesus is the Light of the world and in Him is no darkness at all or shadow of turning. (John 8:12) Healthy eyes are a necessity for a godly worldview.
Have you ever judged someone to be evil when they were actually sharing truth? When you take a spiritual eye exam, how would you rate the quality of light in your own soul? Are there areas of ‘darkness’ that you need to invite Jesus to shine His light on?
Prayer: Father God, thank You that You are the Light of the world. Thank You for Your Word as light in my life. Cleanse me of any darkness by bringing Jesus’ Word to my eyes and heart. Use me to reflect Your light through my daily life of faith and witness. Amen.
Be careful that your eyes are good!
Scripture reading for March 17th: Luke 11
Key scriptures for over-comers: Luke 11:34-36 “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.”
In the natural world there are wave-lengths of light that do not illuminate. Some of these are known as “black light.” This light does very little to illuminate what our eyes could see. Jesus warned of ‘light’ that could be inside of us that was actually ‘darkness’. He wasn’t talking about light, but about ideas and understanding that was not based in truth. Man is actually born in darkness and must be reborn through the ‘light’ of the gospel. (1st Corinthians 4:4)
We must carefully guard what we allow into our bodies and souls through our natural eyes. The eye is the lamp of the body and our spiritual eyes are the lamp of our souls. When we allow our inner man to be filled with sin and lust, our bodies and souls fill with darkness. We can be deceived and enslaved by the darkness which leads to eternal darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth!
Observations for over-comers: We must keep our eyes on the Lord and His word, the only source of true light! “Send forth Your light and Your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You dwell.” (Psalm 43:3)
The light inside!
Scripture reading for March 18th: Luke 11
“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole bod also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it then, that the light within you is not darkness.” (Luke 11:33-35) Jesus had declared that He was the ‘Light of the World’ and that those who listened to Him would not walk in darkness but have the light of life. (John 8:12)
In order to have light in our bodies, we must have eyes that can see. Jesus declared that the eye was the lamp of the body. A lamp brings light when it is allowed to illuminate an area. Taking a lamp and hiding it under a bowl would do no good! The lamp must be placed in a prominent place where it’s light would drive out darkness. Likewise, bad eyes fill the body with darkness.
Jesus used this simple teaching to illustrate our need to place Jesus in a prominent place in our vision. Jesus alone can bring light to our lives and illuminate our eyes and our whole body. Jesus warned those who heard him about the possibility that the ‘light within’ could really be darkness. This speaks of our understanding of who Jesus is. If we relegate Jesus to being just a good man or a teacher or even a prophet, the light in us is still darkness. He alone is the Son of God and Light of the world!