Rev. Chism's Weekly Message

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path." - Psalm 119:105

Where do you turn to during the toughest of times? What about the storms? I hope to God. The Word of God cries out to us to do so.

I like bright lights in the house. The brightness has become even more important as I dodge my girls' toys on the floor. One toy that needs to be avoided at all cost is Lego. We have some bigger blocks and they hurt almost as bad as the small ones. Stepping on one at 3AM in the morning hurts the most! Turning on the light helps avoid this catastrophe.

Turning on the light is a choice. I think the psalmist that wrote Psalm 119 knew this fact. At night people back then would ignite their lamps to get around the house or walk outside. Today we can use the light of my phone as a flashlight or turn on the ones that hang from the ceiling. But sometimes I still don't use it and stumble around in the dark instead.

Did you know that Psalm 119 has 176 verses? Imagine if that was our Scripture Reading one Sunday. Let me know if you would like to be the Scripture Reader that day if it happens. After the reading, we could simply get up and go home. And the television station would cut our feed too.

If we read the 119:105-112, it gives us a little more of the important context we need to know. The psalmist talks about the power of using the light of God. We hear a hymn of praise even in the midst of suffering. The person is doing their best to practice the words of God. Celebrated was the fact that God had helped the person being dragged down by those that were misleading. In verse 111, the psalmist celebrates by saying, "Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart." These statutes were like "gold" to the psalm writer.

There is a constant message in God's Word on how to deal with fear. Psalm 23:4 tells us that God is with us in the valleys bringing comfort. Psalm 27:1 tells us that "The Lord is my light and my salvation" and goes on to let us know that fear should not consume us. Jesus tells us in Luke 14:27 that He gives us peace and to not let our hearts be troubled by fear. Again, there are so many verses I could quote to you.

Let's turn on God's Light today. It helps us see the path. We will always have fears but with God's help when we will not be overwhelmed. The inspirational words of the Apostle Paul, from 2 Timothy 1:7, tell us that "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

"Fear not" is mentioned 365 times in the Bible. I was reminded of this fact when reading an article by Daria Nepriakhina. To quote her, "But frankly, I'm scared [honest expletive omitted] sometimes, I fear clowns, criticism, crashing my bike, and car wrecks. Bridges, bears, big buildings, and bull riding. Snakes, shark attacks, screwing up, and smothering. Judgment, jack-in-the boxes, jerky people, and jet planes. Just to name a few."

One day she prayed about her fears and got a message. "Fear is a cause to pause. An invitation to stop and seek my way forward."

What a great answer from God. It seems to me God helped her turn the light on. A reminder that our path needs this never hurts. God tells us this 365 times in the Bible...and through the light of our prayers. Thank you, Lord, for helping us with our fears.

Stay Safe,

Rev. Baxter