SEARCHLIGHT

  JULY 5, 2024 I'm amazed at the human capacity for love. I will use myself as the case study. I have been blessed to have a beautiful and wonderful woman to love as my wife. When our first daughter was born, I was amazed to find that my heart expanded to a different channel of love. Some of you I am guessing know what I am talking about. My soul opened in a new way. When I thought I had expended all my love, along came children 2, 3, and 4. I would always wonder if I had the capacity to love more than I already did, could my heart expand more? Guess what my capacity for love kept growing. And now as a grandfather of 4, that love expands and expands with each one. I have said to my daughter about my Grandkids, “just when you think you have topped out your love for them,” which is quite substantial, "you spend an afternoon with them and your love for them grows again." There seems to be some new reservoir of love that opens and is released. Have you experienced that in you

  JULY 4, 2024 Psalm 25:14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. “Fear” and “friendship.” Those words normally don’t go together. How can the “friendship of the Lord” be for those who “fear him”? Doesn’t fear cause us to run away or avoid something or someone? Isn’t friendship for those who we hold close to us?Let us remind ourselves of the Bible’s meaning of the “fear of the Lord.” This type of fear does not necessarily mean to be frightened of something. Rather, it is a reverent awe of God, a respect for His power and glory. In other words, the fear of the Lord is a total acknowledgement of all that God is, which comes through “friendship and knowledge” of His character. So, the Fear of the Lord brings with it many blessings and benefits. It is the beginning of wisdom and leads to good understanding (Psalm 111:10). The fear of the Lord leads to life, rest, peace, and contentment (Proverbs 19:23). It is the fountain of life

  JULY 3, 2024 Psalm 8  Lord , our Lord,      how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory      in the heavens. 2  Through the praise of children and infants      you have established a stronghold against your enemies,      to silence the foe and the avenger. 3  When I consider your heavens,      the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,      which you have set in place, 4  what is mankind that you are mindful of them,      human beings that you care for them? 5  You have made them a little lower than the angels      and crowned them with glory and honor. 6  You made them rulers over the works of your hands;      you put everything under their feet: 7  all flocks and herds,      and the animals of the wild, 8  the birds in the sky,      and the fish in the sea,      all that swim the paths of the seas. 9  Lord , our Lord,      how majestic is your name in all the earth! In this Psalm, David expresses wonder at how God displays His power through the most

  JULY 1, 2024 Prayer for Canada (based on  Psalm 72 ) God, give us your love of justice and righteousness. Help our government to rule in the right way. Let the poor always be treated fairly. May our mountains yield prosperity for all, and may the hills be fruitful. Help us to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to bring a final end to all oppression. May we love and respect you God as long as the sun shines, and the moon remains in the sky. Yes, forever! May our country be refreshing like spring rain on freshly cut grass, like the showers that water the earth. May those who love God flourish, and may our country experience abundant prosperity until the moon is no more. May we be united from sea to shining sea, and may our influence go out from here to the ends of the earth. May our enemies never overtake us, and may we have the respect of the nations. Empower us to rescue the poor who cry to us, and help the oppressed who have no one to defend them. Show us how

  June 28, 2024 Psalm 25:14   “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” John 15:15 “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” We are at our week ’ s end and preparing for the Canada day weekend. What are your plans?  I was thinking how this long weekend has become a time to appreciate our Country, while it is far from perfect, it is an awesome country. Canada Day weekend has become also a time of gathering with family and friends and celebrating the people in our lives and the blessing they are to us. These thoughts led me to think about “friendhip” in the Bible and in keeping with this week's theme, today I would like us to think about our Friendship with the Holy Spirit. In friendship with the Holy Spirit we experience a sense of wholeness and joy that is beyond our reach i

  June 27, 2024 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about the gifts of the Spirit,  brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.     God’s desire for you and me is that we would be informed about the incredible gifts of his Holy Spirit, who dwells within us. Bottom line is that God longs for us to receive all he has to give.  God seeks to teach us about the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives, so that we may live with a deeper purpose and greater affection for Him and for others. The first aspect of spiritual gifts to note is that they are indeed a gift . 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 says, Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good . For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge accordin

  JUNE 26, 2024 Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”   The fruit of the Spirit reading in Galatians 5:22-23 offers us tremendous hope for our lives. We read that " the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ...."   Don't you long to be a person full of love, joy, and peace? Don't you long to have patience, kindness, and goodness? Don't we all long to be known by faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Of course we do! These characteristics are the marks of a fully abundant life that Jesus promised to us. I see Jesus in these, do you?  I find it is one thing to want something in my life, like these characteristics, but it is quite another thing to see these as a reality expressed in my actions and words. Truth is I all to aware of the fact that my lif

  JUNE 25, 2024 Jude 1:20-21 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” God responds to the prayers of his people. In the Bible we read of God's response, to the desire of Adam for a helpmate with Eve, the prayer of Abraham in saving Lot and his family, the prayer of Moses in the salvation of his people, the prayer of Elijah in sending down fire upon an altar, and the cry for a Savior in sending his only son, Jesus. And through Jesus we have received the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father as our Helper. Our Helper not only longs to guide us, as we noted yesterday, but the Holy Spirit also wants to help us pray and, listen to this, will pray for us. Jude 1:20-21 says,  “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for th

  JUNE 24, 2024 Romans 8:14   “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”     Where do you need leadership in your life?  What challenge, decision, or circumstance is weighing on you?  Where do you need a word from God today?  We possess the ideal guide to help us navigate the complexities and challenges of life.   The Bible says in Romans 8:14,  “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”  As children of God, we have received the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, and leads us daily. This is good news for us. For you see, we do not earn God's Spirit by our own actions. God has given us all the gift of the Holy Spirit because he loves us. He has filled us with his Spirit because he longs to lead us into the abundant life he has planned for us.  John 16:13 says,  “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to y

  June 21, 2024 John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”     “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, says Romans 14:17. Our loving Creator is the one who throws a massive party for the prodigal returned home (Luke 15:11-32). He’s the God of the angels who rejoices over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). He’s the God who celebrates with us, sings over us, and rejoices in us (Zephaniah 3:17). And at the end of the age he will throw a wedding feast in celebration of the joy he has over us, his bride (Revelation 19:6-9). Here is the amazing message of Scripture, God doesn’t desire to keep his joy to himself, but longs to fill us with it to overflowing. Toward the end of the John 15:1-17 Jesus says,   “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you , and that your joy may be full”   (John 15:11). God’s plan is to fill us wi

  June 20, 2024 John 15:2 “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit."     John 15:2 tells us that the only way for us to bear more fruit, to become what our loving God intends for us to become, is to surrender to his pruning process. If you are like me, you have likely noticed that the pressures and cares of the world are like weeds that crowd out and rob us of the nourishment our lives need from the fruitful branches rooted in God. God’s plan is to carefully and lovingly, prune, heal and transform us into the children of light.   How can we engage in his process of pruning? I believe it   all starts with seeing the depth of God’s love for us. Psalm 103:2-4 says,  “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.”  God’s pro

  June 19, 2024 John 15:9-10   “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”     Our culture doesn’t like to hear about obedience. Generally, when people around us think of obedience they normally understand it as a task to be done that they have no desire to do. Isn’t that what the saying “nobody is going to tell me what to do” reveals. In our society we associate obedience with obligation rather than fulfillment. By the way, even those of us who are Jesus’ disciples have a negative view of obedience. However, when Jesus walked among us he carried out a very different lifestyle of obedience than our culture resists. You see, Jesus’ life demonstrated for us what obedience to our heavenly Father is meant to look like. Through Jesus’ example we learn that Obedience to God is choosing to live a lifestyle of love and devotion to the