Walking In The Darkness

But that is not specifically where I want to focus for now. I want us to look at the lives of those who call themselves Christian and still make daily decisions that only lead them deeper into the paths of darkness and away from the light of God.

Isaiah says…”The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.

Have you ever wondered why it is that we fail to experience the peace of God that we all seek so much? Well this verse contains your answer!

The problem is that we do not judge our “goings” and continue to walk a crooked path. Let me give you some examples:

Illustrations:

1)Haggai 1:5-7, "Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways."

Every week I hear Christians who are hurting financially and whose wages seem to just evaporate into thin air. No matter how much they earn, no matter how hard they try to budget, no matter how much they try to control their impulse spending, the money they earn just flies away like an eagle into the wind and the bills continue to go unpaid.

Why does this happen? Well look at their faithfulness to the laws of God in the area of financial management!

Malachi 3:9-11, "Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts."

Therein lies the answer to this dilemma! What we have is cursed even though it may seen that it should be more than enough because we fail to walk in the light and continue to walk in the darkness of disobedience.

If we would give to God that which belongs to him in the first place, God will then see to it that what you keep is far more blessed. When we don’t give to God what we owe him, then we are saying, “God, I don’t trust you, I don’t believe you, and I don’t believe that you can meet my needs!” Wow! You’re either more brave than I am or you have a “death wish” because God won’t bless those that curse him in that fashion.

Can’t you remember what Jesus did with the bread and fish that were not enough in the mind of the disciples to feed the 5000 and yet Jesus did it and there were plenty of leftovers for next time?

If Jesus can multiply the bread and fish and make it stretch to meet the needs of his people, don’t you think that Jesus can do the same with your paycheck?