Verse of the Day - Jeremiah 23:24

Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.
~ Jeremiah 23:24 (NIV)

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(NOTE: I'm not trying to be lazy -- really, I'm not. But this morning, Jeremiah 23:24 popped up on one of my perusal sites, and I knew I'd written on it before (8/14/08). Reading it again today was a great reminder of God's power and His love. I pray it encourages you today, also.)


Our church has started a rather unique ministry, something we call PraiseFingers (our choir is PraiseSingers, and the bell choir is PraiseRingers . . . so it sorta fits ). It's black light hand miming, and is rather amazing. The first time I saw a video of this, I was stunned -- I just couldn't figure out how it was done! But it's amazing what can be created with music, white gloves and a black light! (check out these links of Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-AUNFmnBEk and this one done recently http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eraqMcixM-Q [some gloves in this video were painted red, which looked great as a live performance, but didn't show up well on the video]

Sitting in front of a black light is pretty cool. Eyes and teeth look scary greenish-white, a french manicure glows like crazy, and every little tiny piece of lint -- that's right, lint -- shows up in the black light! Last Tuesday, I realized that I even had lint on my bare arms. What?!? Lint, on my arms?!? It truly is amazing, because to the naked eye, those specks are invisible. That night, this verse came to mind . . .

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. ~ Luke 8:17 (NIV)

God is like a black light. He sees what seems invisible. If we think we're getting away with something we shouldn't be doing, we need to think again, because God's black like picks it up like invisible lint. Nothing escapes His eyes, because like the Word says, He fills heaven and earth. He is everywhere!

And the same God who sees the dark side of our lives also sees the deep side, the things of our heart that we don't let others see. Maybe it's painful or embarrassing . . . maybe it's shameful or otherwise so uncomfortable that we just lock it away in our hearts and minds. He sees and knows you through and through . . . and He LOVES you. And He will shed light on those areas that need to be revealed for your healing. He loves you too much to let you go through life with hidden "lint" in your soul. The question is: Are you willing to see what He reveals to you, or are you just going to shut your eyes and say, "I'm not listening . . . I'm not listening . . . "?

Sergeant Schultz from the old TV Show, Hogan's Heroes, used to always say, "I see nothing, I know nothing!", when he'd become privy to some shenanigans the prisoners were up to. He simply did not want to know the truth of what was going on around him. He was content to be oblivious. Are we like Schultz?

God loves His children, and He's not content to let us run amok in sin or run around oblivious to what's going on in our hearts and minds. And so He shines His light on our lives through His Word and through the Spirit of Truth. If we are desiring to live godly lives in honor of our Lord, and if we want to be whole on the inside, we need to let God reveal to us the hidden things. We're not fooling Him -- why do we try to fool ourselves?

God is a gracious God, and loves us in spite of all of our failings and weaknesses. Turn to Him and let Him shine His beautiful, loving light on your life, so that through His Spirit, you can be cleansed and changed, moulded into the image of Christ, our Savior. God bless you today as you allow Him to turn on His "black light" . . .

Love,
Joelene