Can you hear the Shepherd's laughter?

Can you hear the shepherd’s laughter?

Can’t you just sense the angel’s sheer delight?

For the people who once walked in darkness,

Can now walk in His glorious light.

In a land where there was nothing but darkness,

They searched for answers from spirits in the night,

Yet, God sent His only son to walk beside us,

The infant king who would bear the ultimate sacrifice.

Can you hear the shepherd’s laughter?

Can’t you just sense the angel’s sheer delight?

For the people who once walked in darkness,

Can now walk in His glorious light.

He would live among the wretched, weak and lowly,

Touch the hands of those abandoned and unloved,

Weep over a city that would mock and abuse Him,

Yet, took nails meant for us and bore our shame.

Can you hear the shepherd’s laughter?

Can’t you just sense the angel’s sheer delight?

For the people who once walked in darkness,

Can now walk in His glorious light.

In our hearts there was nothing but darkness,

Completely filled with pride and selfish strife,

The Savior came to give us light and life,

Our souls can be set free and gladly in Him abide.

Can you hear the shepherd’s laughter?

Can’t you just sense the angel’s sheer delight?

For the people who once walked in darkness,

Can now walk in His glorious light.

Dragged into love.

This video is a little different in that it deals with how Julie and I first met. It also tells you how that Julie was dragged into love. Hope you enjoy this fun one.

Hebrews 1:1

This is a new way that we hope to expand our teaching here at Salt and Light as well as at our sister blog theartofwalkingslow. We will be dealing with different subjects from the Bible and Current trends. Hope you enjoy this quick lesson From Hebrews 1:1.

Wrestling with God in prayer.

Genesis 32:24-28 ( ESV )

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²⁴And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 

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²⁵When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 

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²⁶Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 

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²⁷And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 

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²⁸Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,^£ for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 

1.     Alone-When we really want to spend time with God in prayer our best times will always be when we are alone with him. When we break away from the noise of just life. When we seek not the company of others but seek to see his face alone. These are the times when we truly will find Him. We must escape from the noise of this world.

2.     Jesus example:  Matthew 14:23 and Mark 6:47 Before his disciples would struggle in the sea, Lk. 9:18 Praying alone before he ask who do the people say that I am? Finally in the Garden when His disciples would go to sleep while he prayed away from them in Matthew 26:36-46.

3.     This man who wrestled with him all night long was no one other than the pre-incarnate Christ. We know this from verses 39-40. As he states how he had seen God face to face. A few points need to be brought up here.

a.       Just as Jacob’s life was a struggle so will our prayer life. Our prayer life is work. Prayer involves struggle on so many levels. We need to be rid of the noise around us to get alone with God. When we pray we are fighting in the realms of spiritual warfare. We will struggle with being too tired to pray. We will struggle as our desires become conformed to His desires and what He knows is best for our lives. We will struggle with the issue of belief such as will He really answer that prayer. We will struggle with is it our needs or is it just our greed?

b.      Prayer is not only a struggle but prayer is often about endurance. The Bible tells us that Jacob wrestled with God all night long into the breaking of dawn.

 Have you ever spent the night alone with Him in prayer? His desires become your desires. You struggle with seeing things through His eyes. Yet, when you do what a glorious thought this is. You also at times will have to come back to Him with that same prayer constantly. It might not be answered overnight it might take years or the answer you want may not come at all. Yet we are to be persistent in our prayers never giving up until He blesses. (Sometimes that blessing might come with a drastic cost. Like a hip that is taken out of joint.) We must learn to be persistent in our prayers.

Examples of Persistent Prayer.

1.       Luke 18:1-8 The parable of the persistent widow and the judge.

2.       Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9 Ask, Search and Knock

3.       I Thess. 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

c.       Prayer will cause a change not only for others whom you pray for but also will be a blessing as it changes you. No longer did God want to be known as the Heel Catcher or the Deceiver but rather God wanted him to be called Israel for out of him the tribes of Israel would be brought forth. In the same way God wants us to be praying men and it will change our lives forever. Go forth in prayer and His blessings will come down.