Luke 8:16-18 Light Your Lamp and Let it Shine
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: August 2, 2018 Luke 8:16-18
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
(Understanding the Text) According to the SDA commentary, this parable is part of something called the Sermon on the Sea. It says that only Mark and Luke record this parable here. Matthew records a similar parable in the Sermon on the Mount but gives it a different application. The SDA commentary says that the light is Jesus revealing who God is and what the kingdom of heaven is, and if we take care in the hearing, nothing will be withheld from our understanding.
At first, this parable seems totally unrelated to the one about the sower just given, but then Jesus says “Take care the how you hear”, so this is again referring to hearing the word of God and what happens when it enters a person. Jesus is saying that there is a way of hearing that results in success and a way that leads to failure. When I combine this with the parable of the sower it would seem that successful hearing means having a soft open heart full of trust in God and willingness to focus on Jesus rather than the world. Unsuccessful listening has more variables. Cynical listening will not work. Having a hard heart towards God or towards others will not work. Focusing more on worldly pleasures or on acquiring money than on God’s message will not work. Worrying about problems will not work. We need to give all these attributes and issues to God and let Him purify us so that we can focus on His word and be changed.
When we are transformed by God’s word, we will be beacons to light others and draw them near to hear the word. We don’t become transformed so that we are hidden. God will display us before others. Our presence will shine a light on them and their activities which will either attract their focus to the light of Jesus or show their corruption in the clear light. There are many corruptions that we possess and that we believe are either hidden or don’t see clearly as corruption. There are many things that we view as right and upstanding that when compared to the light that Jesus brings out in His sincere followers suddenly seem dark and satanic. Jesus wants to transform us and display us so that others can be drawn away from these dark selfish desires and be attracted to the purity that becomes an integral part of all who sincerely follow Jesus.
(Revelation of God) There is no in-between. There is either progress toward heaven or toward death. As Jesus’ light travels through us transforming us, it will reveal hidden depths of corruption that we were not even aware were there. We then have a choice of letting Jesus clean those pockets of sin-pus from us or trying to cover them up and protect them from His touch. In the end, all will be revealed. It is up to us if we want to harbor death inside of us or if we want to trust Jesus and let Him continue to heal us. If we choose not to allow Jesus to heal us, the corruption will spread until it eventually brings death. If we choose to allow Jesus to heal us, we will have more spiritual health and life and vitality that was not present before.
(Understanding the Text) The Cambridge commentary says “17. For nothing is secret] This verse, like the parallel (which occurs in a different connexion in Mat_10:26), is usually quoted of the discovery of secret crimes. The truth which would in that case be illustrated is often mentioned elsewhere in Scripture (1Co_4:5), but here in both instances the context shews that the first meaning of Christ was entirely different from this. He is not thinking of the discovery of crimes, but of the right use and further dissemination of divine light. The truths now revealed privately to them, and only dimly shadowed forth to others, should soon be flashed over all the world. Parables first yielded their full significance to the disciples, but found “a springing and germinant fulfilment in every age.” This is not about secret sins but about getting brighter or dimmer based upon our progress in transformation. We will not simply stay in one condition. We are either progressing forward or slipping backward, becoming brighter or dimmer, having more or losing what we have. I think it is significant that the one who loses what he has actually only seemed to have it. The verse says “from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” In other words, he never really had it. God did not arbitrarily take away something that a human legitimately owned. Instead, the human never really grasped the truth to himself and only thought that he had God’s light. He is losing something that he never had to start with.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I need to listen to God in faith, trusting Him to take care of me and that anything He asks of me will turn out for the best for me in the long run. As I have trusted Him and followed His word in the past few years, He has opened up more and more abilities in me and has used me more and more to shine a light to others. My light is still dim and flickering, but it is a light to add to the others that Jesus has lit. It may be the light that can focus others on Jesus and His words and lead to the brightening of their souls and the decrease of the darkness that stains their lives. But it all goes back to listening to Your word with the right attitude and being willing to let Your word in to my life and heart. I want to be being willing to focus on Your word and prioritizing Your will in the first place in my life. I am weak. Teach me to rest in Your strength.