MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/15/2026
8:33 AM
My
Worship Time Focus:
“A True
Hearer Listens Evangelistically”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke 8:16
Message of the Verses: “Now no one after lighting a lamp
covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a
lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light.”
Let us begin by looking a Luke 11:33 “33 "No one after lighting a lamp puts it in
a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the
light.” Matthew 5:15 “15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a
basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.” So we can see that Jesus used this simple
parable or story in three different incidents.
Now the purpose of a lamp is to give light, thus no one after
lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed. MacArthur writes “The terra cotta lamps
used in Israel were shaped like a saucer, with a spout and a handle, and used
oil and a wick to provide light.” So to
light a lamp and then put in under a bed, or even a container would be
pointless, since doing so would extinguish the lamp. So this shows that instead, lamps needed to
be placed on a lampstand or a wall shelf so that those who come in
may see the light.
MacArthur goes on to write “While light in Scripture
is often a metaphor for holiness (Matt. 5:14-16; Rom. 13:12), for truth (Psalms
36:9; 119:105, 130; Prov. 6:23; Acts 26:23; Eph. 5:9; 1 Thess. 5:5), and also
for spiritual life in Christ (John 1:4), the specific feature the Lord
communicated through this analogy is that genuine disciples do not hide the
truth of the gospel.” Now we will look
at this verses in the order found in this sentence.
(Matt. 5:14-16; Rom. 13:12)
(Holiness)
“14 "You are the light of the world. A city
set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor
do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives
light to all in the house. 16 In the
same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good
works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
“12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So
then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
(Psalms 36:9; 119:105, 130; Prov. 6:23;
Acts 26:23; Eph. 5:9; 1 Thess. 5:5)
(Truth)
“9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your
light do we see light.”
“105
¶ Your word is a lamp to my feet and a
light to my path.”
“130
¶ The unfolding of your words gives
light; it imparts understanding to the simple.”
“23 For the commandment is a lamp and the
teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,”
“23 that the Christ must suffer and that, by being
the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and
to the Gentiles."
“9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that
is good and right and true),”
“5 For you are all children of light, children
of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.”
(John 1:4) (for spiritual life in Christ)
“4 In him was life, and the life was the light
of men.”
“Peter
described Christians as ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people for God’s own possession, so that [they] may proclaim the excellencies
of Him who has called [them] out of darkness into His marvelous light’ (1 Peter
2:9). In his defense before Herod Agrippa, Paul said that Jesus had sent him
both to the Jews and to the Gentiles ‘to open their eyes so that they may turn
from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may
receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been
sanctified by faith in [Jesus Christ]’ (Acts 26:18). Paul was thankful for the Roman Christians
because their ‘faith [was] being proclaimed throughout that whole world’ (Rom.
1:8; cf. 16:19).”
(Rom. 1:8; cf. 16:19)
“8 ¶ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ
for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.”
“19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I
rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as
to what is evil.”
“The
apostle commended the Thessalonians because ‘the word of the Lord [had] sounded
forth from [them], not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place
[their] faith toward God [had] gone forth’ (1 Thess. 1:8). Jesus likened true hearers of the word to a
brilliantly lit city on a hill whose light cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14).”
(Matt. 5:14)
“14 "You are the light of the world. A city
set on a hill cannot be hidden.”
“True
conversion results in a desire for telling the gospel story. Genuine disciples respond to the truth
evangelistically; that is, they only take it in, but they also give it
out. Lack of zeal for sharing the truth
may reveal that God’s work of salvation has not been wrought in the heart.
“Jesus may also have had another
issue in mind when He gave this analogy.
In Luke 8:10 He had told the disciples, ‘To you it has been granted to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so
that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ As noted in
the discussion of that verse in the previous chapter of this volume, that was
an act of judgment on Jesus’ part. Those
who rejected the truth would have it hidden from them. The disciples may have thought that they were
to render the same judgments and decide for themselves who to present the truth
to.
“But it is not the believer’s place
to make such a determination; only God knows a persons true spiritual
condition. Christians are responsible to
obey the Great Commission and ‘make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit’ (Matt. 28:19;
cf. Acts 1:8).”
(Acts 1:8)
“8 But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
“And when
they were ready, Jesus would send the Twelve out to preach the gospel to all
whom they encountered (Luke 9:1-6). What
He had explained to them in secret, the were to proclaim publicly (cf. Matt.
10:27).”
(Luke 9:1-6)
“ 1 ¶
And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over
all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and
he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, "Take nothing for
your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two
tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter,
stay there, and from there depart. 5 And
wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust
from your feet as a testimony against them." 6 And they departed and went through the
villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.”
(cf. Matt. 10:27)
“27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the
light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my life today: It is my desire that those who read
my Spiritual Diaries would first of all accept the forgiveness that Christ has
paid for through His death, burial, and resurrection. It is also my desire that those who are
believers who read my Spiritual Diaries would “grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
My
Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord as I go
through some really difficult times in my life, that He would strengthen me and
that He would continue to give me more grace in order for me to get through these
very difficult days.
9/15/2026
9:55 AM
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