Journey Forth: Into the Light

By Kay Lavender

The cover is based on a dream I had in 2013.

I am in a dense forest. The ground is covered with crisp brown leaves. Looking around, I see no way out of the forest. Then suddenly, stepping stones appeared leading through the forest. In my sock feet, I start jumping from stone to stone. Every time I would jump, these gray, slimy, eel-like creatures I will call Snipes would jump up out of the leaves and nip my heels. The ground was full of them. I froze, and would not jump anymore.

Then in the distance I saw a man, like an angel. He was dressed in a brown suede-like skirt and vest with brown strappy sandals to his knees. He had a long stick and was poking the ground. I could see the Snipes moving away every time he would poke into the leaves. I began jumping again as he came through the forest.

Soon I came to a ridge that overlooked a clearing. The sun, like a bright white light, was shining through the bare trees. Leaping from the ridge, I began twirling, changing from my dark, drab clothes into a white dress when I lit on the ground into the clearing. I stood there basking in the glowing light.

The dream continues.

I walked through the clearing and came to the edge of a mountain. Looking down the mountain, I saw a village where the houses looked like little matchboxes. Where I was standing, to my left, suspended in the air was a box of white tissues. I pulled one out and began poking it into the fist of my left hand; it turned into a flower like a lily. Then I heard a voice whisper, "This is for your healing."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889439127

Book preview

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Journey Forth

Into the Light

Kay Lavender

ISBN 979-8-88943-911-0 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-912-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Kay Lavender

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Devotional 1

Our Nation

Devotional 2

The Foundation

Devotional 3

The Law

Devotional 4

Liberty

Devotional 5

Justice

Devotional 6

Justice in the Marketplace

Devotional 7

A Very Present Help

Devotional 8

Peace

Devotional 9

Strength for Today

Devotional 10

Unfailing Promises

Devotional 11

Go with God

Devotional 12

Deliverance

Devotional 13

Job's Dilemma

Devotional 14

Frailty

Devotional 15

Beyond Understanding

Devotional 16

Wisdom

Devotional 17

The Emperor's Clothes

Devotional 18

Words of Knowledge

Devotional 19

Vanity

Devotional 20

Slow to Speak

Devotional 21

To Everything, There Is a Season

Devotional 22

The Days of Youth

Devotional 23

Excellence

Devotional 24

Give Thanks to God

Devotional 25

Humble Service

Devotional 26

A Worthy Walk

Devotional 27

Be Determined

Devotional 28

Endure

Devotional 29

Shining Bright

Devotional 30

Test of Faith

Devotional 31

Work Well Done

Devotional 32

A Ready Mind

Devotional 33

Honor and Majesty

Devotional 34

Psalm of Life

Devotional 35

Beginning of Knowledge

Devotional 36

Guidance

Devotional 37

Lessons from Nature

Devotional 38

Words of Life

Devotional 39

Suffering to Bliss

Devotional 40

Prudence of Wisdom

Devotional 41

Riches

Devotional 42

Treating Our Enemies

Devotional 43

Uncertainty

Devotional 44

Work While It Is Day

Devotional 45

Time to Wake Up

Devotional 46

Work of Life

Devotional 47

Laborers with God

Devotional 48

God's Servant

Devotional 49

According to Your Ability

Devotional 50

Our Mission

Devotional 51

Up-hill

Devotional 52

About the Author

Devotional 1

Our Nation

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so; but shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous; but the way of the ungodly shall perish. (Psalm 1)

What is a nation's true glory?

Is it the abundance of its natural resources?

Is it the beauty of its scenery?

Is it the high degree of its civilization?

Is it the strength of it's military?

No, it is none of these. According to the Bible, a nation's true glory is its conformity to the righteous laws of God.

Measured by this standard, how does our nation rank? If righteousness is what makes a nation great, how great is the United States of America? What about the crime rate? What about the political corruption? What about the low standard morality of an increasing number of people? Sin is a disgrace to any nation, and lawlessness will be its destruction.

Do not these facts call for a moral turnabout? Does this not call for every Christian in America to rededicate themselves in faithful obedience to the Lord? And ought we not engage in constant prayer, earnestly crying out to God for the spiritual life of our beloved nation that it may be transformed in accordance with God's will?

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)

Although the psalmist was referring to the nation Israel, the blessing he pronounced may rest upon any people of any nation. All who stand in a special relationship with God by faith and trust are blessed by His unfailing love and care. Is the Lord God the god of America today? We know that most Americans worship the true and Living God, but many do not. Their god is money, fame, fortune, powers, and pleasures in the material things of this world.

If the United States of America falls, it will be because a majority of the people have turned away from the Lord instead of turning to Him. Daniel Webster once declared, If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering, but if we neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury our glory in profound obscurity.

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee; Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who knoweth not in all these that the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. (Job 12:7–10)

Devotional 2

The Foundation

In the Lord put I my trust; how say ye to my soul; Flee as a bird to your mountain?

For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven; his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The Lord trieth the righteous; but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup.

For the righteous loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. (Psalm 11:1–7)

This psalm of confidence in God was composed at a time when evil men were trying to overrun the kingdom. The very foundations of society seemed to be crumbling. Regarding the situation as hopeless, the psalmist's friends advised him to flee. But he believed that the Lord was still in control and would punish the evildoers. As for himself, he would toil on, trusting in the Lord.

During the Great Depression of the early 1930s, many people were in despair. Banks were failing, mortgages were being foreclosed, family fortunes were being wiped out. In early 1934, during a revival meeting in Muskogee, Oklahoma, musician B. B. McKinney felt strongly the people's need for an assured faith in God. One evening during the sermon, he began writing a hymn. Later that night he finished it. The following is the last stanza of that song:

Have faith in God, though all else fail about you.

Have faith in God, He provides for His own.

He cannot fail, though all kingdoms shall perish.

He rules, He reigns upon His throne.

May the Foundation Stand

The church was founded on the Lord Jesus Christ founded on the solid rock of genuine faith in Him. Paul faced the fact that at Ephesus, false teachers were corrupting the faith of some of the church's members. In view of this, young Timothy might have been tempted to believe that God's work in the world was rather shaky. But Paul hastened to affirm that such was by no means the case. In 2 Timothy 2:19, Paul declared that the solid foundation that God had laid cannot be shaken.

Paul naturally was concerned about the church's future, but at the same time, he was sure that it would survive. And we may be sure that God's true church, which is the body of Christ consisting of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, is not going to collapse. Jesus said, Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It has stood firm throughout the centuries, and it will continue to do so.

When every other institution shall have come to an end, the church of Jesus Christ will still live on eternally. How grateful we should be for that fact!

Knowing this, how much more should the people turn back to God, in trust and faith, and fervently pray for the renewal and healing of our nation.

*****

Our Father in heaven, who never forsakes those whose hope is in You, whose trust is in You, grant that we may ever keep that hope and trust, which You have