And A Light Shines in the Darkness

John‬ ‭1:1-5‬ ‭- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

God is in control. I'm thankful I can say I know that. Everyone can have that peace which only comes by humbling self and turning fully to the Lord. Knowing truth, trusting Him. Life without full knowledge of the Lord is no life at all. He brings life and light into our lives. He has given us His Word to teach us.

God sent His Son to be the Light in a dark world, and this world is dark. It will be until He returns. Until then there are to be many people like the Disciple, John, to proclaim this Light. Without this Light we do not know the Word. If we do not know His Word we sit in a very dark place.

We have an election in tomorrow. It's anybody's guess how it will turn out. I just know that God is in control. He already knows. How do I know this? His Word has shown me. He knows the beginning from the end in all things. This world continues in darkness. A newly elected president will not be a light in this world. No man can be The Light of the world. But we can share who this Light, this Man, Jesus, and His Word is.

Without this Light we might agonize over this election. All I have been able to pray is, "Lord, Your will be done." Do our part as voters then trust Him with the rest. I often think about how someday God will judge us all. He will judge our political candidates. Whatever either has done that should not have been done will be judged...hopefully before that day they might humble themselves before God and truly repent of their sins. Hey, that goes for all of us! 

I think about King David and his pleas to God for vengeance over his enemies. We know that some day God will avenge. The enemies will be struck down, but not necessarily when and how we would like. O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs—O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth; render punishment to the proud. LORD, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph? They utter speech, and speak insolent things; all the workers of iniquity boast in themselves. (Psalm 94:1-4)  Hmmmm, sounds familiar.

My hope and trust is in the Lord. His vengeance will come. He will come to bring it about. What we need to do today is to believe on Him. Scripture says vengeance is His. Would I like to see evil, even the evil in this election, avenged...like now. Yes. It only seems fair. However, God may have plans to use that evil. Perhaps to draw more to Him, perhaps to bring about what we deserve as a nation allowing God to be forced out and evil to run rampant. A little leaven leavens it all. 

I see trouble ahead no matter who gets elected. Why? Because we are humans wanting to take vengeance into our own hands. Jesus says we are to respond without anger and evil or we will be judged in the same manner...no better than the evil. 

God is in control. Let Him do what He does best. His ways and thoughts are not like ours. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (‭‭1Corinthians‬ ‭2:11‬)

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How 
unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! (Romans‬ ‭11:33‬)

A true believer should understand this. There might be a struggle inside but we know we are to submit to His authority. There should be a peace in our spirit knowing only good will come in time. Trouble may arise. The enemy may come with his own vengeance, through the evil in this world. But we are overcomers in Christ if we have become true believers. He calls us that He might teach us His ways, that peace would be settled in our hearts and spirits. Do you know Him? Have you that peace? Do you know the "rest of the story" as written in His Word? If not, ask Him to guide you to knowing Him.

John 16:33 - These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.
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Light and Dark

1John‬ ‭1:5-7 - This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Have you heard the message? Has it been declared to you? Have you listened? 

I heard a few times but I didn't listen. I scoffed those whose messages were telling me, not directly but in general, that Jesus was the only way. Of course...I knew who Jesus was. What more did I need? I had been baptized as a baby. I went to church as a child, went to Sunday school and confirmation classes on Saturdays. What more did I need?

Didn't knowing and believing Jesus lived, died and rose again put me in the category of believer? 

Things change when the true light is revealed. When that light exposes the darkness (the presumptions and/or misunderstandings) we all live in until He pierces the so-called darkness we have and reveals the truth, the light, to us. 

The truth is, we do not know the truth until we come to a point in our lives where Jesus Himself, through His Holy Spirit, touches our heart, and changes our thinking process. (Oh, horrors...change?) The Light of Christ has exposed the darkness and revealed the truth. I have no idea how this happens. I was far from desiring God at the time He opened my eyes. Then little by little the truths were revealed. He revealed Himself.

Again, I don't know how this happens but in a moment's time I 
was exposed to the light of Christ and I've not been the same since. I allowed Him to step into my life and begin the transformation. 

Now there is a sweet fellowship with the Lord and others who believe as I do. This is no strange thing. It is legitimate. Jesus is the light of the world. He says so: Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (‭‭John‬ ‭8:12‬)  How can anyone who believes Jesus argue that? 

How do I explain the change, the process? I was ripe for it. We may not even realize it. Then once, twice or several times later, we hear a message and instead of pushing it aside we receive it. We put aside all the things we've believed that may have been false. Religion. It's not about that. It's about Jesus. Period. No other person. Ever. 

Jesus revealed Himself to me. He has shown me what truth is. I do have this fellowship. He has cleansed me from sin. I just heard...and listened. Was it hard at first, thinking I'd been right for so long? Yes. But I listened...

John‬ ‭14:6,19b‬ ‭- Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. ...Because I live, you will live also.”

Eternal Light

Malachi 4:2 - But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.

A thought ran quickly through my head, as often they do! Haven't I always said it's all about Jesus?

In this world we live in there is day and night. They were created. There is good and evil. Often day is linked to goodness where night is associated with evil. When we are able to see because of the light we are able to avoid evil, which must do its best (worst) work at night under cover of darkness. 

While we are in this world we will always have good and evil. Some day the Light of the world will return and all evil will be removed and those who have found, received and followed the Light will reign with Him on earth before experiencing eternal life in Christ, in the Light. 

So, we have a sun in the sky...the heavens, as it were...that brings the day. We also have the Son in the heavens who is also called the Light. It is His light which shines the truth upon us that prevents us from falling into evil. I'm convinced there was a reason for the two words, Sun and Son, sounding the same and both being in the heavens, and considered the light in/of the world.

Great words from Jesus Himself: ...“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  ...“he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (‭John‬ 8:12,12‬:‭35-36‬)  If you do not have Jesus you walk in darkness...

While you have the light... Reminds me of something else: Isaiah 55:6 - Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. And even better: I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭45‬:‭19‬). Jesus has not hidden Himself from us. For 2,000 years people have been proclaiming the name of the Lord. People have declared those things that are right. He reveals Himself to those who choose to seek.

As I was reading in Revelation I was reminded of a scripture at the end that so fits with this. We are told when Jesus returns He brings a new earth with no more tears, death, sorrow, pain, crying, and a there will be a pure river of life, a tree of life, and no more condemnation (curse). (There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. - Romans 8:1)  All things will be new, just like all things are new when we receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Today we have light and dark. We have lamps, fire, lanterns or flashlights, whatever it takes to bring light at night. But some day we will have no need for those things. All evil will be expunged. The Son alone will be our Light; an eternal light. We can walk in that light if we seriously seek Him.

Revelation 22:5 - There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. 

The Light

Genesis 1:3-5 - Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. 

In this world there is not only a physical day and night, light and dark, but a spiritual darkness and light.

I said in the last blog we are all in spiritual darkness until we receive Jesus as our Savior. In darkness is where evil resides. Most evil takes place at night, in the shadows of the dark where it is hoped it will not be seen.

We can live in darkness until the light of Christ shines bright in our lives. It is often said that we continue to live in this darkness because we do not wish for others to see our sin. We do not want to call our sin what it is so we try to hide it; we try to tell ourselves, and others, that everyone does this so it can't be that bad. When Jesus exposes that sin in the light of His truth, people run from Him to hide in the darkness. 

But His light that exposes our sin is good. When we accept our sin as sin and accept His forgiveness for that sin, it is good! Any sin acknowledged and exposed to our Lord frees us from captivity of that darkness which we run to with the thing we want to hide. Jesus longs for all to ask for His forgiveness. He longs to give it. 

Sin can be anything from a white lie, an awful thought, a misplaced word, to murder. Anything that is against the will of God. We will never be perfect in everything we do. That's why we have Jesus. He's as close as a realization of what we've said or done to our asking for His forgiveness and turning from that sin.

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (Colossians 1:9-12)

Sometimes my patience runs thin, sorry to say. There is such a longing to see others freed from their sin, to know Christ. I acknowledge this lack of patience before God right now, although He knew before I even thought it. Everything is done in His time. He is there for any to receive His free gift of salvation. Through Him only can it be obtained. But it's a choice we all must make to receive. It will not happen just by hoping or wishing or believing we are good just because... He must humbly be acknowledged and received for true salvation to happen.

Put away the darkness and let the light of Christ come into your life. 

Colossians 1:13 - He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love...