Tag: light

1 John 3:4-10 are among the more difficult in the Bible and can cause many Christians to doubt their salvation. Why? Because it seems to be saying that those who sin are not truly Christians.

That is clearly not what John means, however, as we’ve seen in 1 John 1:8-10 and 2:1.

So what does he mean?

I think we see a hint of the answer in 1 John 1:6-7.

True children of God walk in his light, not in darkness. Why?

Because they love God. They believe he is good. And they strive to be like their Heavenly Father.

People living in darkness are not this way. Instead, they have deep-seeded doubts about God, questioning the goodness of his character and his commands. And they essentially say, “If that’s the way you really are, if that’s the way you really think, I want nothing to do with you.”

That was Satan’s attitude.

That was the attitude he passed on to humanity in the garden.

And that’s how many people live today.

Such people have not seen or known Jesus or his Father.

True Christians don’t live that way. They can’t live that way.

Though they may fall into sin, when God’s light exposes it, they repent. No excuses. No trying to justify their sins. And certainly no questioning of his goodness.

The question, then, is not whether you sin or not. All of us sin. The question is if you’re walking in the light or not.

Because if we walk in the light as he is in the light, confessing our sins and repenting of them, the blood of Jesus his Son purifies us from all sin. (I John 1:7)

And the good news is, when our hearts condemn us for our failings, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. He knows we truly love him and desire to please him. And he accepts us. (1 John 3:20)

So let us rejoice in his grace, singing with John.

See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are! (1 John 3:1)

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, children of God, light, Sin

1 John Devotionals

Walking with God

In reading these two chapters, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to walk with God.

Many people claim to walk with God. Or in John’s words, many people claim to know God and have fellowship with him.

But what does that really look like?

One thing John makes clear is that you can’t walk in darkness and still claim to have fellowship with God. In other words, you can’t reject his commands and just live as you like.

Unfortunately, too many people who claim to be Christians do just that. They accept the things in God’s word that they like and throw out the things they don’t.

But a person who truly walks with God believes all his commands and ways are good. And so they embrace these things. They honor these things. Their heart truly belongs to God and they desire to walk as Jesus did. (I John 1:5-6, 2:3-6)

That said, living in the light doesn’t mean we live perfect lives. But when his light reveals our sin, we don’t make excuses for it. Rather we confess it and repent.

And the good news is that when Satan tries to accuse us, Jesus stands by our side and defends us. By his blood we are purified from all our sins, and God’s wrath is appeased. (I John 1:7, 2:1-2).

We are forgiven, not because we are so faithful, but because God is. (1 John 1:9). We are accepted, not because we are so righteous, but because Jesus is righteous (2:1, 12), and he has clothed us with his righteousness.

So let us not walk in the darkness living our own way. Nor let us fear coming into the light because we fear God’s anger or judgment.

Rather let us come into the light…no, let us run to the light, embracing God, embracing his ways, and walking each day in his grace as his beloved children.

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, light, walking with God

1 John Devotionals

Truths we hold

We live in a world that holds on to a lot of partial truths.

But as Christians we can’t do that. We need to hold to the whole truth.

And so as we read 1 John, it’s important to hold all truth together.

What are these truths.

You can’t walk in darkness and claim to be a Christian. Put another way, you can’t live in unrepentant sin and say you are a Christian. To do so, John says, makes you a liar (1 John 1:6). Rather a true Christian is marked by a love for God and a love for others.
That said, all Christians sin (1:8, 10). No Christian is perfect. And no Christian loves God or people perfectly.
When we sin, Jesus intercedes for us before the Father. On the cross, Jesus took all of the Father’s wrath for our sins upon himself (2:1-2). And because of that, we have peace with God.

What happens when we fail to hold these truths together? We either fall into a life of licentiousness, or we fall into depression that we don’t measure up as Christians.

Let’s run from both extremes. Rather, let us do these two things:

Live in the light. Make loving God and loving others your top priorities. And when you fall, don’t hide your sin. Bring it before God with a heart of repentance.
Walk in grace. When you fall, don’t beat yourself up. Don’t run in shame from God. Instead, run to him, knowing Jesus himself is interceding for you.

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, darkness, licentiousness, light, truth

1 Thessalonians Devotionals

Children of light

One small note. Yesterday, I said I was talking about chapters 2-3; actually, it was 3-4.

(And thus we can see that there are benefits to having chapter and verse divisions after all. It keeps us on the same page. 🙂 )

Anyway, I had a couple of thoughts as I read this passage.

First, Paul calls us to live as what we truly are: children of light. He says, “You are children of light. So live like it!”

But what does that look like, to live as children of light?

Paul tells us to, “put on the armor of faith and love, and a helmet of the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

Faith, hope, and love. That triad is something you often see in Paul’s writings, and we see it here again.

A child of light has the hope of salvation. The hope that, as we saw yesterday, when Jesus appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2)

That hope helps us take our eyes off of the temporal pleasures that sin offers to the One who truly satisfies. And as we look at him, and we see what we will be, we desire even now to become more and more like him.

I find it also interesting that in Ephesians, Paul talks about the breastplate of righteousness. Here, he talks about the breastplate of faith and love.

I don’t know if he meant this connection, but when you look at his writings, there is a connection between righteousness, faith, and love.

Our righteousness comes not from our own efforts to be good. It comes from putting our faith in Jesus and his work on the cross. And when we do, God counts us as righteous in his eyes (thus leading to our hope of salvation).

But faith always works itself out in love. And because of the love we ourselves have received from God, we start to love him and those around us.

Does this sound familiar? It should. All of God’s law is summed up in those two commands.

And so not only are we declared righteous by God, but we start to change and live righteously as God intended from the beginning. That’s what a child of God looks like.

But one more thing. Paul wrote,

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

Here, Paul isn’t talking about being awake or asleep in regards to our normal sleeping patterns. (See I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

Rather, Christ died for us that whether we live here on earth, or die and depart from this earth, we will forever be with him.

Again, that’s the hope that we have. So with that hope in mind, let us live each day as children of light.

Tags armor, Bible Original, Bible verse, faith, light, love, righteousness

1 John

To have fellowship with God (part 2)

Post author By Bruce
Post date March 4, 2016
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We saw yesterday that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. So if we are going to claim to have fellowship with him, then we need to be walking in that light with him.

If we try to explain away his commands or blatantly ignore them and still claim fellowship with him, we are liars.

John then gives one specific example which he will get back to again and again in this letter. He says,

Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.

Yet I am writing you a new command; it’s truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:7-8)

What is this old/new command?

I think John is specifically referring to loving your neighbor, although as we will see in later passages, loving your neighbor goes a long way to proving your love for God too.

In Moses’ law, God said to love your neighbor as yourself. That was the old command.

But the new command as seen in Jesus is this: to love one another, not merely as we love ourselves, but as Jesus himself loved us. (John 13:34-35)

In short, it is to know the love of God so much in our lives, that his love can’t help but flow out of our lives to others.

And so John says that this truth is not just seen in Jesus, but in us who truly believe in him. For his true light of love is already shining in our hearts, while the darkness which formerly marked our hearts is departing.

Therefore, John says,

Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.

Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.

But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in darkness; he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded him. (2:9-11)

All this links right back to chapter 1 verses 5-7. There is no way we can claim to have fellowship with God if we hate our brother. A person who hates is still walking in darkness, not light.

This hatred can manifest itself in bigotry or racism of course. It can also manifest itself in jealousy or envy.

But one place it most often manifests itself is in unforgiveness. And many people stumble around in darkness, bound in bitterness and hatred because they can’t forgive.

And like I said before, for such people, it can be very easy to either try to explain away scripture or blatantly ignore it, all the while holding on to their hatred toward the person that hurt them.

But if we truly understand the love God has for us and the forgiveness he has extended toward us, can we truly hold on to that hatred?

A true child of God can’t.

Now I’m not saying that Christians should never struggle with unforgiveness. They do. And it’s not easy to forgive, especially when the pain is deep.

But if you are truly born of God, you cannot simply stay in the darkness. You cannot make excuses for your hatred, saying things like, “What he did was unforgiveable. I can’t forgive. I won’t forgive!”

To say such things is to step out of light into utter darkness. And to claim to still have fellowship with God in that state is to make yourself a liar.

A true child of light will step out into the light and receive the healing touch of Jesus. And by his grace and power, they will forgive.

How about you? Is there someone you hate? That you can’t forgive? You can’t hold on to those things and have fellowship with God.

Healing will require time. It will require prayer. It will require emotional support from your brothers and sisters in Christ. It may require counseling. And it will definitely require the love and power of God’s Spirit working in your life.

But stop making excuses, and step out into the light.

Until you do, you will find your relationship with God stunted, if not impossible.

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, darkness, forgiveness, hatred, light, love

2 TImothy

Though things go from bad to worse

Post author By Bruce
Post date December 8, 2015
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If anyone thinks that this world will get any better, they’re not reading the same Bible I am.

Until the day Christ comes back, things will get progressively worse. And that shows most starkly in the ungodliness of the people in this world, even those claiming to be Christians.

And Paul’s words seem more real to me now than they did even ten or twenty years ago. Paul says,

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

Paul doesn’t say that people who want to live a godly life may be persecuted, or could possibly be persecuted. He said they will be persecuted.

Why? Because evil men and false Christians will go from bad to worse. Those who are teachers deceive, teaching things contrary to the Word of God, and those who listen are falling for everything they say.

The result is a more and more corrupt morality and a more and more corrupt world. And with that corruption comes a hatred for anyone that will dare shine the light of God’s word into that darkness. Jesus himself said,

Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

We see this clearly in the world today. Everything is tolerated…except the Word of God.

Paul in his day experienced that hatred. He reminds Timothy of all that he went through for the sake of the light, and he warns him, “This is not an aberration. It will not only continue, but get worse as people fall further and further into darkness.”

How are we to respond in the face of this darkness? Paul tells us.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15)

In short, hold on to the truth. Though people may turn from the truth, though people may try to extinguish it by persecuting you, hold on to the truth and keep proclaiming it. Why is it so important to hold on to God’s word?

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

God’s word is our life. And it equips us for every good work that we do in the face of this darkness. It’s the sword that can pierce the heart and banish the darkness in the souls of people.

More, it teaches us what is right, rebukes us when we are wrong, picks us up when we fall, and trains us to be godly.

And finally, it gives us the strength to endure anything we go through in this dark world as God himself through his Spirit whispers his words of life into our souls.

Jesus never promised an easy life if we follow him. He said,

In this world you will have trouble. (John 16:33)

If you stand up for the truth, if you shine the light into this dark world, you will find trouble. But continue to hold to the light. Don’t let the darkness extinguish it from your soul. And as Jesus said,

Take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33b)

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, darkness, God's word, light, persecution, scripture

Ephesians

Spiritual pitfalls: Taking sin lightly

Post author By Bruce
Post date September 19, 2015
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If there is one problem in this world, it’s that it takes sin lightly, even to the point of joking about it. But sin is not something to be taken lightly. Especially by Christians.

So Paul says,

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. (Ephesians 5:3-4)

In other words, our lives should be so holy, that no one should be able to even begin to accuse us of any impropriety, not even in our speech. Again, sin is not something to take lightly or joke about.

But how often do we do that when talking about TV shows, movies, songs or anything to do with pop culture.

How often do we ever say, “You know, what that character did in that drama or comedy was sinful.”

Or “What that singer is singing about will lead to eternal death if she doesn’t repent.”

We just don’t think that way.

“Oh come on. Lighten up,” some of you may say. “This is the world we live in.”

But that’s exactly the problem. Too many Christians are becoming like everyone else in the world, taking sin far too lightly.

But Paul reminds us,

For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person–such a man is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. (Ephesians 5:5-6)

In short, sin is serious business. People are under God’s wrath because of these things. People are going to hell because of these things. How then can we take them lightly?

So Paul tells us,

Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. (Ephesians 5:7-14a)

God calls us to be totally different from the world around us. They are living in the darkness of sin. We used to live that way too. But now Paul says we are light in the Lord, and because of that we should live that way.

Our lives shouldn’t be bearing sin with all its fruit. We should be bearing the fruit of all goodness, righteousness, and truth.

So instead of celebrating sin, we should be exposing it with the light of Christ for what it is: something that destroys.

And we should be calling out to those around us,

Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. (Ephesians 5:14b)

How about you? Are you taking sin lightly? Have you forgotten how serious it is?

Remember that Jesus died because of sin. And now he calls us and those around us to come out of it, and into new life.

Are you living that new life? And are you calling others into it as well?

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, expose, light, Sin, spiritual pitfalls

Acts

A beacon in the storm

Jesus once said to let our light shine before men, and you really see Paul’s light shining through in this passage.

At a time when everyone on the ship he was sailing on had lost hope because of the storm, Paul brought hope. He told them,

But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.

Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’

So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (Acts 27:22-25)

Later, with things still dark, and the men still discouraged, he told them,

For the last fourteen days…you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food–you haven’t eaten anything.

Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head. (Acts 27:33-34)

He then broke bread, gave thanks to God, and ate. By doing so, he gave the men in the boat hope, and they ate too.

That’s part of what it means to be light. To give hope to the hopeless.

So many people in this world are without hope because of their circumstances. But in Jesus, we have the source of hope, and as he shines through us, it gives hope to those around us.

But Paul was light in another way. By his words and his life, he encouraged people to do what was right.

We see this first when some of the sailors were planning to sneak off of the ship without the prisoners and leave them all to die.

But Paul warned them,

Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved. (Acts 27:31)

And so they let the lifeboat go.

Then, after the ship had run aground, the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners lest they escape.

But because of the light that Paul had been, the centurion in charge refused to give them permission to do so, and in the end, all were saved.

In the same way, being light means showing people what it means to live right, both through our words and through our lives.

And as people see our lives, it should inspire them to do what is right as well.

How about you? Are you light to those around you?

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, light, Paul, shipwreck

John John 12

When we see and hear Jesus

Post author By Bruce
Post date August 25, 2014
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So many people say, “I believe in God,” but refuse to put their faith in Jesus.

But if you truly believe in God, that is exactly what you cannot do. Jesus says here,

Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.

The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (John 12:44-46)

Jesus is saying here that to believe in him is to believe in God. To see him is to see God.

He then said,

For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken.

I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say. (John 12:49-50)

So to hear Jesus also means to hear God, because he speaks the very words of God. And to reject Jesus’ words is to reject God’s words. More, to reject Jesus means to reject God himself.

And Jesus says,

There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. (John 12:48)

All of us will be held accountable for what we have heard Jesus say.

If you believe him, you will find light and life. But if you reject him, you will find only judgment and darkness.

What will you choose?

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, darkness, judgment, light

Luke Luke 11 Matthew Matthew 12

When we refuse to invite the Spirit in

Post author By Bruce
Post date March 31, 2014
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With Jesus condemning the Pharisees for saying that he was casting out demons by Satan’s power, the Pharisees then demanded a sign from heaven to prove he was doing it by God’s power.

Of course, even had he done so, they still wouldn’t have believed, so Jesus refused.

How do I know they wouldn’t have believed? Because while he refused to give them a sign right then and there, he did give them a sign to watch for, the sign of Jonah.

He told them just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and nights and came out, so would the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth, and come out.

This of course was referring to Jesus’ death and resurrection. But when Jesus rose from the dead, the Pharisees still hardened their hearts and refused to believe.

So again, Jesus condemned their hardness of heart.

He told them that the people of Nineveh and the queen of the South (the queen of Sheba) would stand in judgment over them because when they heard the message of Jonah and Solomon, they turned to God.

But now Jesus, who was greater than Jonah or Solomon, was here, and they refused to believe.

He then gave an illustration of what would happen if they refused to believe in him and rejected the gift of the Spirit that he would later give all believers.

When Jesus came to this earth, he overcame the powers of hell, and among other things cast out demons.

But he warned the Pharisees and all Israel, “Though I cast out demons and overcome the powers of hell, though I set all in order in preparation for the gift of the Spirit to come in, if you refuse him, then the powers of hell will return in force and your spiritual state will be worse than ever.”

Why? Because you’ve tasted the power of God in your life, you’ve come into contact with the only one who can save you, and you rejected him.

He then brings back an illustration from the Sermon on the Mount where he talks about how our eyes are the lamp of our body.

Here I think he’s talking as much of our spiritual eyes as our physical ones. And he’s saying, “Are you really seeing? When God speaks, can you see the truth he is giving? When you look at me, do you see me for who I am?”

If you do, Jesus says you will be full of light. But if not, you will be filled with darkness. So he warns,

See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. (Luke 11:35)

How about you? Have you put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you invited the Spirit into your life?

If you harden your heart towards God, you leave yourself vulnerable to Satan’s destructive work in your life. But if you soften your heart and let the Spirit in, you’ll find life.

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, hardened hearts, Holy Spirit, light, Pharisees

Matthew Matthew 5

Sermon on the Mount: Salt and light

Post author By Bruce
Post date February 19, 2014
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It is very interesting to me the context in which Jesus talks about us being salt and light in the world.

What was the context? He had just finished talking about persecution. That we are blessed if we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

Right after that, he tells us we are the salt of the earth, and he warns us that if we lose our saltiness, we’re no good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled.

How can we lose our saltiness? By giving into pressure from our family, our friends, and the people around us to conform to them, rather than to Christ. To do so because we are afraid of what they will say or do to us.

When we are so focused on pleasing others that we forget that we need to please God above all others, we lose our saltiness.

We are meant to be salt in this world. Salt preserves. It keeps meat from rotting.

In the same way, Christians are to be people that keep our culture from rotting by showing people God’s ways.

Not just by telling them about God’s ways, mind you. But by showing them God’s ways by the way you live your life.

And by showing them God’s ways, they’ll see the contrast between a healthy, fulfilled life and a morally decrepit one.

Salt also flavors. It gives taste to food that has little or none. In the same way, we are to flavor the world around us with the love and touch of Christ.

But we can do neither of these things if we are simply blending in with the world.

God put us in this world to be light. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden. For what purpose? To show his glory to a lost, hurt, and dying world.

How can we then hide that light that God has lit in our lives by giving into the pressure of those around us?

How about you? Have you so conformed to this world that you’ve lost your saltiness? That your light can no longer be seen?

Who are you trying to please? God? Or the people around you?

May we obey the words of Jesus and let our lights shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, light, persecution, salt

John John 3

Stepping out into the light

Post author By Bruce
Post date January 11, 2014
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I mentioned in my last blog that we are not in danger of being condemned if we reject Christ. We are already condemned. Judgment has already been passed.

And in this passage, we see the verdict that was passed against us. John writes,

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

In other words, Light came into the world through Christ. He showed us who God is. He showed us God’s will for our lives.

But men loved the evil they were doing, even though they knew it was wrong; even though deep in their hearts, they knew their actions bring about shame.

As a result, they remained in darkness and would not embrace the Light. Instead, they rejected him. And for that they stand condemned.

How about you? Are you willing to step out into the Light of Christ? To no longer walk in actions that you know deep down are wrong and are shameful, but to walk with Christ in the Light? To live by his truth?

When we do so, we no longer need to fear God, but can stand boldly before him. John writes,

Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:21)

I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of relationship I want before God. No shame. No guilt. But walking freely and confidently before him, bathed in his love and grace.

Some people fear to come into the light because they’re afraid of what they might lose if what they’re doing is exposed.

So they stay away from church. They stay away from the Word of God. Or if they read it, they stay away from the passages that they know will expose them.

But God loves you. He wants your best. And while you may think you’re losing something that you love or need by surrendering it to God, you actually gain something so much greater.

The question comes down to this: Will you trust him? Will you trust that he is looking out for your best? Will you trust that he actually knows what is best?

Because until you believe that, you will never step out into the light.

God proved his love for you by sending his Son.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

If he did that for you, can’t you trust him with everything else in your life?

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, darkness, light, trust

John John 1

Light in a darkened world

Post author By Bruce
Post date December 16, 2013
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I once read about a young teenage girl in the United States.

She had perfect grades in high school. She had a perfect score for the SAT. She had a perfect score for the University of California acceptance exam. She was a brilliant young woman.

But in an interview, a reporter asked her, “What is the meaning of life?”

Her answer?

“I have no idea. I would like to know myself.”

That’s the kind of world that we’re living in. A world where people are separated from God, and because they are, they are walking around in darkness.

They’re stumbling around looking for meaning in life. Even worse, they are blinded by their sin and where that sin is leading them.

And it was into this world that Jesus stepped into 2000 years ago as a little baby. It says in verse 4 of this passage,

In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:4)

When Jesus came into this world, he became light in a darkened world. How did he become light?

He showed us who God is.

As we saw in my last post, he explained who God is to us. God is invisible, but when Jesus appeared, God became visible. All that God is, we see in Jesus.

We no longer have to guess what God is like. We can look at Jesus and know.

He showed us the meaning of life.

What is the meaning of life? Ultimately, it is to have a relationship with God.

It says in verse 3 that he created all things, including us. But when Jesus came, the very people that he created didn’t recognize him. More than that, they rejected him. (John 1:10-11)

But it says in verse 12-13,

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13)

In other words, when we receive Jesus as our Savior and as our Lord, we become adopted into his family.

Nobody is physically born into God’s family. Just because your parents are Christians does not make you one. You need to be born of God.

In other words, you need to respond to God’s work in your heart and say “Yes” to Jesus.

“Yes Jesus. I want you to be my King. I want you to be my Lord.”

When you do that, you become part of God’s family. And in doing so, you find the main purpose for which you were created. A relationship with your heavenly Father.

He showed us the way to life.

Just as he gave life and breath to all that live, he gives eternal life to all who believe in him.

It says in verse 5,

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood (or overcome) it.

When Jesus came into the world, the sinful people around him could not understand him, even the religious ones. And because of that they tried to kill him.

But even in killing him, they could not overcome him. Rather, through his death, he took the punishment for our sin.

More than that, he conquered death and the grave by rising again three days later, and now he gives life to all who come to him.

And so John writes,

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

Moses gave us the law that showed us what God required of us. But the law couldn’t save us. All it could do was show us our shortcomings. That we’re all sinners deserving death.

But through Jesus, we find grace and truth. We see the truth of our sinfulness. But we also see the truth of God’s love for us shown on the cross.

And when we receive him, we receive “grace upon grace.” A grace that never runs out and covers all our sin. A grace that gives us life.

May the light of Christ shine in your hearts this Christmas.

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, Christmas, eternal life, life, light, meaning to life

Proverbs

Watching our step

“Watch your step.”

Whenever we’re in a precarious situation, people always warn us to be careful. And in this world there are numerous pitfalls that can bring us down.

So David warned his son Solomon about the pitfalls in life, and Solomon in turn passed on those lessons to his own sons.

He said,

Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many.

I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.

When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. (Proverbs 4:10-13)

Just as David and Solomon talked to their sons, so I think God speaks to us here as his sons and daughters.

He guides us and leads us in the ways that are right, and if we’ll just follow him, we won’t stumble as we’ve seen so many people have.

If we guard His words in our heart, holding fast to them, we’ll find the path to life.

How many times have we seen Christian leaders fall because they didn’t guard these things in our hearts?

It’s easy to criticize them, but it can just as easily happen to us if we don’t watch ourselves. So often we criticize others, but we fail to watch ourselves and fall into the same kinds of sins.

So Solomon tells us to watch our step. To stay away from the path of sinners who would encourage us to follow them. To swiftly turn from the path that they walk on, and instead to stay on the lighted path that leads to life.

He said,

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. (18-19)

In other words, as we follow Christ and do things his way, he reveals to us even more, and the way we should go becomes even clearer.

But when we reject the light of his Word, we end up stumbling around and falling into every pitfall on the road, simply because we are completely blind to them.

Solomon concludes this chapter by saying,

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (23)

Put another way, “Watch what you let into your heart. And watch the places where you let your heart go. Don’t let it wander off into places where it can destroy you.”

Rather,

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (25-27)

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, darkness, firms steps, guard your heart, level paths, light

Zechariah

The bringer of victory, life, and light

Post author By Bruce
Post date April 11, 2013
No Comments on The bringer of victory, life, and light

As we come to the conclusion of Zechariah, we see the second coming of Christ and the time of the Millennium.

It starts once again with the nations rising up against Jerusalem to crush it, and in so doing, half of its inhabitants will be sent into exile.

But then, Jesus will return, and as he sets foot on the Mount of Olives, it will split in two.

The lights will dwindle, but God himself will bring light to the earth, so that even at night, it will be light. As it says in Revelation,

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. (Revelation 21:23)

Not only that, but from Jerusalem will flow living water. This is probably the same thing that was written about in Ezekiel 47:3–11 which we have looked at earlier.

God will then fight for Israel, casting down its enemies through plagues.

I kind of wonder from verse 12 if God will turn the nations’ nuclear weapons against themselves. It certainly sounds like some kind of nuclear disaster, anyway. But this is pure speculation on my part.

But anyway, from that point on, people from all over the earth will acknowledge him as King, rejoicing in his goodness.

The Feast of Tabernacles was one of rejoicing out of gratefulness towards God. Rejoicing in how God brought his people out of slavery to Egypt, and gratefulness for his presence with them as he kept them safe through their time in the desert.

We too, will rejoice at how God brought us out of slavery to Satan’s kingdom, and brought us through the trials of life until the day he finally makes all things new.

For all those who refuse to turn to God, however, they will only find judgment.

What can we get from all this?

God is the bringer of victory. Though Satan fights against God and us, God will triumph.

He actually has already triumphed. He triumphed when Jesus died on the cross, but Satan just doesn’t want to admit it.

But whatever trials we may go through, we know that we have victory. And not only will we have victory over our trials, but we’ll have victory over sin and death itself.

As Paul said,

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

God is the giver of life. Just as the water will flow out from Jerusalem and make even the Dead Sea fresh and alive, God’s Spirit will flow into our lives and give us life.

But for all those who are apart from God, they will be cut off from life, and find only misery.

Finally, God is the giver of light. When all is dark, and we have no hope, he gives us light to see and restores our hope once more. When we can’t see our way and which path we should take, he shines the light on the right path.

Lord, thank you that you give us victory, life, and light.

Let us cling to you every day, and as we do, make us holy unto you. May we be pure before you, set apart for your purposes as we live our lives each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Tags Bible Original, Bible verse, life, light, victory