Adam continually lived in the holy Light and Life of God. But when Adam violated God’s Law (Genesis 3:19) he turned the Light off for himself and for all his descendants, who all together make up the human race. The first child born into the world became a murderer (Genesis 4:8) and the darkness continued to increase. Darkness gained ground in every heart and (John 3:19) humans chose the darkness rather than the Light, continuing to turn the Light off.
Jesus is the Light of the world (John 1.4:5) the only True and lasting Light. If you do not have Jesus, you have only the darkness which will shroud your thinking and affect every aspect of your life. The darkness within you will guide you to operate out of deepening darkness.
Jesus came into this world to be the Light of Life and He came with a message. The heart of the Christian message is the Cross of Calvary. Everlasting Life and Eternal salvation is God’s ‘free gift’ of Grace to every person who will receive Jesus as their personal Saviour. Jesus came to suffer, shed His precious Blood and die in agony on the Cross, in order to pay the penalty for our sin and redeem us. He came to restore everything that was lost in Adam. Jesus did not die to patch us up (2 Corinthians 5:21) but to make us righteous, new creations (Ephesians 2:10) with new purposes.
Our human bodies are fitted for life on earth, bodies which will die and decay. Our glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:42-44) will fit us for eternal life in heaven to be forever with the Lord.
All we have at present is an earthly body, but it is (1 Corinthians 3:16, Corinthians 6:19) the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are responsible and accountable for what we do in God’s temple. How should we (1 Peter 3:11) then live? Scripture gives us a pattern (Colossians 3:12-15) and clothing for our daily lives - - - mercy, gentleness, kindness, patience, enduring peace, goodness, generosity, long-suffering, forbearance, and always thankful. A remark I heard from Dr. Youssef prompted this thought. For Christians, Thanksgiving Day is not just an annual event, it must be our continual lifestyle of Thanks Living. Then our good works (Matthew 5:16) will cause others to glorify our beloved heavenly Father. Jesus called Christians/disciples the Light of the World. If we live as we should, (1Tessalonians 5:10, Titus 3:8) having the Life of Christ Jesus, others will believe the Truth if we are devoted to Jesus. We will put His interest first and show to others we will be loving our neighbour and obeying the Great Commission. We have no interest or time for any attractive temptation in any form or guise. We recognize the works of darkness
Obedience turns the light on. God will never give us more light until we obey the Truth we already know.
The Word of God which we hold in our hands must fill our hearts and minds with all of its riches. Moses said (Deuteronomy 8:3) that we cannot live only by physical food but by every Word God speaks. Jesus confirmed this when He told us (John 6:63) that every Word He speaks is Spirit and Life. My Bible is a bottomless treasure chest and a bottomless goldmine.
A few days ago, I had a small panic attack. My Bible was not where I always leave it, and a frantic search turned up nothing. I can’t live without my Bible. I looked – I prayed – then the Lord showed me that it had fallen behind the night table. I hugged it to my heart and finally I could breathe normally again. I am so thankful for the wonderful, powerful living Word of God.
God is the absolute, Supreme, Sovereign Lord over all His disciples. The rod in the hand of Moses (Exodus 4.2:4) is a symbol of prayer and our total dependence on God. God’s Grace (Rom chapter 6) is not a license to sin. If we want to enjoy the benefits of our liberty in Christ, God forbid that that we should ever abate His Grace by doing evil on the false wicked assumption the good will come from our sin because Grace is greater. Again – God forbid!
These days you hear many ads about investing for your future. The best investment you can make for your future is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour because your future is endless. There is no such thing as soul-sleep. Your physical death does not remove memory, emotions and feelings because your never-dying soul will exist forever somewhere. Your choice in lifetime determines your eternal destiny. Either torment in the blackness of darkness forever in hell, or the joyous life forever of light and heaven and peace. There are only 2 eternal destinations and the (John 3:36) choice is yours.
Christians - - be alert, be on guard. The tiniest fragment of sin in our lives has gigantic consequences in our lives. Let us listen to Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and walk/live in habitual fellowship with God. Christian victory is not practical work for God but intimacy with God. Private devotion exceeds public works.
Our Sovereign God is transcendent and dwells in the brilliant, blinding Light of unapproachable holiness. Yet He is our beloved heavenly Father - - personal, precious, so near and dear, nearer than hands or feet and continually more precious to us. He lives permanently within us and works within us progressively the process of His sanctifying Life.
Oh come - - let us adore HIM