LIFE & LIGHT
LIFE & LIGHT
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. —Psalm 36:9
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. —John 1:1-13
God is the One who is Life. He gives physical life and He also gives spiritual life. A man is born the first time of the flesh and He needs to be born a second time to enter heaven. This is a spiritual birth (John 3:1-15) — “born by the power of the Spirit” (Galatians 4:29) and “born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (I Peter 1:23). “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). God’s Holy Spirit uses His Word to bring us to faith in His Son, to transform our minds (Romans 12:2), “for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16-17). He has given us everything we need to live a life that pleases Him.
“Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Jesus came “into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness” (John 12:46). We will see light as we walk in the Light and we “are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14), sent into the world by Jesus as Jesus was sent into the world by His Father” (John 17:18). “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20). “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). May we be faithful to His call on our lives! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-pYBUCjkqE
Dear Father, thank You that You have not left dead in the dark, but that you have given us life and light through Jesus. Now, may we live out of loving gratitude in the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son.