Walk in the Light

SCRIPTURE

John 8:12-19 (NRSV)

I am the light

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Then the Pharisees said to him, "You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid." Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf." Then they said to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

DEVOTION

On this New Year’s Eve, I am deeply comforted by Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

This statement comforts me because I am well aware of the fact that I—like many others—will make New Year’s resolutions on this evening. I will set goals and make plans regarding what I think should happen to me, and to my family, in 2010.

Some of my goals will be realized; others will not. I must confess to you that I actually have a New Year’s Resolution that has appeared on every list since 1994. Shame on me! Perhaps this will be the year! (giggle)

It is clear to me that although I “see through a glass dimly,” God does not! Jesus is the light of the world and is generous enough to cast that light abundantly into my life (and yours) on a daily basis!

As a result, we don’t have to stumble around in the darkness. We don’t have to live confused and dismayed. We don't have to wonder if anyone loves or cares about us! We don't have to do any of these things because Jesus has promised to be Light unto our path and to unconditionally love us no matter where it is that we may go!

I don't know about you, but I am so glad that there is no path that is too dark for our God. There are no stops on our journey that Spirit did not anticipate.

No matter who you are--or what you've done--you can't out sin, outfox, or outrun the love of God that has been revealed to us through Christ Jesus!

Since this is uncategorically true, I want to invite you to step into the Light. JESUS is the Light; the Light of the World!

If you do not have a personal relationship with GOD, it is time. It is no accident that you are reading this blog today. I believe that God led you to this place and time in order to tell you that God loves you so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save you from your sin and gift you with eternal life. Jesus did not stay dead but was resurrected on the third day, just as he promised that he would!

When we put all of our hope in Jesus and in this good news message, believing it with all our heart and soul, we are saved!

Becoming a Christian is not rocket science. You don't have to do any hocus pocus, jump through any hoops, or complete any impossible feats. JESUS has already done all of the hard work for you; all you have to do is believe that Jesus died for you and is willing and able to forgive all of your sin and shortcomings.

I can’t think of a better way to enter 2010 than with the blessed assurance that your sin is forgiven and your eternal life secure.

Won’t you please pray with me?

Gracious God, thank you that Jesus is the Light of the world! Today I am putting all of my hope in Jesus. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again on the third day to make atonement for my sin and to gift me with eternal life. Thank you for such Amazing Grace and Unconditional Love. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I will be able to walk in the Light in 2010. I love you and I will share our love with others. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!

I would be honored if you would let me know about your decision today by clicking "YES" in the poll located in the upper-right hand corner of the good news blog in answer to the question, "Did God save you today?"

Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!

WALK IN THE LIGHT!

SCRIPTURE

Colossians 1:9-14 (NRSV)
Growing in the knowledge of God

For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

DEVOTION

I’m not sure why, but today I am reading this scripture through a different lens than normal. Today, I notice that scripture says that there are two kingdoms—The Kingdom of Light and the The Kingdom of Darkness.

The Kingdom of Darkness is a fearsome place where you are under the power of your enemy, lacking redemption, and drowning in your sin.

On the other hand, The Kingdom of Light is ruled by Jesus, the Son of God, who grants us the ability to be full of the knowledge of God’s will, bear good fruit in all that we do, grow strong in God’s glorious power, learn patience with joy, and experience redemption and forgiveness of sin.

Now, I don’t know about you, but The Kingdom of Light sounds much preferable to The Kingdom of Darkness. I love Paul’s words to the church at Colossia when he states, “we have not ceased praying for you…”

Do you have friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members who are dwelling in The Kingdom of Darkness? Are they oppressed by principalities and powers who do not have their best interests at heart? Do they make poor choices as a result of not being able—or willing—to see He who is The Way, Truth, and Life?

If so, Paul has given us a good example. He says that we should never cease to pray that our beloved friends will make the wonderful journey into The Kingdom of Light.

My favorite book, besides the Bible, is Hinds Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend that you drop everything and do so! In this book a young woman named Much Afraid makes a courageous journey to The High Places. This journey is fraught with difficulty, but as she perseveres she is transformed as a result of her long-suffering.

I recently heard that the real meaning of patience is “long-suffering.” Whilst no one likes to suffer, we all know that patience is part of the fruit of the Spirit.

We cannot truly be filled with Spirit unless we exhibit the characteristics of Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

These characteristics take root in us as we make pilgrimage from The Kingdom of Darkness to the Kingdom of Light!

Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world: the person who follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of Life (John 8:12)!”

As we make the decision to put all of our hope in Jesus believing that God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life, we step out of darkness and into the marvelous light!

The same God who was able to resurrect Jesus from the darkness of death, into the light of triumph and victory is able to do the same for us! As we die to ourselves and to the darkness thereby allowing God to resurrect us into new life, we become citizens of The Kingdom of Light! As citizens of this great kingdom, our hearts are set aflame by the Fire of Spirit so that we can be light for others. As Jesus said, "YOU are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)."

The Kingdom of Light is more wonderful than we could ever imagine, hope, or dream and it is the inheritance of those people who truly believe that Chris has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again!

Do you believe it? If so, won’t you pray with me?

Holy God, I have been dwelling in darkness and I am so sick of it. I can’t see my way forward and I feel trapped by my sin, mistakes, and shortcomings. Please help me! I believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected on the third day to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life. Thank You for Your unconditional love and amazing grace! Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can be GOOD NEWS in the lives of my family and friends. I want to share Your Love and Light with others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! I would be so honored if you would let me know about your decision by clicking “Yes” in the poll located at the top/right of today’s devotional! I am so happy for you! Happy Spiritual Re-Birth-Day!

Next steps: In response to what God did for you just now, let me suggest that you consider telling another Christian so that they can celebrate with you! Ask them to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand so that you can learn more about your new-found faith! Ask them to help you find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your new journey! You are already saved; now let God mature you by faith! Congratulations!



ANNOUNCEMENTS

To listen to audio recordings of Pastor Yolanda's Sunday sermons, please visit http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/57814 or click the widget to the right on this page!

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

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From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com