Tag: Soul

18.t. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel”

John 16:2  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

 Matthew 10:28     And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

 Romans 10:2-3    For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

 2 Corinthians 4:3-6   And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12     and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Wicked deception, established their own, did not submit, blinded, refused truth, perishing, and strong delusion are all Words used to speak of those who have the desire and find purpose fulfilling their worldly and selfish desires. All of us displayed some of these characteristics to some extent in our lives.  We were selfish, blind, deaf, and perishing in our sin, and yet, in God’s grace, mercy, and love He pulled us out of this pit of destruction.  I have no earthly idea of how this is accomplished.  In my own life, I was very selfish and worldly.  I gave very little or absolutely no thought about God.  I can’t even say for sure if I gave any thought about heaven or hell.  I am pretty sure I was void, blind, and deaf to anything of God.  Through an accident though God broke through.  I was not seeking Him.  I was not wanting to know Him.  I was not wanting to honor Him.  I was not wanting to obey Him.  And yet, He broke through, showed, and allowed me to understand sin, my sin.  He allowed me to understand the need for Jesus Christ as redeemer and savior for the forgiveness of my sin. He gave me an understanding of heaven and hell. He gave me an understanding of truly being forgiven.  

While I was yet a sinner, blind, and deaf to things of God, Christ died for my sin.  He rescued me from the depths of hell while I was not even looking to be rescued.  I can’t imagine how anyone could have been given this understanding of Christ and the need for redemption and salvation, and reject it or turn their back to it.  While I was yet a sinner, God opened my heart and mind to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He opened my understanding of the need for repentance, forgiveness, belief, faith, and trust. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”  

I do not understand how a person’s heart and mind can be opened by God to the need of Jesus Christ and reject it.  Yet, it happens millions of times each day.  Hebrews 3:15  “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.  I don’t see how it is possible, but people continue to harden their hearts and minds to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   Eternity awaits us all.  The path to eternal life is through Jesus Christ alone.  The path to eternal torment is to reject and deny the need for Jesus Christ.

18.i. “His mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

 Revelation 21:22-23     And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Hebrews 12:12-13   Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,  and make straight paths for your feet,

 Lamentations 3:17-23    my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is;  so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.”  Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!  My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.  But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

 1 Thessalonians 5:9   For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Jesus said, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.” Believe in God; believe also in Me”.  It is not as though He is telling them they won’t have trouble if they believe, but rather that when they are surrounded by troubles they are to cast these cares, worries, fears out of their hearts and place their faith in Him.  This is not your home.  “In My Father’s house are many rooms.”  This is not your final resting place.  Your home is with Me and My Father in heaven and I’m preparing a place for you. Do you ever wonder how much time we have lost during our lives with worries, fears, and various cares that are caused in this world? We have to admit that too often we keep our focus on troubles we face in this world rather than on our home eternally in heaven with Jesus Christ.    

“Lift up your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees”, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;  they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Though the battle in this world seems to rage on, we are victorious in Jesus Christ. Our God is in control and knows that our time on this earth is but for a moment when compared to eternity.  Whatever we are facing, God is in control.  Whatever trouble comes at us, God is in control.  Whatever heart stabbing, brain-numbing, and soul-wrenching thunderous blow come our way, God is in Control.  

Don’t let your hearts be troubled!!!!!

17.t. “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

John 12:27   “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

 Isaiah 49:3-7   And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”  But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God.”  And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—  he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”  Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

I was a little perplexed by “ Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  Specifically “I have and I will”.  Jesus was troubled by what He knew was coming and the suffering He would endure.  He does not ask that this pending suffering be removed but rather God be glorified.  And then we hear “I have and I will”.  Does this mean I have glorified it by the virgin birth, sending My Son, miracles, signs, wonders, and proclaiming the coming Good News of grace, mercy, and love?   Does it mean I will continue to glorify it by what is coming, death, resurrection, ascension, redemption, salvation, and infilling of the Holy Spirit?  How is God glorified in this?  Imagine a perfect creation given free will to choose to follow and obey the Creator.  They are deceived by the Father of all lies, Satan.  Creation chooses to disobey (sin) and is separated from their Holy God and receives a death sentence from God as it were.  The All-Knowing God has established His perfect purpose and will in redeeming lost mankind. God is glorified when His creation believes in, clings to, and relies on Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” God is glorified when we freely choose to believe in Jesus Christ’s redemption.  He is glorified when we seek and desire to do His will in our lives.  He is glorified when we surrender fleshly self-centered wants to doing that which honors and glorifies Him.  Nothing honors and glorifies Him more than complete surrender to Jesus Christ and fully trusting in His perfect will, plans, and purposes no matter the circumstances.  Jesus Christ surrendered fully to the will of God for our redemption and salvation.  He alone is worthy of all honor and glory.  How will you live today so that He is honored and glorified?

17.s. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

John 12:20   Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

 Isaiah 49:5-6   And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—  he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

 Isaiah 53:10-12    Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

 Luke 9:23-24     And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Jesus’s thought of the cross just a few days away, His main concern was that God was glorified.  His purpose on earth was to redeem, save, and demonstrate God’s love for mankind.  It is hard for me to come close to understanding the commitment and longing and desire of Jesus to honor and glorify God, knowing what just a few days away would yield great physical and emotional pain.  He knew what He was facing.  He knew His purpose and was willing to die on the cross for it to honor and glorify God and redeem mankind.  

I can wrap my mind around taking a bullet, fast death, for someone you love, but willing to be tortured, beaten, whipped, and nailed to a cross for the sins of every human being is an act of love so humble, pure, and holy it seems beyond understanding. What a Savior we have in Jesus Christ.  In light of this, how should we live our lives?  The writer of Hebrews said: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

17.r. “Because you are his sons”

Galatians 4:6   Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

 Jeremiah 3:19   “‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.

 Romans 8:9     You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

 Jeremiah 32:38-41    And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.  I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.  I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul

When we groaned under a sense of sin, and were shut up by it as in a prison, we feared that the law would punish us for our iniquity, and our life was made bitter with fear. Moreover, we strove in our own blind self-sufficient manner to keep that law, and this brought us into yet another bondage, which became harder and harder as failure succeeded to failure: we sinned and stumbled more and more to our soul’s confusion. But now that faith has come we see the law fulfilled in Christ, and ourselves justified and accepted in him: this changes the slave into a child, and duty into choice. Now we delight in the law, and by the power of the Spirit we walk in holiness to the glory of God. Thus it is that by believing in Christ Jesus we escape from Moses, the taskmaster, and come to Jesus, the Saviour; we cease to regard God as an angry Judge and view him as our loving Father. The system of merit and command, and punishment and fear, has given way to the rule of grace, gratitude, and love, and this new principle of government is one of the grand privileges of the children of God

Now, faith is the mark of sonship in all who have it, whoever they may be, for “you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus Gal. 3:26). If you are believing in Jesus, whether you are Jew or Gentile, bond or free, you are a son of God. If you have only believed in Christ of late, and have but for the past few weeks been able to rest in his great salvation, yet, beloved, now are you a child of God. It is not an after privilege, granted to assurance or growth in grace; it is an early blessing, and belongs to him who has the smallest degree of faith, and is no more than a babe in grace. If a man be a believer in Jesus Christ his name is in the register-book of the great family above, “for you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” But if you have no faith, no matter what zeal, no matter what works, no matter what knowledge, no matter what pretensions to holiness you may possess, you are nothing, and your religion is vain. Without faith in Christ you are as sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, for without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith then, wherever it is found, is the infallible token of a child of God, and its absence is fatal to the claim. (Spurgeon)

17.e. “But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride;”

John 17:32   Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

 Hebrews 4:15   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

 Job 30:25    Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

 Psalms 119:136     My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

 Isaiah 53:3   He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief

 Jeremiah 13:17     But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

 Luke 19:41    And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

The grief and tears of Mary and Martha moved Jesus. God sees the tears of the grief-stricken and is moved with compassion.  Jesus sees our tears and is touched by our tears.  According to Trench, the sense of was troubled is “‘And troubled Himself.’ The phrase is remarkable: deliberately summoned up in Himself the feelings of indignation at the havoc wrought by the evil one, and of tenderness for the mourners.” It means that Jesus wasn’t so much sad at the scene surrounding the tomb of Lazarus. It’s more accurate to say that Jesus was angry. Jesus was angry and troubled at the destruction and power of the great enemy of humanity: death. Jesus would soon break the dominating power of death. “Jesus had humanity in its perfection, and humanity unadulterated is generous and sympathetic.” (Clarke) “He suffered all the innocent infirmities of our nature.” (Spurgeon)  

“Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” Spurgeon put it like this; “these words were not helpful to anyone. Spurgeon noted that all this “what if” talking is vain, of no use. “Perhaps the bitterest griefs that men know come not from facts, but from things which might have been, as they imagine; that is to say, they dig wells of supposition, and drink the brackish waters of regret.” “Suppose that Jesus is willing to open the eyes of the blind, and does open them; is he therefore bound to raise this particular dead man? If he does not see fit to do so, does that prove that he has not the power? If he lets Lazarus die, is it proven therefore that he could not have saved his life? May there not be some other reason? Does Omnipotence always exert its power? Does it ever exert all its power?

16.z. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

John 10:22   At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4   And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Matthew 17:5    He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Acts 3:23   And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’

1 John 2:19   They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

Revelation 3:20    Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

The religious leaders wanted Jesus to speak plainly, and here He spoke more plainly than they probably wanted. Jesus previously told them they were not true shepherds. Here Jesus told them they were not even true sheep, because the Messiah’s sheep believe and hear His voice. They are not only untrustworthy shepherds of God’s people but are showing that they ought no longer to be classed among the sheep that pay attention to His voice. People have a choice to hear and follow Jesus Christ.  It is not that you were not chosen, but rather you rejected being chosen.  When there is a knock at your hearts’ door there is a choice.  When you hear the knock will you eagerly open it? It is our choice of what and who we open the door of our heart to.  Sadly, things of this world are welcomed in and the Word of God, Jesus Christ, salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life are denied entry.  Those that choose this will perish from this life to eternal hell.  Those that choose to open the door do so with a desire to know and be known by Jesus Christ.  Turn your ears away from the noise of this world that is knocking and shouting at the door to your heart.  Reject opening that door to them and listen for the knock and voice of Jesus Christ.  If you listen to it, it is knocking right now.

16.y. “Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness”

John 10:16  So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”

Isaiah 53:10-12     Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Philippians 2:6-8     who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

It is hard to imagine the grace, mercy, and love Jesus Christ willingly poured out on the world.  The King of kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God, chose obedience to God the Father and willingly and with joy, went to the cross to bear our sins.  Jesus had full authority to choose obedience to God’s will.  He chose to give us life through His death and resurrection.  It is good for us to remember the great price that was paid by the King of kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God.  He did this for each individual person, yes YOU.

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Though the offer/gift of grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, redemption, and salvation is offered to everyone it is not accepted, received, or believed by everyone.  Many reject and deny this gift.  Condemnation and eternal punishment await everyone who rejects and denies the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Today is the day of salvation.  Trust in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ.

16.k. “Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not”

Psalms 139:13  For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Job 10:9-12     Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust?  Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?  You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews.  You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.

Psalms 71:6    Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.

Job 31:15     Did not he who made me in the womb make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

Isaiah 44:2    Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not,

Jeremiah 1:5     “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 46:3    “Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb;

The intelligent design movement suggests that the existence of an orderly, purposeful creation implies the necessity of an organized, purposeful design, and, therefore, a Designer.   Applying that idea to human beings, the presence of humans with the ability to find and fulfill a purpose in their life suggests a Creator who created them with a purpose to fulfill. There are certainly plenty of biblical examples: Abraham was called to create a chosen people; Moses was called to shape that people into a nation; Jeremiah was called to be a prophet to the nation; David was called to be their king; Jesus was called to redeem Jews and Gentiles alike from sin; Paul was called to deliver Jesus’ Good News to Gentiles and their kings…to cite a few examples. Psalm 139:13-16 pictures God forming humans and ordaining the days of their lives.  If you are seeking God’s specific purpose for your life, ask Him to show it to you. And ask in faith, believing He will shine light on your path.  True purpose in life can only be found in a life that is fully surrendered to Jesus Christ and the will of God.

16.e. “To open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

John 8:12  Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Isaiah 9:2     The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

Isaiah 42:6-7    “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,  to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Luke 1:78-79     because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high  to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Isaiah 60:1-3     Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.  For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.

Acts 13:47     For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

Job 33:28     He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.’

We have all experienced physical darkness. We search for light when the lights go out during a storm when our car is broken down along the highway at night, or when we wake to a sudden sound in the middle of night.  When we are used to seeing things in the light, darkness becomes a burden without it.  Sometimes it is more than a burden of being out of light, it is and can be frightening.  Light takes away the darkness and allows us to see all of the obstacles we would not have seen in darkness.

Jesus Christ is the “Light of the world”.  His light shines in the darkness and exposes all that is unrighteous, unholy, and apart from God.  His light shines bright on the darkest soul, exposing sin and the need for salvation, redemption, repentance, and forgiveness.  There are two reactions to the light of Jesus Christ.  One can run from it and hide in the dark shadows of sin, or one can run to it and allow it to flood over them.  The world is in darkness and there are those who choose darkness over light.  They will even create their own fake light to guide their path.  They convince themselves that this false light is the one and only true light of the world.  They run and hide from the light of Jesus Christ that shines brighter. How many times do we run from the light of Jesus Christ?  How many times is our sin exposed in the light of His Word and we quickly close our eyes to it, choosing for that sin to not be exposed? God’s Word is light to our soul.  Jesus Christ is the light of salvation, redemption, and forgiveness.   The Holy Spirit is the light to guide us on the path to eternity in heaven.  Living any moment of the day without seeking and desiring the light of the Holy Trinity is living in darkness.