The Light in the Dark

the people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9:2 & Matthew 4:16

Two things stand out in this verse. First, it accurately describes the world we live in. Ours is a dark world filled with pain and difficulty and hardship. It's a world of confusion and deception. It's a world in which we all live constantly under the shadow of death. 

But if you keep reading, the second half of this verse tells us where to find comfort. When it's dark, you look to the light. Even in the midst of all the darkness of this world, there is a light. That light is Jesus! Jesus alone stands in stark contrast to the darkness of the world around us. He alone is truly different.

His life on earth sets an example for us and reveals how we ought to live. His death paid the penalty for our sins and shows that forgiveness is found only in Him. And His resurrection lights the way to eternal life. All of this taken together (His life, death and resurrection) lights the way to the great Christian hope of salvation. Jesus is that way. Anyone who repents of their sins, places their faith in Him as God's perfect sacrifice for their sins, and confesses Him as Lord of their life will be saved. 

And those who are saved no longer live in fear of the shadow of death. And we no longer stumble along in the darkness of this world. We have the Light. If you have the light, then the way you conduct yourself and walk through this world ought to reflect that. 

The Light of the World

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

You are the light of the world. Pause and feel the weight of that for a moment. There are souls languishing in darkness and you are God’s rescue plan. You are the light.

At the time Jesus spoke these now famous words they used small oil lamps to light their homes. They would light the small lamp and they would place it on a stand to elevate it and maximize the light it could give to everyone in the house. Jesus’ point is that you should let your light shine before men so they may see your good deeds and glorify God in Heaven.  

God wouldn’t have called you to be a light if He didn’t have a lamp stand to set you on. He will put you in situations that allow other people to see you shine. So shine! Be the same person in front of believers and unbelievers. Act the same all the time. Don’t dim your light to make unbelievers more comfortable. Don’t hide your light. Don’t be embarrassed to be a good person and do good things. Don’t hide your compassion or kindness. Do good openly not to get credit or glory or yourself but so God can be glorified.

When you do that, when your life is demonstrably good and everyone can see how you serve those around you, then your life will be a light for everyone. Sure! Some will reject you. They may even persecute you for shining your light in their eyes. But they will have seen the light all the same and you will have done your job. They won’t be left without a witness and God will receive the glory. So shine your light today, believer. Bring glory to God. 

God is Light

God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

I John 1:5

How amazingly appropriate it is for God to present Himself to this dark world as a pure and perfect light. For our world was nothing but a confusing mess, shrouded in darkness, until God said, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:2). Yes, God created light, but men loved the darkness anyway. So, thousands of years later, God sent His Son into the world to shine a light on those walking in darkness (Isaiah 9:2 & John 1:4-5). He promised that those who believed on Him would be delivered from the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13) and would become children of light (John 12:36) shining in the darkness (Matthew 5:14). (Elements of this paragraph were inspired by Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible & The Names of God by George W. Knight)

So God is light, but what does that mean?

It means that God is good and holy. He is without sin, stain or blemish. He is perfect. God is honest, and true. There is no deception in Him. He is the source of all life, of everything that is good, and of all that is beautiful. It also tells us that God is not a god of confusion, but one of revelation. He doesn't trip us up; He lights the way. God is a god of knowledge. Everything is revealed to Him. He doesn't grope around in darkness but rather He lives in unapproachable light (I Timothy 6:16). All of this makes God trustworthy and right. 

So praise the Lord that we have a true light we can turn to when the darkness is overwhelming. When we are confused, we have someone to light our way. When we are scared we know someone we can trust. When we receive anything good, we know who to thank for it. 

It is unfathomable how terribly dark this world would be if God were anything but pure light. So be thankful! Praise the Lord and look to Him for hope, joy and guidance as you navigate through the darkness.

Unveiled Faces

Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out...the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face was shining.

Exodus 34:34-35

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:18

Christians have a unique privilege in this world. Once we were blinded by sin like everyone else, but now, by the power of God's Spirit, our eyes have been opened to see who God really is. We are ushered into God's very presence by the power of the blood of Christ. We not only contemplate God through the Scriptures, but we have His very Spirit dwelling in us. This Spirit helps us to understand the Bible and it gives us an unprecedented closeness and relationship with God. 

We behold the glory of the Lord like few, if any, did prior to Christ's coming. And as we gaze intently at God's glory and contemplate His goodness, miracle of miracles, we are changed! God's Spirit works within us to transform us into the image of the very God that it reveals to us. 

Christians are meant to reflect who God is. The longer we walk with Him the more like Him we ought to be. We shouldn't hide this transformation. As Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount,

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

This leads all Christians to several pertinent questions:

• Am I being transformed into the image of God from one degree of glory to another?
• Am I taking time to behold God's glory, to enter His presence and gaze at Him?
• Am I letting the light of God's transforming work in me shine for all to see so that He may receive the glory?

How to Spot a False Prophet

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

I John 4:1-3

There seems to be a never-ending stream of talking heads these days. Everyone - from pastors to political analysts, parents to pop stars, and professors to peers - wants to tell us what to believe about God and to what extent that should impact our lives. But how do we know who to trust? How can we tell the ones who are just spinning propaganda apart from the ones who are teaching us the truth about God? I John has some help for us.

A major issue facing the church(es) this letter was written to was a group of false teachers who were opposing the truth about Jesus and trying to lead the church astray. So the Apostle John provides his readers with a number of litmus tests to help us accurately evaluate the trustworthiness of those desiring influence over us. Here is a brief list of questions to ask ourselves about these leaders.

1. Do they walk in the light as God is in the light (i.e. practice righteousness) or do they walk in the darkness (i.e. continue in sin)? (I John 1:5-7, 2:29, 3:3-10, 5:18)
2. Do they honestly and humbly acknowledge their sinfulness? (I John 1:8, 10)
3. Do they keep God's commandments? (I John 2:3-6, 3:24, 5:2-3)
4. Do they love other believers? (I John 2:9-11; 3:10, 13-15; 4:7-8, 11-12, 16, 20-21; 5:1)
5. Do they avoid the love of the world or the things of the world, i.e. the desires of the flesh, desires of the eyes, and pride in material possessions? (I John 2:15-16)
6. Do they have continued fellowship with the church? (I John 2:19)
7. Do they acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah? (I John 2:22-23, 5:1)
8. Do they give of their resources to meet the needs of other believers? (I John 3:17-18)
9. Do they confess Jesus as the Son of God who came to earth as a real man? (I John 4:2-3, 15; 5:5)
10. Do they speak from God or from the world? Do those who know God listen to them or does the world listen to them? (I John 4:5-6)
11. Do they believe that we receive eternal life through Jesus? (I John 5:10-12)

Be careful who you listen to and who you allow to speak into your life. As the Apostle John reminds us, there are many false prophets out there in the world.

For further reading... check out the links above.

Night Light

When 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

When I was a kid I used to always want a night light in my room. I was scared of the dark. That little bit of light made everything better. Without a night light, I would see a shirt lying over the back of a chair and think a monster was in my room. I would hide under the covers and try to convince myself that there was no such thing as monsters. But with even just a little night light, I could see the truth. I could be sure that there weren't any monsters. I could clearly see the path to my door, so I could get up if I needed to use the restroom or get a drink of water. It is amazing what a little light can do!

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” It  began as just a little light, a tiny babe. Even then, His light was bright enough to draw grown men to praise (Matthew 2:11). But this was just the dawning of His great light. It wasn't until His death and resurrection that Jesus would reach noonday brightness. Who He was is now clear to all who are willing to see.

The problem is that not everyone is willing to see. John 3:19-20 says, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people 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 their deeds will be exposed." All of us have been corrupted by the great enemy of God. He is a deceiver by nature and so loves darkness and confusion (John 8:44). God, however, is a God of truth (John 17:17) and clarity and so He is characterized by light. Jesus, being the very representation of God's being (Hebrews 1:3), is the true light sent into the world whereby men may be saved. But stepping into His light means we must be willing to look at the truth...the truth not only as it pertains to our world, but to ourselves as well. Stepping into the light of Jesus always reveals us for the sinners that we are. The darkness is a scary place to be, but sometimes the light can be even scarier to those who have grown accustomed to the dark. Fear not! Step into the light that Jesus offers. I wager you never really thought you were perfect anyway. Once you are in the light, fear recedes.

Those of us who have accepted Christ are now the light of the world ourselves (Matthew 5:14-15). Don't keep the light to yourself. And don't allow fear of darkness to creep back in. Remember that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world (I John 4:4). Darkness flees before light, just as confusion and deception vanish before truth. So if the light of Christ shines in you this Christmas do not hesitate to shine. Calm fears. Speak truth. Love like Jesus did. Call to salvation.

For further reading...

• John 1:4-10: Darkness has not overcome the light!
• Matthew 5:14-15: You are the light of the world.
• Exodus 10:21-23: How does the plague of darkness compare to the world we live in today. How is our situation the same? How is it different?

Little Sins: Lying Lips

The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

Proverbs 12:22

We have a bad tendency of thinking that some sins are small. "They don't really hurt anyone, so they don't matter as much. These are just minor character flaws," we tell ourselves. We even justify our actions by arguing, "We can't be perfect on this side of heaven anyway." The problem is that Scripture often makes a big deal out of our "small" sins. What is more, Scripture tells us to pursue the perfection of our Father in our everyday lives (Matthew 5:48). Over the next few weeks we will be looking at some of these so called "small" sins. We will see what God has to say about them, and we will see some Bible characters that incurred some pretty major consequences for these sins. Today we talk about lying. 

The truth is that God hates lies (even the little white kind). They may seem harmless to us, but the reason God hates them really ought to be obvious. They are contrary to His very nature. John 17:17 says that the words that God speaks are truth. In fact, the Holy Spirit is even called the "Spirit of truth." (John 15:26). God speaks truth. He reveals truth. He enlightens the mind so that it can understand and receive truth. Lies conceal the truth. This is not the work of the Father but of the enemy. The Devil is the "father of lies" (John 8:44). Lies are his native tongue, so when we lie we are reflecting Satan's character, not the Father's.

Even more telling is how this basic character difference works itself out in our Father's and the enemy's strategies for capturing the hearts of this world. II Corinthians 4:4 tells us that Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they would be unable to see the truth of the gospel. Revelation 12:9 says that Satan "leads the whole world astray." But God "reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light" (Job 12:22). In fact, "God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all" (I John 1:5). So the image we get from these verses is that Satan is attacking our world with darkness and deception, hiding the truth of the gospel behind a thick veil of half-truths and outright lies. Our God responds to this strategy not with the sword or a legion of angels, but by beating back the darkness with the light of the truth of the gospel of glory in Jesus Christ. This is God's work. This was Jesus' work. He is "the light of the world" who sets people free from the darkness forever (John 8:12). And we know that the darkness "has not overcome" Jesus' light (John 1:5). So you can imagine His frustration when His children, whom He has set free from the darkness of deception, willingly choose to return to it for their own benefit. When we do this we are willingly reflecting the nature of the Devil and have joined with him to spread confusion and deception. We literally find ourselves opposite of God in the great cosmic battle for the hearts of mankind, and our God does not take it lightly. 

For further reading...

• Acts 5:1-11- Read the story of a couple who decided to try to lie to God.
• Genesis 12- Read about how Abram's weak new faith in God and his half-truth nearly caused a catastrophe.