9-8/9-2018 Take It Through The Week

Monday  –John 8:12  Jesus’ never claimed to be a light  or one of the lights of the world, but Jesus said he was the light of the world. In a world of mix and match religions and have-it-your-way faith, Jesus made some very specific claims. This passage of scripture is one of those very exclusive and specific claims. In saying that He is the light of the world, Jesus sets Himself apart from the “teachers” of other religions. And here in this one verse He actually makes the claim of exclusivity twice. At the  end of the verse He says that anyone who follows Him will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life. Notice He doesn’t say a light or some light, Jesus once again says the light of life.  You may know someone who has made a very different statement, “We all serve the same God, it doesn’t matter what religion you are.” Just reading this one scripture helps us to understand that God sent Jesus to do something very specific, something that could only be done by Him in a very specific time and place. Read Isa. 60:1-2. Take a moment to ask the Lord Jesus to be your Light each and every day. Ask Him to make your way clear and plain.
Tuesday – John 12:35–36 Jesus regularly told His disciples that He was the light of the world. He also told them that light would be extinguished, for s short time.  He would die on the cross. In this passage Jesus is telling them to walk while you have the light. He wants them to learn as much as they can of Him, so that when the cross happens, they will be able to see past it, to the resurrection. He wants them to treasure the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light. Of course, you and I know the rest of the story. After the cross, after the burial, after the resurrection, Jesus will indeed become, not just the disciple’s light, but He will become the light of the world. The disciples will become sons of light and will carry the Gospel message to the world with such a conviction that nothing can stop them. That’s how we received the Light of Salvation, Jesus. Generation after generation has passed along the light. Who do you know that needs the light of salvation? Take a few moments to pray for those around you who need Jesus. Ask for them to be drawn to the Light of the World.
Wednesday – 2 Corinthians 4:6–10 The God who invented light has made a declaration in our lives. Just as He spoke light into existence in the beginning, He has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus is our light. And when we asked Jesus into our hearts, we got more than we could have ever imagined. Not that we deserve it. No, we have this treasure in clay jars.  We are just plain, old, regular people with the extraordinary power inside of us. The God who spoke light into existence has shone in our hearts. Because of Him we can endure pressure and persecution, we can endure because He is living in us and lighting our way. We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. Pray with me.  Thank you Lord, that You live in my heart and show me all I need to know to be able to live. You shine in my heart and all I ask of You, is for You to be brighter and more, day by day and in every way. Shine in me, Lord. Shine in my family. May Your life be so clearly seen in mine that nothing of me is visible. Only You. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
Thursday – 1 John 2:8–11 With Jesus’ resurrection, the old commands began to change. Not to go away, but to change. One of the changes is that much of the Old Testament has to do with acts seen outwardly. In the New Testament, the focus turns inward. The one who says he is in the light but hates his brother is in darkness until now. It is not enough to say we love one another, we have to actually, love one another. If we don’t, we have no part in the true light  who is already shining. We are told here that if we hate our brother,  we are in the darkness,  we walk in the darkness, and we don’t know where we are going. If we hate our fellow believers and treat them with judgment and contempt then the darkness has blinded us. This passage teaches us that God requires us to forgive others just as God has forgiven us. If we don’t, we not walking in the light, but in darkness. Who do you need to forgive today?
Friday – Job 34:21–24 Good news! All the time, everyday, God’s eyes watch over a man’s ways, and He observes all his steps. We can trust Him to see us and guide us, if we will let Him. In addition to that , He also sees evil. For those who do evil and are evil, There is no darkness, no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide themselves.  God sees the evil in this world and He is going to judge it. He knows how to keep the born again safe, and He knows how to judge evildoers. There will be justice, in His time and in His way. We can trust Him with our way. Read Ps. 9:9-10. What promises do you see there that comfort you and bless you? Write them down below and take some time to thank God for them.
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Saturday – Revelation 21:23–24  This week we have been reading scriptures that talk about our God as the Light of the World. It’s a beautiful image that only gets better, the further we read in the scriptures. Jesus said in Matthew, that He was the Light of the World. It was true the moment He spoke it, but it was also true for all eternity. It was immediately true for every sinner in the world. We are all drawn to Jesus’ Light of Truth, when we see it. It is eternally true, because one day, the city of God will not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it and its lamp is the lamb. Jesus will literally be The Light of the World.  God and Jesus will outshine the sun. They will outshine the moon. The Glory of God’s Radiance will fill the City of God. All the nations of the world will be illuminated by the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. In that day the spiritual, “Light of the World”, will literally have become the visible, “Light of the World.”  And we will see it. With our own eyes we will see it. Pray with me. Dear Lord. I long to see You. I wait to see Your Glory and I dream of what it will be like to see You. I thank God that we will be able to see what no human has ever seen and lived. We will see Your face and Your Glory. We, and the nations will be healed by Your light and radiance. Thank you for the hope and the future that is eternally ours. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.