Tag: Light

Devotional 157: A Greater Witness

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John 5:31-36

The Fourfold Witness

31 “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. 32 There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true. 33 You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. 35 He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light. 36 But I have a greater witness than John’s; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.

John’s burning for Christ, the brightness of his passionate preaching, had prepared the people for the Messiah to come, but He came in a way they did not expect, doing what they did not expect.

A king was not born in poverty to obscure parents. A king did not associate with harlots, tax collectors, lepers, Samaritans, and sinners. A king did not go about having to tell people that he was a king.

So while they rejoiced for a time in John’s light as he prepared the way for the Messiah, the coming of the actual Messiah was anti-climactic in the unfolding of its events, and the works that Jesus did, to the point where even John had to ask if He was the one they sought, or was there another. (Matthew 11:3)

As prophecy predicts what, but not when, John’s words spoke to the second coming, but we must also remember that the teaching methods of Christ also produced division, and Jesus said He did not come to bring peace, but a sword, to divide the faithful from the unfaithful even within the same house. (Matthew 10:34-36)

It was also not the kind of war they were used to seeing, because it takes place in the spiritual realm, and we are not designed to see them with our eyes, and Satan goes about the work of blinding our hearts, stopping our ears, and planting tares among the vulnerable fields of churches whose foundations are not built on the Gospel’s rock, and don’t have Christ as their capstone. (Psalm 118:22)

 When He returns, it will not be as the Lamb of G-d, but the Lion of Judah, and He will cleanse the world of His Father’s enemies for all eternity. The first will be last, the least will be greatest, the humble exalted, the merciful forgiven, and the repentant heart redeemed.

Let us be careful then, that we are not rejoicing just for a time in the greater witness and brighter light of our Lord. The novelty of John’s ministry probably appealed to many, and they came to hear him; while his words were convicting enough to see many baptized to repentance, it’s Jesus’ ministry that is the core of our souls’ redemption. It began with Him revealing the Father to us when we called, and sending us the Holy Spirit, and it will end with Him at the judgment, where our works will be tested, we give account, and our souls weighed to enter forever into our Father’s rest, or the outer darkness.

Let us choose then, today, to rejoice for eternity.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus,

      As we enter into Your presence today, let us be mindful to not only offer thanks for our blessings, however few, and praise to the Father for You giving us eternal life, but to get our spiritual houses in order, reaffirming our love of all things holy.

      We ask that the Spirit purge from us all earthly chains of doubt, temptation, and rebellion against that which we know to do, for we would not have a greater darkness in us. (Matthew 6:21-23)

      As we honor You, and give over the ways of our earthly affairs to Your wisdom and guidance, let our fellowship continue beyond the hours of assembly today into all that we do, mindful that You are with us, watching over us, and that none of the accuser’s minions may take us from Your hand.

     Let us rejoice that You see us, wherever we are, gathered in twos and threes, agreeing with You as we walk, as You set our hearts burning within us with the fire of the Father’s Word, all of which points to You, our living Redeemer.

     Creation is groaning, governments are falling, believers are persecuted, people are dying in their sins,  and the prophecies You spoke are coming to pass. We are fearful, though we do not have a spirit of fear. We are saddened, though You tell us to rejoice. As much as we would like to stop the end from coming, we can’t, so strengthen and embolden us as go about doing the work You have given us to save the souls of mankind.

    Let us, like Paul, become all things to all, that whoever hears the call may be saved.

    Let our lives reflect John’s as bright and burning lamps on the hillside, doing works that glorify, and give greater witness to, our Heavenly Father.

     In righteousness, peace, and joy may we honor You. 

     Amen.

Devotional 130: Sons of Light

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John 12:27-36

Jesus Predicts His Death on the Cross

27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.”

Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”

30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am [a]lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

34 The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you.Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

We, the unworthy, are indeed blessed to not only have the light, but the Light of the World.

Yet, we obscure His presence, His brilliance, whenever we backslide or doubt, whenever we say, “I’ll repent later.” Whenever we stray further from His Light, the darkness reaches out to us, and calls us from the strongholds, the weak spots, and the vulnerability of our minds to trigger our feelings, so that we ask, once more,

“Did G-d really say….?”

Who among us would not want to be known by the Messiah as a son / daughter of Light?

Yet how many times did the Father reveal Himself to Israel, dealing with their constant rejection, fear, and backsliding? So he sent them what they asked for, and told them of the price: True prophets they did not listen to, kings that oppressed them, and priests that profaned their office, all bringing calamity to the people who sought them to rule instead of the One who delivered them.

Through it all, His message was the same: Repent, return, and remain faithful.

But His mercy came with a caveat: “If you…”. So we can’t profess to love and serve Him if we are not meeting the conditions, for then we are lying before the Throne.

And yes, His mercies are new every morning, and His grace is sufficient for our weakness, but let us be mindful that as we seek the light, the day of His vengeance is coming.

There comes a time in every kingdom where the King must confront and deal with those who would have his throne, or steal the kingdom’s peace. But as we name our G-d ‘Almighty,’ isn’t His victory assured?

We’ve basked long in the year of His favor, seen His work in our lives through the atoning work of the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit, so as we see Christ’s prophecies unfolding we can be assured of this as well: the day of the Father’s wrath is imminent.

Jesus tells us that all authority has been given to the Son to judge, and He, by extension, has specifically named Moses, the Apostles, and the Queen of Sheba. (John 5:45),(Matthew 19:28),  (Matthew 12:42) as those who will assist in the accusations of the faithless and unrepentant.

He also tells us His judgments are true (John 8:16); let us then be mindful that there will be no defense we can mount against Him that is not His blood shed for our salvation. In these closing days, let us remember that the time of the Lamb of G-d is past, and the time of the Lion of Judah awaits us, coming at an hour we don’t know, on a day that will be seemingly ordinary. (Matthew 24:36-42)

Let us take special heed to the words that while we have the Light, and there is yet time, we plead His blood, turn from evil, remain faithful, and endure to the end. If we do, we may yet be hidden from in the day of the Father’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3)

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus,

The people regarded You a prophet. How could He who known to the Father before the world began be anything else?

Time and again, you admonished Israel to take heed, but they would not, and so You extended the Father’s grace to us as well to remove His wrath from our sinful souls. As He made one blood for all nations, so too will He redeem and renew all creation, even a new Earth, to remove the stench of the prince of this world from it, and refresh Heaven as well.

So as we give thanks and praise to the Father for You, who are one in will, spirit, and purpose, we again cry out that You help our unbelief and strengthen us.

Do not harden our hearts and stop up our ears, that we may no longer believe and be cast into the outer darkness with the faithless, for the Word tells us that the hearts of men will be resistant even during the harvest (Revelations 16)

We seek You while You may be found to abide in You, that we have peace and enter into the Father’s rest. Rekindle us, that we may once again be salt…and light.

May it be done to us as You have said.

Amen.